Apps are everywhere today, including the security industry. From residential and commercial user apps, to those targeted at helping the channel with sales, service and installation — we take a look at the current and future potential of this ubiquitous technology.
Wherever you turn today — whether as a consumer, employee, bank patron or business owner — it is almost impossible to avoid using an “app.” You can pay on your phone using an app, deposit a check, play Candy Crush or Words with Friends, purchase items from Amazon and watch videos, to name just a tiny fraction of the more than two million apps available on either Android or iPhone. In the security space, too, apps have found a home, particularly for residential security and connected home users who want to control everything from sound systems and shades to locks and thermostats from their mobile phone.
But within the last few years, the commercial security world has also woken up to the great potential of apps. Initially video surveillance proved a natural fit and one that users quickly demanded. More recently, apps for monitoring, intrusion, fire and access control have been added to the mix.