Security Sales & Integration November 2021 - 40

Home Automation
Working the
WFH Trend
As a consequence
of the pandemic,
millions of
Americans continue
to work from home
(WFH). This presents
a huge opportunity
for residential
security dealers/
integrators to sell
not only security
but also home
automation and
communications
solutions into this
market.
By the Editors of
Security Sales &
Integration
40
A
s the dust of COVID-19 begins to
settle, we are getting a clearer picture
of what the new workplace will
look like. It should be noted that it
wasn't easy getting here. It took a little over a year
after the onset of the pandemic for vaccines to be
widely available to the American public. In addition
to the health of its citizens, the government
also had to keep its economy afl oat.
And the government knows the best way to
ensure the health of the economy is to make
sure unemployment is low and consumers are
spending money. Trying to get out in front
of any disastrous eff ects that are the result of
the pandemic, the Biden administration asked
that teachers get prioritized for vaccinations to
allow parents at home with kids to return to
the workforce.
Overlooked in the sudden rush to get Americans
back working is one of the few benefi ts
of the coronavirus, which the country - no
make that the world - learned that employees
can productively work from home. But what
will the workforce will look like once life has
returned to some level of normalcy?
According to a report from management
consulting group McKinsey & Company, as
much as 20% to 25% of the workforces in
Security Sales & Integration NOVEMBER 2021
" advanced economies " could remain as work
from home (WFH) employees three-fi ve days
a week. Th e report also states that these WFH
estimates are four-fi ve times higher than WFH
numbers prior to COVID-19 quarantining.
As the WFH market grows and matures, it is
natural to expect large retailers, including Staples,
Best Buy and Amazon to dedicate resources to
marketing WFH products. It's likely the products
these mass-market retailers will off er will likely
range from traditional devices such as computers
and printers, to basic routers, network switches,
web cameras and paper shredders.
Residential security dealers/integrators have
the ability to take WFH to the next level and
off er a much higher level of effi ciency and productivity.
Because of the industry's ability to
deliver more personalized products, integrators
can off er newer, more ergonomically friendly
solutions such as display mounts and standing
desk components, as well as more powerful
unifi ed communications (UC) systems.
Ahead, 14 solutions are presented for integrators
to sell that can help customers meet
their WFH needs. Also included is a sidebar
on what dealers/integrators can do to lure their
own employees back into working onsite - at
least some of the time.
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Security Sales & Integration November 2021

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