Security Sales & Integration November 2021 - 6

Between Us Pros
scott.goldfine@emeraldx.com | @SSIeditor
DIY or Die?
Those
companies that
dove in or at
least dipped
their toes into
DIY before
the pandemic
struck found
themselves in
an eminently
stronger
position than
those who
had shunned
the already
mounting trend.
▶ ANYONE STILL DISMISSING the significance
and potential threat of the do-it-yourself
(DIY) residential and small business security system
model might want to hang up their buggy
whip, junk their dot matrix printer and cut up
their Blockbuster card. It's time to wake up and
smell the competitive coffee. Then, take a robust
swig of that frothy brew because it turns out
there is a silver lining. While the emergence of
this new sector has caused some market erosion,
it has also brought fresh benefits and opportunities
to professional full-service installation and
monitored service businesses.
First of all, many of the DIY companies have
engaged in conspicuous marketing that has served
to raise overall awareness of security and the latest
technologies among the buying consumer public.
That is a positive. Second, most of the people DIY
attracts are either unlikely to buy a pro system regardless
(helping weed out dead-end prospects)
or their purchase acts as a gateway to an eventual
pro system and/or pro monitoring. Third, speaking
of pro monitoring, another plus is many DIY
systems are interested in those services.
That brings us to the final boon, which is adopting
the if you can't beat 'em, join 'em mentality
(or maybe it's the keep your friends close and your
enemies closer concept) in which professional providers
also offer one or more flavors of DIY. That
is either selling basic DIY systems (sometimes custom-branded)
online or a hybrid version in which
the professional company guides the customer
in the installation process. This has been referred
to by names like do it with me (DIWM), do it
together (DIT) or do it for me (DIFM) ... how
about we do away with the acronym madness?!
The foam on that latte is being able to tack
Editor-in-Chief and
Associate Publisher Scott
Goldfine, an Industry Hall
of Famer, has spent 20+
years with SSI.
6
pro monitoring RMR onto any of these varieties.
Best of all, that customer's security relationship
exists entirely with your company, leaving pureplay
DIYers out of the mix. Furthermore, it behooves
the entire industry and consumer public
alike to keep professional companies that truly
understand the gravity of security and life safety
as well as know its best practices and nuances.
Keeping pros in the loop better ensures people's
well-being and decreases the incidence of false
alarms that can squander valuable and limited
Security Sales & Integration NOVEMBER 2021
first responder resources.
In particular, those companies that dove in or
at least dipped their toes into DIY before the pandemic
struck found themselves in an eminently
stronger position than those who had shunned
the already mounting trend. During the past 20
months, especially most of 2020, homeowners
have preferred not to have to deal with installation
or service people coming onto their property.
In addition, spending more time at home due
to workplace closures has led to people becoming
more dialed-in where smart home technology is
concerned - including security.
A great example of one such progressive professional
provider is this month's cover subject:
Southern California's Post Alarm. As it so happens,
after more than 60 years in business, the
company's management decided to launch a
brand refresh that included the introduction of
a DIY option. Little did they realize that just one
week later the COVID-19 lockdown wrench
would be thrown into the works. Considering
the timing and circumstances, the firm's president,
Rob Post, told me that adding DIY was " a
blessing from God, " and that it " sets us up for the
future. " Read Post's full story on page 22.
DIY's impact is also one of the most striking
findings seen in the 2021 Home Automation
Deep Dive on page 28 (jointly conducted by SSI
and Parks Associates). The percentage of homeowners
whose security systems were self-installed
has doubled since 2017, reaching an all-time
high of 55% in 2020. One of the other biggest
shifts in the residential market has been the interest
in video surveillance, and the data depicts
growth in cameras, video doorbells, video verification,
interactive services and the home networks
that support it all.
Today, we all have to be receptive and adaptive
to technological change. It was eye-opening
sitting in on Amazon's 2021 Devices & Services
update last month. The WOW factor came with
the demonstration of the Ring Always Home
Cam, a small video surveillance drone that rests
in a box until a user remotely activates it to view
any area within a residence. The knockout blow
was Astro, a robot that can freely roam a home,
being remotely accessed, and incorporates a telescoping
surveillance camera. Amazon projects
most U.S. homes will have at least one robot
within five to 10 years.
The future is now people.
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Security Sales & Integration November 2021

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