Over the last few years, the security industry, for both home security systems and business security systems has seen a remarkable evolution in security products and features, mainly relating to advances in technology that allow you to better monitor your security system from anywhere, and from virtually anything.
2018 looks to continue the trend of exciting, and accessible, security features that you can use to protect your property and loved ones better. Below we’ve compiled a few of the products and services we think will make a big impact on security systems this year.
Homeowners Will Get More Selective With Home Security Providers
Research and Markets, a leading market research firm, predicts that the market for home security products will reach $51.5 billion by 2022. As with any surge in market demand, new companies will be born to rise up and try to satisfy consumer demand. However, the home security space is unique in among the many providers of consumer goods.
When selecting a home security provider, you need to find a company that not only has a solid reputation for security services, but also a long, stable history of supplying home security monitoring and maintenance. You don’t want to enter into a multi-year contract with an unproven security provider who could be out of business before your contract ends or comes up for renewal. Consumers should look for home security providers that have a proven track record of stellar customer service and enough market saturation to sustain future growth.
Video Monitoring Will Become a Standard in Home Security and Less of a Luxury
Video monitoring is nothing new. Home security systems are often packaged with high-definition video capture and streaming products to provide greater protection than simple sensor-based systems of the past. Consumers now have the option to install video cameras internally, to monitor particular rooms or spaces within the home, as well as externally, to monitor access points and hidden areas around the home that could be entry points or access targets for potential thieves.
For years we’ve provided a number of cameras and camera systems, like our high-end, day/night cameras and DVRs and SkyBell doorbell, as options for new and current customers who want to see what’s going in or around their home at any time.
In 2018, we expect to install and monitor far more cameras and video security products to deter crime and keep home security and commercial security systems performing at all optimal safeguarding measures.
Video Alarm Verification Continues to Increase Emergency Response Times Over Simple Alarm Triggers
Late in 2016, we wrote about the benefits of video verification in alarm systems and how video capture benefits homeowners, business owners and law enforcement in different ways. One of the most eye-opening stats, however, was:
“With video verification, when a surveillance camera notices activity, the monitoring alarm center receives notice right away. A trained alarm center operator reviews the video footage, verifies what is transpiring, and reports it to the police right away. If the trained operator is watching a burglary in progress via video, it will be issued a higher priority. A burglary in progress is treated as a “priority 1,” by law enforcement. An alarm triggered without video verification is usually considered a “priority 3,” a much less important priority. The change in priority level from 3 to 1 means a much faster police response time. In the case of a tripped alarm, seeing is believing.”
In 2018, we think the proliferation of video cameras in security systems will only continue to increase the divide in response times for crimes-in-progress verified through video, and response times to possible crime-in-progress from traditional alarm sensor triggering.
Interested in learning how a new or updated alarm system can work for your home or business? Learn more about our services or contact us today to see how we can help.
Video Verification Provides Enhanced Safety and Quicker Emergency Response Time
Watching your home’s security video feed through an app on your phone or computer has become the new standard. Known in the industry as self-surveillance, the rise in this kind of home monitoring is due to the decreasing costs of surveillance cameras and the increased capabilities of smartphone technology. These advances have also led to the latest trend in home security, video verification (VV). According to the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), “Video verification is the use of captured video or real-time video in which the video information or recording is aligned with the action that initiated an alarm event to assist in determining the protocol to be followed for the alarm event.” In the past, video verification technology was too expensive for most homeowners and too difficult to install. But, that is no longer the case. Today video verification is quickly becoming a mainstream alarm system feature.
Video Verification benefits homeowners
With video verification, when a surveillance camera notices activity, the monitoring alarm center receives notice right away. A trained alarm center operator reviews the video footage, verifies what is transpiring, and reports it to the police right away. If the trained operator is watching a burglary in progress via video, it will be issued a higher priority. A burglary in progress is treated as a “priority 1,” by law enforcement. An alarm triggered without video verification is usually considered a “priority 3,” a much less important priority. The change in priority level from 3 to 1 means a much faster police response time. In the case of a tripped alarm, seeing is believing.
Video Verification benefits law enforcement
Video verification technology is proving to be a win-win for both homeowners and law enforcement. For homeowners, video verification provides a quicker response time by police. As law enforcement continues to be faced with increasing job demands and smaller budgets, video verification helps minimize wasted time and money with false alarms. For officers, knowing more about the situation before they enter a home can also increase an officer’s situational awareness and safety. It also helps law enforcement better enhance the safety of neighborhoods since robbers are deterred by video.
Chief Steve Dye of Grand Prairie, TX, shared,“From our perspective, we see no difference between an eyewitness calling to report a crime and a central station operator calling to report a crime they have seen on video. In fact, the fact that a video exists of the actual event could mean the central station call could even be considered stronger.” And, he means what he says. Currently, the response time for a video verified alarm in Grand Prairie, TX is less than two minutes.
Video Verification offered by Fortress
Fortress Security offers the affordable I-View Now technology video verification. This cloud-based central station video interface works with most current alarm systems. The service is web-based and does not require software or a dedicated application.
Ready to upgrade to system with video verification? Contact Fortress today to learn more.
It’s finally time to get a new security system. The installation process will begin soon, and you’re probably wondering what that means for you. Whether you’re upgrading from an older provider or starting from scratch, there is quite a bit of work that goes into fitting your home or business with a new security system.
Most would agree that technical work is best done by an expert rather than a novice. But when it comes to home and business security, the misconception is that skilled, professional system installation will add expensive fees and hourly labor charges onto the bill.
That’s far from the truth, especially when the alarm installation comes included with your equipment purchase. Here’s why a security system that offers free professional installation is the way to go. Read More »
Thanks to technology, it seems every corner of the communications realm has been universally altered. This includes security monitoring, which has evolved since the early days of home security equipment.
During this evolution process, we’ve learned that two technologies are better than one. But how exactly has home security been impacted by the changing times?
Here’s how Security Monitoring works— from the olden days to our modern approach. Read More »
Why a dedicated home security company is a better choice over bundled security packages:
In the past few years, the major cable and telecommunications have jumped with both feet into the home security and business security industry. Comcast began the trend with their Xfinity service, then Time Warner and AT&T followed with IntelligentHome and Digital Life. As you can tell from the names, these new services focus heavily on home automation and smart home programming – oh, yeah, and they’re also a security system. Read More »
