The home security industry is a well-stablished, mature market in some countries like the US, where it has had a long, stable trajectory for over 30 years. During this time, the market has kept growing steadily, at a single figure rate. Innovation has come over that time, mainly through improvements in motion detection technologies, and the introduction of wireless communications. But in the past few years the industry has been experiencing some profound changes, mainly due to the disruption caused by the Internet of Things.
Thanks to the latest technological advancements, the traditional security market is changing for the better, transitioning into the smart, connected security era, where it is not only improving its resources and solutions, but also converging with different industries such as energy management and home automation, thanks to the connectivity enabled by the IoT. This connectivity has also created a unique opportunity for two very different industries to merge, improving each other and creating a whole new business opportunity for dealers: home security and senior care.
It would seem that these two markets may seem like they have little in common, but that is far from being true. Traditionally, consumers who own professional home security solutions are people over 45 with a good, stable income and a home of their own, and the figures tend to increase with age. Looking, for example, at the US security market, one of the most developed in the world with over 25% penetration, while 18% of people aged 30 to 44 years old own a professional monitored system (and only 8% of those younger than 30), the rate increases to 24% among those over 60. That is one in every four people.
If we look at these numbers, we can clearly see a trend. And also a unique market opportunity for security service providers looking for a way to diversify and grow their business. As these consumers age, their daily needs will vary, and at some point they may find it interesting to add devices to their trusted home security solution that help them age safely in place. It’s just a matter of expanding their already existing system. This concept is not completely new; it has its precedents. Back in 2014 Nortek and Numera already joined forces to offer home security and mPERS services, and their good results prove this is a solid path for traditional security companies looking for a way to reinvent themselves.
It should be relatively easy for home security service providers to expand into connected care services, as they are in a great position to take the market lead thanks to their many advantages: they already have the know-how, they have installers, monitoring stations, customer services, and infrastructure. Even more important, they have vast experience in handling emergency situations, which is essential to offer this type of service.
There is a rapidly growing market opportunity for security service providers in connected care solutions, one that presents them with the possibility of offering their already existing customers with a holistic and integrated solution that combines personal safety and home security. These perfectly complement each other, thus meeting the growing demands of an aging population with the possibility to also look out for their health and safety without having to change their trusted provider.
Telecare can become the perfect point of entry for security service providers into the connected living market, integrating home security, automation and healthcare services within a single platform, which will help them take position at the forefront of the latest aging-in-place technology trends and become leaders in this emerging market.
