Providers of self-installed, -monitored security kits to conquer market soon

According to a Citibank, self-installed and -monitored Silicon Valley-backed security systems are going to become mainstream in home security over the next few years, at least in the US.

The report says that the current market is led by security monitoring firms like ADT and telecoms like Comcast and AT&T. These make up about 93 percent of the home security market. Prevailing systems are installed and professionally monitored by the firms. Next are companies like Frontpoint (and ADT now as well) that allow the customer to install the hardware and pay a monthly fee for professional monitoring. These comprise about 4.7 percent. Finally, 2.3 percent is made up of self-installed and -monitored solutions such as Nest, Dropcam and HomeKit-enabled devices.

Analysts expect the last category to grow faster than any other segment and control a substantial part of the market in the next few years. Self-installed and -monitored solutions are predicted to represent 34 percent of the market by 2020, with professional systems holding 61.6 percent. This is driven by the fact that younger consumers under the age of 45 are more likely to be comfortable with kits bought from a tech firm. They want home automation and security that is under their control with the assistance of tools like Apple’s HomeKit or Google’s Brillo.

All in all, this is good for smart home equipment manufacturers if their products support HomeKit, Brillo or other established protocols. New and existing sales channels could expand their reach into more homes, especially those of Gen-Xers or Millennials. This is even if large integrators and monitoring firms, not to mention telcos, are not going away any time soon. It is worth noting that the report rated ADT as a “buy” in an upgrade. That said, the DIY security movement may be an opportunity to get into a very fast-growing market in its early stages.