Dealers find an easy way into the DIY space

PORT CHESTER, N.Y.—USA Central Station Alarm Corp., working with Videofied's new neighborhood watch system, is offering its dealers a way to enter the DIY market with no investment.

“[Working with USA Central,] we created a way to package that so the average dealer can play in the self-install market,” Keith Jentoft, president of Videofied, told Security Systems News. “All they have to do as a dealer is promote their website � and accounts come in and they make money.”

As Jentoft explained it, dealers will get a branded website from USA Central that brings end users to the neighborhood watch system. Videofied then ships the product to the end user where it is self installed, with assistance from USA Central via an app. An app then allows the customer to self-monitor and then send a signal to the central station if needed, or it could be professionally monitored.

Outdoor cameras linked to a central hub makes it a neighborhood watch system, he said. End user administrators can add up to 24 users to look through the cameras and possibly alert the central station if needed, with system privileges assigned by the administrators.

While the system is not exclusive to USA Central, it is the first third party central station to adapt it into a business solution for its dealers.

Self-monitoring with an app to signal the monitoring center would cost $10 per month; the professional version would be $30 per month.

“DIY cameras are everywhere. � There's going to be that moment somewhere down the line where we're going to have to monitor for them,” Tom Camarda, national sales executive for USA Central Station, told SSN. “So, it's going to be service-on-demand, and we want to be that company.”

Camarda said USA Central is currently exploring customized time periods—such as one month, or a weekend—for professional monitoring alongside self-monitored systems, if a user goes on vacation, for example. This could be a good way to get end users into full professional monitoring, Camarda said, after they see benefits of professional monitoring in short terms.

“Customers are going to need a professionally monitored account. � They're not going to be at the phone at all times,” Camarda said.

This is USA Central Station's first step into the DIY space, according to Camarda. Will this offering bring dealers to USA Central? “Without a doubt,” said Camarda.

The National Sherriff's Association asked Videofied to create this system, Jentoft said, It will be released in the third quarter of this year. This adds credibility to the system, said Camarda.

Educating dealers on the benefits and workings of the DIY system will be needed, Camarda said. He is currently looking for the right dealers to test the system after its Q3 release, he said. After testing it, USA Central would assess how it could be offered to its entire dealer base. The partnership was announced at ESX 2015.