Security System Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 5,800 security systems service providers in the US design, sell, install, service, and monitor security alarm systems. Companies may install stand-alone systems or offer monitoring services. Customers include residential, commercial, educational, governmental, and industrial accounts.
Customer Attrition
Failure to retain customers is costly, as companies typically incur acquisition expenses and depend on payments over the term of a contract to recoup costs.
Technology Integration
Advances in technology help drive popularity for integrated security systems that combine multiple features, such as video surveillance, intruder detection, alarm systems, and home control.
Industry size & Structure
The average security systems services provider operates out of a single location, employs 21-22 workers, and generates $4-5 million annually.
- The security systems services industry consists of about 5,800 firms that employ about 125,000 workers and generate about $28 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated at the top and fragmented at the bottom. The top four firms account for 34% of industry revenue. The top 50 firms account for 58% of industry revenue.
- Large companies include Apollo Global (ADT) and Monitronics (Brinks Home Security). Large companies may be vertically-integrated and have international operations.
- Estimated US household penetration of alarm systems is 50%.
- The industry includes national and regional chains, franchises, and independent operators.
Industry Forecast
Security System Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 12, 2024 - Survey Highlights Homeowners’ Most Desired Security Features
- The recent What Home Buyers Really Want Study by the National Association of Home Builders highlights some security and energy efficiency home technologies that are most attractive to prospective home buyers. Study participants were given a list of 19 technology features and were asked to rate each as essential, desirable, indifferent, or do not want. Some of the top security features most desired by prospective homeowners included security cameras (76% of buyers ranking desirable or essential), video doorbells (74%), wireless home security systems (70%), lighting control systems (63%), and wired home security system (61%).
- The troubled office space market may be turning a corner as major companies require workers to spend more time in the office, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazon, Dell, and 3M have recently issued requirements for more office time for some of their teams. In the third quarter of 2024, a third of all firms required workers to be in the office five days per week, according to workplace strategy tracking firm Flex Index. The push for more in-office time comes amid a cooling of the US white-collar jobs market, which has shifted the balance of power back to companies. While industry observers doubt if workplace occupancies will ever return to pre-pandemic levels, some believe the market may have finally hit bottom. In the second and third quarters of 2024, the amount of occupied office space has remained stable after eight consecutive quarters of contractions, according to data firm CoStar. Office occupancy is a key demand driver for commercial security system services.
- A large majority of parents support mandates requiring K-12 schools to share security camera access with 911 communications centers during emergencies, according to a recent survey performed by market research firm Propeller Insights and commissioned by Eagle Eye Networks. The survey found that 96% of parents of K-12 students favor mandates requiring schools to share their security camera feeds with 911 centers. According to the survey, 56% of respondents support a mandate on the federal level, 29% prefer a state-level mandate, and 11% favor mandates by individual school districts. Proponents of camera-sharing technology suggest giving instant access to 911 centers during emergencies allows them to relay critical incident information to first responders, including the locations of suspects and bystanders, as well as the physical layout of the scene.
- The Monitoring Association (TMA) recently released its new AVS-01 Alarm Validation Scoring Standard online training course. TMA developed the AVS-01 to standardize methods for estimating the potential threat level of a burglar alarm activation using real-time and historical data. The new TMS training modules offer an introduction to the AVS-01 standard and demonstrate the system’s alarm level classifications and call-handling process. More monitoring centers are expected to adopt AVS-01 into their standard operating procedures.
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