HARDWARE & SECURITY
Profit Opportunities for
Smart Fabricators and Fitters
» » SMARTWARE HAS BEEN AROUND
for a while with ‘Mr/Ms Techie’ having
installed their Alexa some time ago. But
the idea of a truly connected home has
been very much in its infancy. However,
the connected home is here to stay; it is
estimated that the smartware market will
be worth £300 billion worldwide by 2020.
With homeowner expectations changing
in terms of protecting their properties,
now is the ideal time for manufacturers
and installers to make the most of the
business opportunities that the security
landscape affords them. ERA encourages
fabricators and fitters to embrace the
shift towards the connected home and
to use the offering of smart products as a
means of differentiating themselves from
their competitors.
Over the past few years, technology
has changed the way people live, with
the idea of smart heating, lighting, and
entertainment systems now an everyday
reality for many. Home security is now
also undergoing a tech transformation.
Homeowners are combining smart
products with more traditional home
security solutions to give them a ‘belt
and braces’ approach to protecting their
44
home and belongings for extra peace of
mind.
Fabricators and installers would be well
advised to encourage customers to invest in
smart security, including alarms, cameras,
video doorbells and smart locks since this
process of up-selling affords enhanced
profit opportunities whilst at the same time
giving customers real peace of mind.
At the recent FIT Show, fabricators and
installers were given demonstrations of
ERA’s smartware, which included a host
of market-leading options. Feedback
from visitors to the company’s exhibition
stand was extremely positive with many
saying that the systems were helping to
‘demystify’ this area of their work. Visitors
said that they would be more confident
than ever in offering customers smartware
and that ERA was helping to make
installation easier and therefore easier to
sell as a proposition.
ERA’s smartware includes the
HomeGuard Pro alarm, a high
specification cloud-based alert and
monitoring alarm system, the first of
its kind to combine security with smart
living. Operated by a smart phone app,
HomeGuard Pro offers real time alerts,
the ability to protect multiple locations,
such as a house, office or holiday home,
all accessible literally anytime, anywhere.
The system allows the homeowner to
allocate or revoke access to their home,
thereby giving them the power to decide
who comes in or out. The homeowner’s
network of contacts is alerted
simultaneously in the event of an
intrusion.
One of the benefits for
homeowners of HomeGuard
Pro that fabricators and
installers can communicate
to their customers is that
being cloud-based, the system
is a good money-saving
option. This is because as
new integrations are released
or new features become
available, the hub can simply
be upgraded via the cloud
with no need for replacement or physical
adaptions. With the sector developing
rapidly this means this affordable product
can move with the times.
Likewise, ERA’s new WiFi video
doorbell, DoorCam allows homeowners
to view all callers and talk to them in real
time, whether they’re home or not. With
ease of operation in mind, once DoorCam
is wired in, the householder can simply
plug in the WiFi chime which comes as
standard, connecting up to four more
chimes in the home, all as part of the
package. This means a chime will sound
in the house, with adjustable sound,
volume and light function, eliminating
the need to carry a Smartphone around.
DoorCam allows homeowners to collect
video clips via its history log, thanks to
adjustable motion detection.
ERA’s TouchKey, a keyless smart lock
bringing to life a fully integrated suite
of connected Smart Security Products.
Working in combination with ERA’s
SureFire lock, the TouchKey also offers a
solution for multi-point locks on PVCu
and Composite doors. Developed to be
secure and simple to use and easy to fit,
SUREFIRE delivers effortless multi-point
locking: simply close the door to engage
the trigger and turn a key to deadlock.
ERA’s smartware range, with more
innovative products to follow, provides
the cutting-edge security technology that
the customers of fabricators and installers
now demand.
With smartware, the important
components are hidden, so it is difficult,
if not impossible to look at a piece of
smartware and ascertain its quality and
reliability. When choosing a supplier,
fabricators and installers need to look
at their supplier’s reputation, and ask
themselves some key questions: do
they provide quality products? Can they
offer me help and advice if required?
Is there a good after car service for the
homeowner?
For those who have until now only
offered traditional products and for
whom working with smart solutions feels
JUL/AUG 2019
locksmithjournal.co.uk
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