ADT announced a significant addition to its business model today: The well-known security company will soon offer its professional monitoring service as an option on third-party hardware for the first time.
Dubbed ADT Canopy, the new service will link ADT dispatchers to a wide range of third-party hardware. The dispatchers will contact first responders to handle fire, police, or medical emergencies, depending on the device being monitored. In less-severe emergencies—detection of a water leak, for instance—the dispatcher will call the subscriber directly.
ADT will launch Canopy with a number of connected-home devices, including Samsung Smart Things, Ring video doorbell, and Roost Smart Battery. As you can read in our review, this last product powers smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors and listens for the alarm to sound off. As the product works now, it sends a message to your smartphone to let you know the alarm is sounding. With ADT’s Canopy service, an ADT employee will also be notified. That employee will then call you to verify that it’s not a false alarm, and then contact your local fire department to respond to the emergency.
Since ADT offers connected-home products and services of its own, it is in a sense competing against itself.On the other hand, ADT Canopy has features—including no long-term contracts—that might attract customers who would never consider signing up for ADT’s more comprehensive services.
“We have leveraged the company’s significant expertise and heritage as a security company, paired with the latest smart tech solutions, to create a new category that will redefine how we protect our customers,” said ADT CEO Naren Gursahaney.
The impact on you at home: ADT Canopy has the potential to add value to a broad range of connected products. While it remains to be seen how much this service will cost, many will find the notion of having a professional monitoring your home or personal security an attractive value proposition--especially since there will be no long-term contracts.