ADT Extends its Connected Security to Mobile, Automotive Applications

At a time when consumers have grown accustomed to using their mobile phones to order services and to receive updates on any information they want to monitor, the security industry is looking to meet their expectations.

For example, ADT has been working to extend its subscription-based security services beyond the home and into automotive and mobile phone-based safety initiatives.

During its investor day event held Tuesday (March 1), ADT executives outlined several ways in which the company has reshaped and strengthened its portfolio. Among the newer initiatives are automotive and mobile.

“As we craft our longer-term vision, we’re looking beyond the home, and it’s important for us to talk about the extension into providing safety and security for people — wherever they are,” Leah Page, vice president, emerging business and mobile at ADT, said during the event.

Providing Personal Safety Through Mobile Phones

To provide personal safety for people on the go, ADT offers its SoSecure mobile app. This allows customers to call ADT for help in many ways — by sliding a button, SMS chat, video or hands-free with a secret code word.

Once activated, SoSecure discretely connects users with trained ADT monitoring security professionals who can assess the situation and notify 911 with the user’s location and profile details to help first responders find them faster.

“We envision situations like running at night, being alone in a parking lot, walking across campus or being the last worker left at your job, and how having an ADT agent stay connected with you or check in on you might make a difference,” Page said.

She noted that the service can help reduce false alarms to 911, ease a caller’s concerns that 911 won’t take them seriously and more efficiently relay data such as the caller’s location to 911.

Integrating With Partner Companies’ Apps

This service can also be integrated into partner companies’ apps. For example, the personal safety feature integrated into the Lyft app connects Lyft riders and drivers to an ADT monitoring professional.

Page said this mobile phone-based service accommodates the new ways people are living their lives, noting that just a few years ago it was much less common to use rideshares, grocery delivery and dating apps. Today, those services and the gig economy are much more accessible.

“But along with convenience, access to these new services has also created new social interactions and, in that, new security needs,” Page said. “As ADT looks to protect a broad range of consumers, participation in these new social interactions is a necessity.”

Monitoring Vehicles and the Cargo They Carry

To extend its services to vehicles, ADT announced in January a joint venture with Ford. By co-investing in Canopy, they will combine ADT’s professional security monitoring with Ford’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven camera technology to protect vehicles and the cargo they carry.

Read more: AI-Powered, Connected, Monitored Service Will Provide Vehicle Security

The solution will be aimed to serve both businesses and individual owners.

“We know that vehicles are the second largest asset class for Americans’ purchasing power, and protecting their vehicle and the assets in it present a real need for professional monitoring service,” Page said.

An aftermarket solution is slated to hit the market early next year, and it will work for new and existing vehicles from all auto brands. The Canopy solution will also be integrated into new Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

“We have identified the trend in automotive and we’re meeting the need of that industry as they transition from a one-time vehicle sale to recurring revenue streams with security at the forefront of these subscription-based models,” Page said. “And as we think about ways to gain share of wallet and bundles, automotive seems like a natural extension.”