Home automation boils down to proactive remote control and notification. “That’s not revolutionary in and of itself,” says Gordon Hope, general manager of Honeywell’s AlarmNet. Dealers have had the ability to remotely control alarm systems for several years — the problem was technology hadn’t advanced to the point where it was feasible to do so from a mobile device. In fact, it wasn’t long ago the most you could get was a text to a pager.

Now we’re seeing the evolution of a younger generation of buyers combined with increased horsepower of mobile devices. Hope says there isn’t a chance his kids are ever going to have a wired phone service and they’ll have at least one cell phone, if not two. “There are some radical changes going on in that space,” he says. “That consumer wants control from their portable device.”

Kids are used to colour, motion, sound and time-slicing — they’re watching three TV stations at the same time while texting their friends. “That’s the buyer I’ve got to appeal to in five or 10 years,” says Hope. “We’re anticipating where the growth trends are moving and making sure our services adapt to the needs of those buyers.”

Today’s dealer is confronted with holding onto his basic core business because of changes in the telephone infrastructure and wireless technology in North America. When customers start swapping their phone lines for voice-over-IP or cell-only service, the dealer loses his ability to get alarm signals out of that account.

“You need to get in a position to future-proof your accounts and in order to do that you’re either going to need a radio solution or combination of radio and Internet,” says Hope. But because it costs more for the setup, dealers can entice customers with a high-bandwidth connection that allows them to control the system over their iPhone, BlackBerry or other mobile device.

“It’s becoming an additional way for the dealer to make money in a tough economy and in light of the fact the entire communications infrastructure in the world is changing,” says Hope. “It’s not rocket science, but it is strategic, and it does create value in the eyes of the consumer.” And if the system is used more, it tends to stay on contract longer.

Honeywell has a home automation app for the iPhone, for example, and it’s launching a video system where the keypad functions as a digital picture frame. In a residential setting, the customer can upload personal photos, while in a commercial setting it could be used to post advertising, a floor plan or even a fire escape route.

Honeywell’s Total Connect and My Keypad are competitive with other products on the market such as Alarm.com, where a customer can remotely control their security settings via the Internet or PDA. “There’s an app for that,” says Patrick Soo, director of Canadian operations with Monitronics. “Products like this provide a lot more value to the end-user — they now have full access and flexibility in terms of arming and disarming.” They know when the system is being disarmed by their kids, for example, or they can add remote video and see what’s happening with the nanny while they’re at work.

This also addresses another issue: VoIP is detrimental to standard telephone line transmission. “VoIP is an obvious concern for our business,” says Soo. “A product like Alarm.com or Total Connect overcomes that VoIP challenge.” He’s been in the business 18 years, and nothing has really changed — until now. It’s about time manufacturers stepped up to the technology curve, he says. Not only does it make these systems more user-friendly, it reduces false alarms and increases retention.