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Alarm Guard celebrates 20th anniversary

The alarm monitoring and electronic security industry has seen a lot of change in the last two decades and Mike Chaudhary has been there every step of the way.

Chaudhary recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of his Toronto-based business Alarm Guard Security Services.

Chaudhary, who emigrated to Canada from India in 1998, gained a few years of experience in counter sales for distributor ADI, then as a recruiter for ADT, before setting up Alarm Guard as an ADT dealer with a handful of employees in 2003.

The main focus of the business was to grow a residential alarm customer base. That “was our bread and butter when I started Alarm Guard,” says Chaudhary. The company began with sales in the Greater Toronto Area, then expanded across Ontario and out west to Alberta.

Chaudhary says Alarm Guard leveraged Google ad words to drive sales and generate leads. They also tried telemarketing sales for a period.

“We did different things… we updated ourselves with new tools, and those tools helped us to grow,” he says.

Alarm Guard was granted an ADT Master Dealer licence in 2015, enabling the company to grow even faster by recruiting other ADT dealers.

In 2018, Alarm Guard expanded into the U.S., setting up an office in Atlanta, Ga. Since then, the company has added locations in Ohio, Texas, Florida and Alabama.

Alarm Guard also grew beyond its home alarm roots into other services like PERS, as well as monitoring, CCTV and access control for the small and medium-business market. “Once we had a better understanding of the residential market, and better cash flow in the company… we used that cash to grow the commercial market,” says Chaudhary.

Telus transition

Aside from business expansion and technology evolution, perhaps the biggest change for Chaudhary was the acquisition of ADT’s Canadian business by Telus in 2019.

That acquisition was a seismic shift in the Canadian security landscape and one that ultimately benefited Alarm Guard, says Chaudhary, who estimates his total business has doubled in the last three years as result of his affiliation with Telus.

“We’re now of the other side of that transition and we are happy to be partnered with Telus,” he says. “We’re excited for what the future holds with them.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was also a period of change for Chaudhary and Alarm Guard, as it was for many security businesses that relied on close contact with customers. When home alarm installs were crippled by lockdown restrictions, Chaudhary pivoted by couriering out alarm kits that could be installed by the end user.

“We used to tell the customer, ‘We have a solution for you. I can pre-program everything for you and ship it to you via courier next-day.’ That really helped us during the COVID times.”

The DIY business slowed down as the pandemic has abated, says Chaudhary, but it is still a very successful model for selling alarm systems into cottage country and more remote areas.

Future for Alarm Guard

Alarm Guard officially celebrated its 20th anniversary with a barbeque on March 3, which coincided with Employee Appreciation Day. The company has grown from a staff of four in 2003 to more than 50 today, not including its many partnerships. “We’re celebrating our 20th anniversary because of our customer base and because of our employees. Without them, we wouldn’t exist,” says Chaudhary.

Chaudhary is excited for the future of the industry, noting that the days of landline-based alarm systems has given way to 5G, interactive services and lifestyle products that extend way beyond security systems. With smarter technology, like artificial intelligence, making its way into homes and businesses, the potential is only increasing.

“The technology is changing,” says Chaudhary. “Definitely, there will be new things to come. Who knows what will be possible with AI?”