Update: Guardsman goes wireless with iProtect
Published:Sunday | December 20, 2020 | 12:16 AMKarena Bennett - Business Reporter
Security company Guardsman Group has formed a new company called iProtect through which it will distribute wireless security and home or office monitoring systems targeted at residential clients and business operators on a tight budget.
Guardsman now has 26 companies listed as subsidiaries under the group, some of which deal in home and business surveillance systems. But the move into the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting and air conditioning units, will be a first for the company, which spent US$1 million to build out the iProtect operation.
Guardsman is upbeat about the prospects of the business – which it says its research shows opens access to a $2-billion market – and has already entered into discussions with a local developer of residential units and an insurance company to increase its chances of connecting with its targeted market, managing director of iProtect and director of Guardsman Group Renee Menzies-McCallum told the Financial Gleaner.
The security company expects iProtect to grow its top line income by 15 per cent in three years, through retail distribution as well as wholesale contracts from residential developers and insurance businesses.
“A lot of people in Jamaica want security but they can’t pay for it. Guardsman competes with KingAlarm and Hawkeye, but this is a different level of technology and we didn’t want to lump it in as just another security product,” Menzies-McCallum said.
On average, response security services in Jamaica cost around $5,000 to $7,000 oer month, in addition to a $150,000 installation fee. The iProtect system does not include an installation fee, only month charges, the company said.
The iProtect products are packaged in three categories and priced between $7,500 and $14,000 per month under three-year lease agreements. As part of its market entry, iProtect is running a 20 per cent discount on its packages throughout December.
The self-install technology system is kitted cameras, smart lights and smart plug for energy monitoring which can be controlled from the user’s phones. A basic package would see an individual’s home or office outfitted with a control panel, front and back door sensors, a window and a motion sensor; while iProtect’s small office system includes two motion sensors, five doors and window sensors and a camera.
An upgrade to that would be iProtect’s enhanced package which is kitted with home automated devices to control doors and electronics from a phone. All packages can be integrated with voice commands.
“Whereas in most alarms in Jamaica are connected to a monitoring station, this allows someone in an apartment or townhouse that doesn’t feel they need a response team to look at their phones and see what’s going. The best part is that you can just remove the system when you’re done, whereas with the wired technology you’d have to leave it behind,” Menzies-McCallum said.
Wireless home and business surveillance systems have been entering Jamaica’s market through a mix of individual imports, surveillance businesses and in other cases are sold under electronic items. However, Guardsman’s launch of iProtect will allow customers to bundle self-monitoring surveillance and energy monitoring systems with its current response service.
Guardsman Group will utilise personnel from Guardsman Alarms to conduct response monitoring services, but for now, the services are only being offered in Kingston at an additional cost starting at around $5,000 per month.
iProtect’s team comprises some 32 people, 12 of which are directly assigned to response services. The new member of the Guardsman family will share services, such as human resources and vehicle fleet, with Guardsman Group.
Come next year, iProtect will however begin the build-out of office space in New Kingston from which it will distribute its products. In the meantime, it has struck a deal with Flow Jamaica to distribute the devices through the telecom’s network of stores across Jamaica. The partnership with Flow will continue even after iProtect sets up its own distribution outlet, the company said.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the $150,000 fee referred to as monthly charges for security systems is in fact the cost of installing such systems.