I’m on a plane looking out the window at the Salt Lake City airport tarmac and everything looks like Qolsys. It’s been cold for weeks, and the snow that fell just before Christmas has yet to melt away. It gives the world a white-grey look, the same color I’ve been working with our design team to achieve for our new website. The lights guiding us across the path to our runway are a green and blue, a paler version of the exact shades we’ve selected for our company, and I smile as I see the golden hues we chose as accents twinkling in the morning lights of the city beyond. Yes, everything looks like Qolsys.
As we climb into the cold morning sky the air around us is starting to turn pink. The first rays of sun hit the blanket of clouds below us, and the mountain peaks emerge from them like icebergs, their snowy caps brilliant white. Today will be an important day. It’s not just my first day being presented at our new Director of Marketing, but more importantly, today is when we show Alarm.com how serious we are about what we do.
You see, Qolsys is a pioneer. When it comes to security panels, the industry is full of players. GE security and Honeywell are the giants, with hundreds of thousands of systems installed across the world. 90% of the equipment out there runs on their technology. 2GIG technologies, a forward thinking newcomer on the scene is making a play to compete with these colossal competitors, and with the help of Vivint’s sales team they just might have a shot. There are also dozens of smaller companies with their various pieces of hardware. Yes, there is a challenging fight ahead of us.
The biggest difference is innovation. GE and Honeywell were almost forced to create touchscreen panels by their dealers. If it was up to them they would continue to use the same plastic molds they’ve been manufacturing for years, continue using the same internal components they purchased in bulk, and never have to worry about profitability. The problem is in today’s customers. As savvy consumers we don’t want technology from the 1980s in our homes. We want the same things installed on our walls that we carry in our pockets. We want the capabilities we know are possible from endless computer commercials.
That is where Qolsys comes in. We’re taking yesterday’s “self contained” and turning it into today’s “all-in-one.” Built from the ground up, this amazing new panel, part of the Qolsys IQ solution, uses a mobile operating system and was 50% inspiration, 80% perspiration. Don’t bother with the math.
Do you remember when the iPhone first came out? I had a Samsung flip phone back then. I liked Samsung because the interface was similar from model to model, and when I picked up a new phone every year or so, not having to re-learn how to use it helped a lot. Then Steve Jobs announces he’s made a phone. “But you don’t make phones” people said. “What would you know about what it takes?” Whether such derogatory comments were aimed to derail the device or simply to question the validity of a non-industry native entering the space, it’s unclear, but regardless of the critique, millions of users confirmed Apple’s greatest hopes as the device rapidly sold off the shelves.
I was skeptical at first. I was never an “early adopter” but the videos I watched online had me intrigued. The more I watched, the more I wanted the phone. It seemed so easy to use, so intuitive. Why hadn’t Samsung developed this years ago? Why hadn’t Nokia or Qualcomm? My desperation to simplify my world led me to cancel my contract with T-Mobile and buy my fist iPhone. Immediately I noticed a difference. The user experience was excellent. One of the things that marveled me the most was the updates. I remember getting a software update that gave my phone’s standard camera the ability to record video. I was blown away. Previously I would have to get a whole new phone to obtain a new feature like that, but now, I’m adding features to the same device I already own. I showed everyone I knew and soon all my friends had iPhones too. Not long after, cell phone manufacturers began releasing new devices. Apple had driven them to innovate, to raise our standard of what we expect from them.
Fast forward to today. Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android own the mobile device market. The produce new hardware periodically, but their applications, their software, change all the time. Users can customize their experience with the wallpaper they see on their screen, the music they listen to, and the applications they use. Consumers know this technology is available, and expect it to trickle into everything they own, from their appliances to their cars, to their home security systems.
That’s where Qolsys comes in. By building on a mobile platform, we are able to create the worlds first fully updatable security and home control panel, something no one in this particular industry has yet to develop. A full line of peripherals give you access and control over your doors, lights, thermostats, and small appliances. Powerful engines behind the software connect it to all your devices simultaneously, so you can access every part of this experience from anywhere in the world.
As we dream up new uses for these devices in your home, new home automation software, new ways to track and save energy, and new ways to keep your family safe, we’ll push those out to your panel, over the air, without any technician entering your home or any need to call customer service. We’ll also find ways of bringing in your favorite 3rd party applications to make the IQ panel become so much more than a place to arm and disarm your system.
We want to improve the quality of life we all enjoy through technology and innovation. Let us show you what tomorrow looks like. Take a look at Qolsys today.