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Traditional monitored alarm companies have changed very little over the years. They haven’t had to evolve much because consumers and businesses have had little choice if they wanted more than a ‘bells only’ alarm system. Monitoring companies have been able to tie customers into quite expensive, long term contracts because there hasn’t really been a suitable alternative.

The alarm systems provide by traditional monitoring companies have tended to be old technology with wired systems connected to standard telephone lines and have not reflected the best of security technology that’s available on the market today. Only now are some of the more advanced alarm companies starting to provide wireless alarm systems that are quicker and easier to install so customers no longer need to have holes drilled through walls and wires run around their property which is ugly, time-consuming and expensive. Some companies are now even connecting these new wireless alarms to broadband lines, using IP and internet connections to the Alarm Response Center to monitor the alarm. Efficient and affordable wireless, IP and GSM alarm systems are now readily available on the market, so the days of the old-fashioned wired system are numbered.

So consider the purpose of monitoring companies and whether they are still required with the new connected security alarms available today. Their first function is to tell customers when an alarm has been triggered. However, if you have one of the new generation of self-monitored alarm systems that connect to mobile networks or the internet, then you’ll be notified automatically by a text message or email when your alarm is triggered. So consumers are now asking themselves whether they still need to pay a monitoring company when they will already have been personally notified by their new connected security alarms.

There’s also a question over the effectiveness of manned response security. Typically, if a burglar breaks in to your home or business, they’ll only be inside for several minutes. By the time the alarm has been triggered and the monitoring company has checked with the owner to see if it’s a false alarm and then finally sent out a manned response, the burglar will be long gone. And if there was no burglar and it was all a false alarm, which it is in the majority of cases, you’ll likely receive a very expensive bill for the callout! As an alternative, mobile and internet connected security alarms can be programmed to call, text or email multiple people such as friends, relatives or neighbours who may be close by your property and can see if there’s a problem long before any security guards arrive.

There was a time when consumers and businesses felt more secure having a monitored security alarm by just knowing that someone was watching out for an alert from their alarm system. But today, a lot of the expensive services provided by monitoring companies can be done by individuals, for very little cost now that connected security products are available.

So before anybody automatically signs-up to a long term contract with an alarm monitoring company or renews their contract, they should consider what useful services they will receive, how much that contract is going to cost them over the next 3-5 years and whether that makes sense in this new age of mobile and internet connected alarm devices. Some people may decide that traditional alarm monitoring is still what they need and will continue to pay for the service. However it’s important to have a choice and be able to make an informed decision. There are now alternative security options with self-monitored and remotely managed alarm systems which may be just what is required and will cost a whole lot less.

Copyright © 2010 Andrew Carver

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