Tampa-based Vigilant Personal Protection Systems entered the video surveillance market in the U.S. with 20 video recording devices for both commercial and residential use.
Owned by Robin Hood Digital, Vigilant has partnered with US Install to provide customers a flat-rate consumer and commercial installation of VigilantPPS surveillance equipment nationwide. The US Install network of licensed, bonded, certified and insured professional installers allows Vigilant to pair its low-cost surveillance systems with a flat-rate, consumer-centric installation offering, the company reported.
“The industry is changing from dedicated wireless to true Wi-Fi using existing routers in homes for that conversion,” said David Happe, chief technology officer of Vigilant. “We’re going to take a large share of that growing market share.” Happe expects Vigilant to capture a 10 percent share of video surveillance business in the U.S. by 2020 — making it a $530 million company, he said.
Happe said Vigilant is able to offer what others cannot because of its low operating expenses. “Vigilant has partnered with the largest manufacturers of digital recording products in Asia. We represent the manufacturers when they bring products into the U.S. under the Vigilant logo. They’ve done all the R&D; we’re simply bringing products to market that they’ve already developed.”
Happe said Vigilant’s strategy is to automate and outsource, resulting in the lowest overhead, operating costs and expense structures of any brand marketed in U.S. The result, Happe said, is Vigilant is somewhat technology-agnostic from the standpoint that it doesn’t have to add the R&D expenses into the products. “We have almost zero overhead in the products from our standpoint. Overnight we were able to bring to market in the U.S. a much better value proposition because we don’t have the extremely high marketing costs — better quality, better features that meet or exceed competitors’ at lower retail costs. We have created the perfect storm.”
US Install is a national installation network specific to the surveillance, security and biometric access control products. The network consists of several hundred installers covering more than 90 percent of the U.S. “We pay the lion’s share of installation for installers,” Happe said. “They own the equipment; we just give them work.”
“Fifty states have 50 different requirements for installation techs,” Happe said. “One hundred percent of [US Install] installers are licensed and insured in their states.” Happe said this will result in transparent, flat-rate installation. “Consumers know what they’re going to pay before they buy.”
Through this partnership, Happe said a consumer can have an eight-camera security system installed anywhere in the U.S. for $2,000. Happe called it a homogenized, predictable, transparent transaction: “like ordering a Happy Meal anywhere in the U.S.”
