There were, according to the researchers, an estimated 32.3 million active monitored alarm systems in the US and Canada at the end of 2020, and about 16.8 million active monitored alarm systems in Europe (EU27 + 3) at the end of 2020.

Growth potential in Europe

This market data, says Berg Insight, thus indicates a significant growth potential for alarm systems in the European market, especially in the residential segment where the current penetration is only 5.6 percent. However, growth on The European market is anticipated to vary considerably from country to country in the next few years. The Nordic market is forecasted to grow the fastest, while other major markets in Europe will show less growth due to high market fragmentation and fewer specialist alarm service companies that actively market solutions. In both Europe and North America, interactive security services and smart home products are key growth drivers in the home security market.

Diverse range of players

Companies from a wide range of industries offer home and small business security systems on the European and North American markets. The traditional home security systems market is served by specialist home security companies such as ADT, Verisure, Brinks Home Security (Monitronics) and Sector Alarm; security service companies such as Prosegur, Securitas and G4S; telecommunications and cable television companies such as Comcast, Telus, Cox Communications and Bell Canada; as well as utilities, banks and insurance companies such as EPS (Crédit Mutuel), Crédit Agricole and Groupama. The DIY home security systems market is led by start-ups such as Frontpoint, Simplisafe, Ajax Systems, Ring (Amazon) and Wyze Labs. DIY security systems typically include self-monitoring as a standard feature and professional alarm monitoring services are offered as an option.

The leading players

ADT is the leading provider of professionally monitored alarm systems in North America with 6.5 million residential and business customers at the end of 2020. ADT is followed by Vivint, Comcast, Simplisafe and Brinks Home Security (Monitronics), all with between 900,000 and 1.7 million monitored alarm system customers at the end of 2020. In the US, only a few market players offer services nationwide. Instead there are several smaller home security providers with a strong local presence. In Europe, Verisure is the clear market leader with 3.8 million residential and small business customers. The company is active in 12 European countries and four countries in South America. Other leading players in Europe are Sector Alarm and EPS Télésurveillance, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel, both with more than 500,000 monitored alarm systems at the end of 2020.