I'm looking for facts on the Home Security Market, including trends, best 
technologies, and most influential manufacturers.

Hi,


Home security systems are usually reviewed together with other home automation 
(HA) systems, and it's hard to separate home security industry trends and 
issues from the broader set of trends that are driving the development of the 
HA industry.

A great list of HA trends is provided on the Hometoys.com 
(http://www.hometoys.com) site, in a three-part article, covering technology 
trends, such as mobility, broadband networks, embedded sensors and speech 
recognition; market and consumer trends, such as mass customization and 
improved delivery logistics; and social trends, such as service bundling, 
telecommuting and environmental awareness:

http://www.hometoys.com/mentors/caswell/sep00/trends01.htm
http://www.hometoys.com/mentors/caswell/dec00/trends02.htm
http://www.hometoys.com/mentors/caswell/jan01/trends03.htm

		
More information on market trends can be gleaned from the Parks Associates 
(http://www.parksassociates.com ) Reports, such as their 2001 Home Security 
Forecast:

http://www.connectionsconference.com/reports&services/reports/tocs/security_fore
cast_2001.htm
"The 2001 Home Security Forecast provides forecast data for dealer-installed, 
custom, mass-market, and Do-It-Yourself security system installations and 
monitoring across all categories of existing and new-start homes. This report 
also provides detailed data on residential security industry revenues and 
includes 70 different figures, charts, and graphs, as well as the detailed 
forecast model.
Pages: 89; Figures: 70"

http://www.parksassociates.com/inthePress/press_releases/home_security2001.html
"A steadily growing number of U.S. households will add dealer-installed 
security systems over a ten-year period, according to a newly released report 
from Parks Associates. Penetration of these systems will grow from 18% of all 
U.S. households in 2001 to more than 30% in 2009.

According to the 2001 Home Security Forecast, Parks Associates' latest analysis 
of the residential security market, new single-family starts will constitute 
the fastest-growing market for dealer-installed security systems. Multiple-
dwelling housing units will also grow at a 10% rate annually."

Also, have a look at the Research section of the Security Industry 
Association's site:
http://www.siaonline.org/page.asp?c=mem_research&l=2 

They sell several reports, including The 2001 Security Industry Market 
Overview; see contents at:
http://www.siaonline.org/page.asp?c=mkt_overview 

They also have some interesting articles on their site, e.g., 
"Security Systems are the Backbone of Home Automation"
http://www.siaonline.org/page.asp?c=wp_ha_security

Home security technologies are reviewed in these articles:

Home Automation Zone's article on Security Basics
http://www.homeautomationzone.com/securitybasics.shtml

US Department of Energy's article on home automation systems
http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/ad7.html 

As for the most influential manufacturers, one useful list comprises the 
winners of the Consumer Electronics Association's 2002 Mark of Excellence 
Awards, and is posted on the CE site (http://www.ce.org ), at:
http://www.ce.org/press_room/press_release_detail.asp?id=9908

Another list of awards is at the SIA site, and covers
Security Industry Association's New Product Showcase Awards:
http://www.siaonline.org/page.asp?c=nps_archives

There are also some HA system reviews posted on these sites:

Home Automation Forum's Reviews
http://www.homeautomationforum.com/reviews/reviews.html
Hometoys.com's Reviews
http://www.hometoys.com/reviews.htm

More useful information can be found in these Google Directory categories:

http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Home_Automation/ 
http://directory.google.com/Top/Shopping/Consumer_Electronics/Home_Automation/ 

To find consumer reviews of home automation and home security systems, search 
these newsgroups:
comp.home.automation
alt.home.automation
alt.security.alarms

Recommended Google searches:

"home automation" 
"home security"
"residential automation"
"residential security"
home OR residential automation OR networking OR security OR controls
best companies group:comp.home.automation
security group:comp.home.automation

Use Google's federal government search at ://www.google.com/unclesam, as 
well as regular Google search.

You may want to purchase the JP Freeman Market Report on "The U.S. Residential 
Security Market Report" (1998). The summary is as follows and a Table of 
Contents is available for view online for free.

"The market that attracts telecommunications, power utility, and cable TV 
companies... 

The home security market continues to attract the largest security 
manufacturers, system providers, central stations, and large utility 
organizations. The why of this sea change in this growing market is fully 
delineated from the latest first-hand research with a nationwide panel of 
security dealers and manufacturers in the residential field. As comprehensive 
as its 1993 predecessor which received the "Industry's Finest" award, this 
report analyzes the strategies and financials of mass marketers, 
diversification plans among independent dealers, changes in market shares, the 
entry of telcos and power utilities, and the financial impacts rippling through 
the industry. 
(332 pages, 78 graphics, 40 competitive profiles, $3,000 for printed copy)"
http://www.jpfreeman.com/mktreport.htm#report1
and
http://www.siaonline.org/page.asp?c=mr_rs98

This article should provide you the answer:

Security Distributing & Marketing, Dec 2001 v31 i14 p12(1) 
Home security penetration to jump by 2009. (Study by Parks Associates) by Bill 
Zalud. 

"A just-released study by Parks Associates, the 2001 Home Security Forecast, 
sees strong growth in dealer-installed security systems to 31 percent 
penetration of U.S. households in 2009 from 18 percent this year. 
A complementary Parks' study, Bundled Services & Residential Gateways, suggests 
that home acceptance of the Internet and broadband communications will 
encourage the security industry to offer more remote monitoring by customers of 
their security systems. Such an evolution could prove a significant milestone 
in the bundling of diverse home services through the emerging residential 
gateway.
"Not surprisingly, according to the Parks' 2001 Home Security Forecast, most of 
the growth in dealer-installed security systems will come from single-family 
homes as compared to multi-family homes. For example, from 23 percent of single-
family homes with dealer-installed security systems this year, the study 
predicts 40 percent in 2009. On the multi-family home side, five percent this 
year will grow to 8 percent in 2009... "