ISSUE FOCUS
Jan/Feb 2020 | Residential Tech Today 39
Autofill only work with their devices and can
become frustrating to use when trying to recall
complex strings of letters and numbers.
Report Card
Tech companies seem more oriented around
delivering meaningful results to their customers
on a regular basis. Weekly or monthly scorecards
from companies like Eero or Disney are the
beginning of “peace of mind” reporting trends
that are squarely aimed at keeping subscribers
engaged and driving down attrition.
Ad Blocking
Nobody likes online ads and while they’re not
always a direct threat, there have been examples
of ads being used to plant malware on
unsuspecting computers.
Threat Detection
By pointing all home internet traffic to
alternative DNS servers from companies like
Zscaler, threats from suspicious sites are
intercepted before they get through the firewall.
This level of threat detection seems to build the
strongest case that we’ll all soon be paying by
the month for cybersecurity as a service.
Identity Protection
Cybersecurity crimes can often result in
identity theft. Offering services like credit
monitoring or locking credit files as part of a
larger cybersecurity subscription such as Eero’s
Secure+ appears to be an emerging trend as tech
companies seek a more proactive approach
towards protecting consumers.
Current Industry Offerings and Their 24- to 36-Month Product Roadmaps:
WhyReboot Access Networks Araknis Pakedge Luxul Eero Ubiquiti
Identity Protection ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕
Endpoint Protection Future Release ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ Bundled ✕
Content Filtering ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕
Password Manager ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ Bundled ✕
Report Card ✓ ✕ OvrC Home App ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕
Ad Blocking ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕
Hybrid Cloud/On-site Future Release TBA TBA TBA ✕ ✓ ✓
Threat Detection
On-site Threat ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓
Detection
VPN ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Bundled ✓
Subscription Custom Pricing Custom Pricing TBA TBA ✕ $99 Yearly $25-$200 Yearly
There doesn’t seem to be a clear winner
across the custom installation channel, but
I’m optimistic that the coming months will
yield multiple strong players, creating
competition and driving consumer demand.
I’ll be watching the industry closely as more
solutions come online and become ready for
testing. For now, my custom integration
company will continue to educate our
customers and start offering more proactive
cybersecurity solutions with our subscription
plans toward the end of the year. x
istockphoto.com/Marianna Lishchenco
/Marianna