Software Engineer 1

SimpliSafe launches tailored security solutions to protect smbs. Following its expansion into the professional installation market, SimpliSafe, maker of smart home security systems, launched a new suite of security solutions designed to protect business owners and entrepreneurs. Historically, SimpliSafe has been focused on home security. "But what we're finding is that over 100,000 of our customers own small and medium sized businesses," said Hooman Shahidi, chief product officer, SimpliSafe. "And it turns out that a lot of the solutions that we have for the home actually do really well in these businesses." SimpliSafe Business Security introduces protection plans tailored for small and medium businesses and backed by 24/7 professional monitoring to protect their property, personnel, and customers. "Many of our customers have employees that come and go, and it's really important for them to have the accountability of knowing that [John Doe] came into the restaurant at 4 a.m. and he opened up and he disarmed the system," Shahidi said. The SimpliSafe team is excited about the applications of its Active Guard Outdoor Protection solution, offering customers a service where the SimpliSafe team monitors and intervenes (whether by calling the customer or calling the police) if something is happening on the clients' property. The SimpliSafe solution is being used in other unique ways, Shahidi shared. "We visited this customer who runs a web development business, so it's sort of like a two-person shop, and it was in a relatively secure building," he said. "But what [the customer] was interested in was our environmental sensors or temperature sensors and flood sensor for his server room because he hosts the clients' web pages locally in that space. So he was using our environmental sensors to protect his server." This solution helped the client protect approximately $4 million of revenue based in the building. SimpliSafe's features, like AI-powered outdoor cameras, proactive threat deterrence via trained security agents, and new system controls, are designed to help business owners better protect what they have worked so hard to build. "We fundamentally believe that AI is an aid to humans dealing with your security, whether it's the home or whether it's the business," Shahidi said. "What we see AI doing for us is... enabling us to offer human-based services at scale and cost that no one else can do. ... There's a lot of value that we can offer both in our core legacy systems, like the motion detectors and the contact sensors and so forth, but even more with some of the camera work and the AI work that we're doing to not just deal with but actually determine potential intruders." SimpliSafe's approach to AI is not to blindly tack on the latest innovations. "It's all about being able to get this right as opposed to being at the cutting edge of technology because what we're doing is protecting lives," Shahidi said. SimpliSafe is leveraging AI on its cameras and the cloud to filter out events that a human does not need to see. "We are being very conservative in terms of what we filter," Shahidi said. SimpliSafe is doing this to avoid false negatives. "As we tune our AI models, we'll take a few false positives to avoid false negatives," Shahidi added. "Because the false positive then comes to the agent and the agent's like, okay, this is a Scarecrow that looks like [John Doe], and they simply dismiss it." From a product standpoint, Shahidi strongly believes that faster equals safer. "If you can take action, which is what we built Active Guard to do, before somebody breaches the four walls of your house, you are safer than waiting for them to actually break into your house before you act," he said. "I think that also translates to when you see somebody on the camera, how quickly can you assess? Is this something you should pass on to an agent, or you should not worry about it? Being able to make those assessments by AI rather than having it be slowed down - we think it will drive better safety outcomes for our customers." At this time, SimpliSafe is not going to explore further AI implementation in the process. "It's not always so clean cut," he says, referring to a situation where someone tried to light a garage at 3:00 in the morning. "I find it hard to believe that an AI in that situation would have been able to detect what was going on. ... Right now, having a human in the loop is the best choice." Solutions Designed to Work as Hard as Business Owners SimpliSafe also introduced a new Anti-Theft Guarantee, a commitment to reimburse eligible business and residential customers of up to $500 toward their insurance deductible in the event of a covered burglary. "Small and medium business owners are some of the most hardworking people, and they deserve security solutions that work just as hard to protect their businesses," said Christian Cerda, CEO, SimpliSafe. "By extending our mission to keep businesses across the U.S. safe with our new tailored solutions, SimpliSafe is making advanced, affordable protection accessible to small and medium businesses, helping them safeguard what they've built." With customizable system configurations and a range of new capabilities designed specifically for business environments, SimpliSafe aims to give business owners peace of mind so they can focus on growing their operation, not guarding it. "We see this as an expansion opportunity for SimpliSafe, where we can offer a great product which is, at its core, the same as what we offer the home customer, with some additions and enhancements that are catered towards the small and medium businesses," Shahidi said. "A lot of times, if there is an incident in a multi-unit facility, it's very late that the store owner actually finds out that the incident has happened." SimpliSafe's goal with this new solution is to keep business owners informed as soon as possible. SimpliSafe has been deliberate in terms of the size of businesses it is marketing to, encompassing coffee shops, restaurants, doctor's offices, dentists offices, and similar types of businesses. "We are not going to go after a massive supermarket. We're like looking at 5,000 - 7,000 square feet type of businesses that are a couple of locations and have 10 or fewer employees," Shahidi said. "We want to stay focused and deliberate about who we go after and have an adjacency, not a completely different product portfolio and target customer." SimpliSafe Business Security is available through new Standard Business, Core Business, Pro Business, and Pro Plus Business monitoring plans. Key features include: * 24/7 professional monitoring for inside and out: With a professional monitoring plan, SimpliSafe's live security agents are always ready to assist business owners and employees during an alarm and request fast emergency dispatch when it's needed. * SimpliSafe Active Guard Outdoor Protection: Available on select plans, this feature combines advanced AI technology with SimpliSafe's highly trained live security agents to detect, verify and deter potential intruders before a break-in or external property damage occurs. * Customized system design: Business owners can create a solution that fits their specific layout and budget with break-in and environmental hazard sensors. * Custom PINs and multi-user access control: Business owners can now create up to 10 unique PINs so their employees can disarm the system and grant app access with three different permission levels for owners, admins, and staff. * Multi-camera live streaming: A new web-based experience, currently available in beta via the SimpliSafe online account, allows business customers to view multiple camera feeds simultaneously. * Elevated customer support: SimpliSafe Business Security customers have daily access to elevated support. SimpliSafe Business Security solutions are designed for fast and flexible setup, offering both DIY and professional installation options. All SimpliSafe systems include real-time mobile alerts, remote system control through the SimpliSafe App, and optional environmental monitoring for leaks and extreme temperatures. Professional monitoring plans also include unlimited camera recordings with 30-day cloud storage for up to 10 cameras.

SimpliSafe announced that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR.