Vivint has emerged as one of the leading brands of home security systems and smart homes in the United States. The company was established in the year 1999 by Todd Pedersen in Provo, Utah, and it was initially named APX Alarm Security Solutions. It began primarily targeting homeowners where its core products included alarm panels, sensors, cameras, etc. Vivint has expanded significantly and has advanced from being a simple home security company to a smart home solutions provider enhanced by technology and prompt customer service.

Thus the early days of APX Alarm, a company I started with the initial aim of providing a simple security service with a focus on technological advancement.

In the beginning, Todd Pedersen was employed with another company, Pinnacle Security, where he used to go around selling security systems door-by-door. Observing that now could be a good time to establish his own business, he resigned from the company and established APX Alarm Security Solutions in 1999 with a specific mission to offer personalized security solutions that would fit each client’s needs. The name APX was chosen as it means “Approachable Home Security,” and this is the best strategy that Todd wanted to employ when dealing with his clients.

Alex Dunn joined Todd’s company named APX Alarm in 2002, and in the first few years, they operated from the basement of Todd’s home focusing on expanding their customer base in Utah. Unlike some aggressive alarm sales personnel, Todd found it necessary to listen to the homeowners and provide them with tailor-made no-hassle protection systems to protect their homes. This consultative selling approach and excellent customer service put a premium called APX Alarm at the focal point from the start shielding a good reputation of quality that formed the company’s future evolution despite the rapid technological change.

The Launch of Vivint

APX Alarm with Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn as partners had reached approximately 3000 clients in Utah and some of the Idaho regions by 2005. This growth did not go unnoticed and in 2006 Blackstone purchased APX and with this established a new company called Vivint. Blackstone assisted in offering the funds for growth and new product development by which Vivint transformed from a small home security company into a national smart home company.

The original name was Vivint as it served to convey a friendly and approachable image based on the concept of smart homes and living. Pedersen kept on occupying the position of the CEO and Dunn stayed as the COO to maintain the strong leadership and to keep the consultative selling along with the outstanding support that was earlier portrayed in APX Alarm.

The Events leading up to the incorporation of Vivint Smart Home:

Vivint began earnest work on incorporating enhanced smart home technology in 2009 after launching the Vivint Smart Home division. New products reflected capabilities such as wireless connectivity, remote control through smartphone applications and/or smart home hubs, video doorbells and surveillance cameras, smart locks, and compatibility with other intelligent systems like Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

Vivint’s current smart home solutions trace back to innovations first launched in the early 2010s: 

  • Vivint Sky: smart home control panel, which was launched in 2012.
  • Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro where consumers can speak through the device to the visitor (2014).
  • Vivint smart home provides DVR to cameras of Vivint smart drive (2015).
  • Integration with Amazon Echo & Echo Dot as a voice control platform (2016)

Presently, Vivint is modernizing its existing devices and coming up with new ones such as Vivint outdoor cameras, Vivint floodlight cameras, ping Vivint indoor cameras, window or door sensors, and motion sensors, among others, and they are all compatible with a single smart home system. It has reached the point where customers can plan a home security and automation program that meets all of their lifestyle and budgetary requirements.

Vivint Goes National

In the 2010s, Vivint ramped up its efforts to grow to other cities across the United States through authorized dealerships. The growing reputation for Vivint as a leading smart home technology provider enabled rapid expansion into new markets: The growing reputation for Vivint as a leading smart home technology provider enabled rapid expansion into new markets:

  • Concerning the total number of employees, the company also underwent some expansion and aimed at having over 1,000 employees by 2013.
  • It had operations in 40 states by 2015.
  • Thousands of employees; serves all 50 states and Canada and had a goal of having 6,000 employees by 2017.

At present, Vivint is a publicly traded company that operates across North America. Statistics show just how far it has come 20 years since Todd Pedersen’s door-to-door sales days: 

  • Currently also tracking over 1. 7 million systems in the United States and Canada
  • Year after year, it accumulated more than 300,000 new subscribers in 2021 only.
  • Currently employs over 11,000 staff and contractors.
  • The business is generating more than $1. 5 billion in revenue annually with half of that figure from its monitoring services, and the other half from equipment and installation sales.

Vivint has continued to market itself as a consultative sale, custom design center, and recipient of multiple awards in customer care and support even though technological advances have changed significantly in the 20 years since the company’s establishment. With the evolution and progression Vivint undergoes to meet the future of home automation and security, customers will be treated to the future of smart home services.

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