Google's Nest Close To Partnering With World's Largest Home Security Company ADT

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Google's Google'sNest may be partnering with the worlds largest homesecurityfirm,ADT ADT, in a move that could signal the companys interest in ramping up its presence in homesecurityservices, according to a conversation Forbes had withADTCEONaren Gursahaney.

The two companies are workingto connect Nests internet-connected home productsa thermostat as well as smoke and carbon monoxidealarmwithADTsPulse system that allows its customers to control their securitysystem through a mobile app.

Weve had discussions with Fadell and his team, saidGursahaney in a phone call, referring to Nestscofounder and CEO, Tony Fadell. Weve had discussions with Nest inintegrating their thermostat with the Pulse platform.

Tucked far away from Silicon Valley inBoca Raton, Fla.,ADTis looking for opportunity in the burgeoning smart home industry. There have been a flurry of do-it-yourself home security products coming out of the tech industry. That could start hurting ADTsbottom line (if it hasnt already) and ADT is fighting slowing customer growth.In addition to Pulse,ADT started a partnership with IFTTTIf This Then That, a service that allows users to chain website and devicesto hook upwith other connected hardware such as Jawbones fitness trackers and the Philips Philips Hue LED bulb in the cloud. But witha $6.1 billion market cap and seven million customers, its got some time before these smaller players start making serious dents.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nest, which was acquired byGooglein January for $3.2 billion, has become the big playerin the smart home industry. Its already shown interest in homesecurityworld with its own acquisition ofinternet-connectedsecuritycamera-maker Dropcam for $555 million. Dropcam was even pitched as a product to bring the end of home security giants like ADT when it started in 2009. WithADTsseven million customers paying a steep monthly service fee for a homesecuritymonitoring systems, it looks like an attractive opportunity for a startup to offer a much cheaper and simpler alternative to consumers.

One hole theADTpartnership could help plug up for any Nestsecuritysystem is a homesecuritymonitoring service. Dropcam already has a premium service for storing video feed in the cloud, but the professional monitoring that ADT has could be added as a more expensive premium package.

What they love isADTsseven million customers, 4,000 sales representatives and the relationships we have with fire departments and other emergency services, sothat when there is an alarm we can dispatch the right people,Gursahaney said.

A premium monitoring servicecould fit in well with Nest products. Before Nest officially announced its smoke and CO alarm productthe Protectin October last year,reporter Jessica Lessinwrotethat a subscription monitoring service was being considered. We havent seen that feature yet. It would be expensive to roll out a feature like this, as it would entailhiring and employing a call center. An ADT partnership could help with its massive call center infrastructure.

We dont have anything to share on the topic at this time, Nest spokeswoman Zoz Cuccias said in an email.

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Google's Nest Close To Partnering With World's Largest Home Security Company ADT