SDM Magazine

2011 December

Check out our December content!

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Pushes Boundaries

Vivint, the SDM 2011 Dealer of the Year, has a knack for pushing boundaries and thus redefining the security industry — the hallmark of a true leader.
Heather Klotz-Young
December 16, 2011
Vivint Inc., Provo, Utah, is not a security company. Well it is, but it isn’t. On the one hand, it sells security systems and is the No. 4 security company on the SDM 100, so some people call it a security company. On the other hand, it also offers a full line of home automation services, leading others to call it a home automation company. Confused?
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Featured Articles

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More Than Just Talk

Today’s telephone entry and intercom systems are a sophisticated part of the larger security system.
Karyn Hodgson
December 14, 2011
For many years telephone entry and intercom systems have been staid and stable systems that really didn’t change much functionally over time. But as with the consumer world, technology has advanced at lightning speed in recent years — bringing with it game-changing capabilities.
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Storage Trends in 2012

As customers drive the move to HD and megapixel surveillance video, that shapes the types of storage options as well — up to and including cloud storage.
Derek Rice
December 14, 2011

Any discussion of advances in security video technologies has to start with resolution. It also has to end with resolution. When you think about it, each new wave of higher-capacity hard drives, video compression algorithms and other technologies are introduced specifically to deal with the challenges presented by HD and megapixel video.


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Central Stations Help Dealers Manage Alarms

Web portals, smartphone apps and other tools enhance the interface between the dealer and its wholesale central station
Joan Engebretson
December 14, 2011
When technicians at Aberdeen, N.J.–based security dealer Garden State Fire and Security install or service a system, one of their tools is a laptop equipped with cellular data connectivity. To put the system on test, technicians use a portal operated by SentryNet, Garden State’s wholesale central station, which has locations in Greenville, Miss. and Pensacola, Fla.
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Master of The Value Add

Security Networks, an SDM 2011 Dealer of the Year Honoree, is experiencing strong growth with strategies that maximize the ‘value add’ for its ever-growing affiliates and end users.
Heather Klotz-Young
December 1, 2011
There is value in reliability. There is value in new technologies. There is value in services that make life easier. There is value in quality customer service. There is a whole list of ways that Security Networks, West Palm Beach, Fla., continues to provide value for its affiliate dealers and the end users the affiliates serve.
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Fire Sprinkler Monitoring: Know the Code

Some codes do not require fully sprinklered buildings to have fire alarm control panels installed, therefore making sprinklered buildings good monitoring prospects.
Linda Pohle
December 13, 2011
Since the economic downturn, there has been a huge drop in commercial building construction — a market that has significant impact on the sales and installation of fire sprinkler systems.
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Success From The Inside Out

Over the past year, Protection 1 did an ‘internal rebrand’ — changing its processes and service from the inside out, resulting in a remarkable transformation that deserves recognition as an SDM 2011 Dealer of the Year Honoree.
Heather Klotz-Young
December 1, 2011
Every year, Protection 1 sets an internal theme. In 2011, the theme was “Unstoppable,” which evolved from a paraphrase of a Thomas Edison quote that says, “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves,” describes Jamie Haenggi, chief marketing officer, Protection 1, Romeoville, Ill.
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Columns

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Solution Helps Port Meet 100% Screening Mandate

December 19, 2011
The busiest port in the Caribbean, the Port of San Juan, encompasses eight cargo terminals and more than 500,000 square feet and receives tons of cargo each day, both for domestic delivery and in transit.
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The Times They Are a Changin’

David Engebretson
December 19, 2011
In some ways, things were better in the old days. Once I was young, working on the Illinois Tollway for $6 an hour (in 1972 that was really good money), gas was $0.39 a gallon, and I received retroactive back pay as a loyal member of Teamsters Local #705.
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Blending Technology and Innovation

Steve Jobs Saw the Future of the Security Industry
Dan Dunkel
December 19, 2011
2011 saw the untimely death of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, and as we recognized his many accomplishments, the full impact he left on the world is still hard to believe. While his loss will certainly reverberate across Apple Corporation and the tech industry as a whole, I wondered what message this visionary man left the security industry.
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Take a Closer Look

Heather Klotz-Young
December 16, 2011
Vivint has had a disputed ride to its place as the No. 4 company in the industry on the SDM 100, but its bold “first adopter” attitude of new technologies is helping make security a “Best Buy” and opening new growth — and that needs to be recognized.
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Digital Shuffle: December 2011

December 19, 2011
Read this month's Digital Shuffle for information on the Davis Group's website, Toshiba Surveillance's website redesign, MyOptex project layout application for the iPad and Total Connect by Honeywell.
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