List Overview, continued:

Hood | Folsom | McCullough | Stern | Edulbehram | Marks | Rausenberger | Blauner | Martinez | Kane | Bozeman | Baveja | Cook | Vail | DeMao | Last page | Next page

Monitoring Services

DAVE HOOD, PRESIDENT, FIRST ALARM

“I anticipate new business models for the delivery of monitoring services. By 2020 the need for significant investments in hardware, software, and facilities will no longer be barriers to entry. I think there is an opportunity for a decentralized central station. In this ‘Uber-like’ monitoring model, individual operators (not a facility) would be listed or certified, and smart software would prioritize and route signals while tracking, ranking, and rewarding home-based operators for speed and accuracy.” — Dave Hood, president, First Alarm

LARRY FOLSOM, PRESIDENT, I-VIEW NOW

“I think we will see an increased momentum of the two macro trends of small to medium central stations closing and swinging their accounts to wholesale central stations, and end user notifications with video verification and alarm cancellation. Wholesale central stations have reached economies of scale where their technology offerings and customer service are hard to match with a smaller central station. Combine these factors with aggressive and competitive pricing and I think this will cause significant consolidation of central stations. To date, the constituencies of security system interactive service applications and the call lists that operators call have been disparate. Additionally, we are just beginning to see an increased attach rate of video verification. I believe it will be common for end users to receive alarm notifications, with event-based video, and the ability to cancel the alarm to the central station.” — Larry Folsom, president, I-View Now

The Financial Sector

RIC MCCULLOUGH, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE, PSA SECURITY NETWORK

“By the year 2020, many security service providers will be using blockchain or distributed ledger technology to help identify, verify and authenticate financial transactions. With blockchain or distributed ledgers, instead of just recording all transactions, every entity that had a role in your transactions records that event. So, it is a peer-to-peer distributed and decentralized ledger that maintains a continuously growing list of records or transactions, called blocks. Each block contains a time stamp and a link to the previous block. The data in the block is encrypted and cannot be altered. The applications now being developed using blockchain distributed ledger technology in the security industry are simply staggering: PII (personally identifiable information) protection; company and personal digital identity and authentication; and Verification Software as a Service — to name just a few. And, there is established, smart money behind this technology.” — Ric McCullough, vice president of sales and customer service, PSA Security Network

DENNIS STERN, PRESIDENT, DENNIS M. STERN, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

“A big driver of the security alarm market going forward will be an ever-increasing focus on the commercial fire alarm business, the demand for which will continue to expand, in good part driven by new regulations by fire departments, insurers and other regulatory authorities. The commercial fire alarm business has always been a sweet spot in the security alarm business due to the mandating of fire systems in certain types of commercial businesses, and then the follow-up revenue from monitoring and more importantly inspections. Additionally, from a liability perspective, the potential loss of property and, more importantly, lives, drives the need by property owners for this type of protection. Given the requirements, and the need, to have this type of service the cancellation rate is lower than for an intrusion system and the re-sign rate when a customer vacates is higher. The end result of all of this will be that the distinction between integrators and the larger security dealers will diminish, as both will have the capability to engineer and install the larger more sophisticated fire alarm systems of the future. That will also result in acquirers looking at companies not solely from an RMR perspective (good news for current integrators), but more importantly from an EBIT perspective.” — Dennis Stern, president, Dennis M. Stern, A Professional Corporation

The Way Security Dealers & Integrators Run Their Operations

JUMBI EDULBEHRAM, REGIONAL PRESIDENT – AMERICAS, ONCAM

“Four years ago, cybersecurity was a blip on the radar — acknowledged as a possible concern, but not widely accepted as a key requirement in systems. In 2020, the industry will see greater significance placed on this across the channel, from manufacturers to end users, with all players demanding solutions that address cybersecurity concerns. In addition, cloud-based services are poised to significantly influence the industry landscape by 2020, as organizations increasingly need the ability to access data and video on mobile devices from remote locations. Security dealers and integrators will need to select manufacturers that produce hardware and software for cloud-based video surveillance with robust cybersecurity protocols in place to meet customers’ needs. Additionally, by 2020, the practice of integrators and resellers making large margins on reselling hardware, without adding significant value to solving customers’ needs, will go by the wayside.” — Jumbi Edulbehram, regional president – Americas, Oncam

MICHAEL MARKS, CO-FOUNDER, PERENNIAL SOFTWARE

“One of the most significant changes in the way security dealers and integrators run and operate their businesses in the coming years will be how they interact with their customers. Consumers, both residential and commercial, will expect all communication to be electronic and accessible — anytime, anywhere, on any device. In a world driven by technology, security dealers and integrators will need to offer a fast and easy way for clients to pay online, schedule service and installation, and alert customers of issues in real-time. Today’s consumers are no longer willing to deal with the hassle of making a call or sending an email to manage their accounts, forcing providers to adapt. The creation of an app is the simplest, most effective way to give clients the power to connect with security dealers as easily as possible.” — Michael Marks, co-founder, Perennial Software

Human Resources

BECCA RAUSENBERGER, DIRECTOR, HUMAN RESOURCES, VTI SECURITY

“With the ever increasing difficulty of finding qualified talent to fill security technician positions, the biggest change that will happen by 2020 will be the need to focus on company culture as a significant retention tool. It is expensive to hire and train employees, so companies who want to retain their employees in order to maximize their training investment will get serious about culture. Companies will go beyond ‘words on the wall’ to words and deeds that live out the strategy and culture of the company in a way that resonates with employees. Those companies with this commitment will see improved employee retention while also improving their business relationships with key customers.” — Becca Rausenberger, director, Human Resources, VTI Security

LEILA BLAUNER, FOUNDER & TEAM GROWTH STRATEGIST, SCALABILITY SOLUTIONS LLC

“Technology powered by strong artificial intelligence and big data will have significantly decreased talent acquisition costs and time-to-hire. Rather than simply matching keywords in resumes to job descriptions, technology will assess skills/qualities (communication, relationships, security industry knowledge, etc.) from online activity; emotional intelligence (analysis of facial expressions, etc.), and people who may be ready to leave their current positions. As a result, integrators will depend on technology instead of external recruiters to generate the pool of qualified candidates. However, they will still be left with the time-consuming and difficult task of deeply vetting candidates that technology recommends. Unbiased outside experts will be needed for strategy, and to narrow that technology-generated pool of 30 strong candidates down to the top three candidates best suited for the position, using their experience on the client side building/leading their own teams, and deep knowledge of their client’s unique culture, people and needs.” — Leila Blauner, founder & team growth strategist, Scalability Solutions LLC

ERNEST R. MARTINEZ, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES, SECURADYNE SYSTEMS

“Two of the most critical challenges facing the security industry are talent acquisition and employee retention. Talent acquisition has become increasingly competitive, prompting organizations to develop innovative recruiting solutions including networking and social media as sourcing options. Utilizing these options to identify candidates who are gainfully employed as potential options to fill open positions requires organizational commitment and a well-defined strategy for talent bench development. Organizational commitment to becoming an employer of choice by providing employees with differentiators such as innovative health and wellness benefits, career development, defined job structure, career pathing, certification and licensing opportunities serve as foundational components for increasing retention of both newly acquired and existing employees. As the security industry continues its forward evolution through technology and service, human resources must develop methods to acquire and retain a workforce that supports this evolution.” — Ernest R. Martinez, senior director of human resources, Securadyne Systems

MITCHELL KANE, PRESIDENT, VANDERBILT

“Gone are the days where a siloed approach to security is the norm. Today, that shift is beginning, but by 2020, the industry will see a full transformation from individualized approaches to security to a more enterprise-wide plan that affects security directors, IT and marketing departments, and even human resources. Elevated integration capabilities are taking this shift to the next level, and software programs that manage data and streamline processes for entry are taking center stage. This will change how human resources departments manage access — whether through multi-step authentication, biometric access or simple card readers. Investing in data management software alongside a security management system (SMS) will allow HR the flexibility to change or add access in a single platform, which then updates across networked devices to streamline operations, save time on manual input and increase ROI for security teams.” — Mitchell Kane, president, Vanderbilt

The Ways Customers Purchase Security

BILL BOZEMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, PSA SECURITY NETWORK

“Several new purchasing qualifiers are having an impact across all verticals. First, customers are highly concerned about cybersecurity. If integrators do not present their cybersecurity plans, they will feel a significant negative impact on their sales revenue. There will be few exceptions and smaller integrators will initially be at a disadvantage considering the complexity and the cost of becoming a cybersecurity-savvy integrator. Preparation by way of integrator focused cybersecurity training from PSA and other organizations will be key. Second, we will see customers expecting and, in some cases, demanding managed services for their integrated systems. The fly in the ointment is the vast majority of integrators’ cash flow cannot support a quick move to an RMR [recurring monthly revenue] model. Currently, adapting to RMR favors the larger integrators as they are more likely to have access to a financial facility able to help them make the transition. The good news is new financing opportunities are becoming available that will support integrators of all sizes in this endeavor.” — Bill Bozeman, president & CEO, PSA Security Network

GUNVIR S. BAVEJA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, EVIGILANT

“By 2020 there will be a major adoption by both federal and commercial customers towards the managed cloud hosted services. With that adoption will come security vulnerabilities on the end devices and servers for cyber-attacks. End customers will consider the security (cyber) vulnerabilities on their purchasing decisions and it will become a key evaluation criteria. We will also see a proliferation of security as a service being sold on a SaaS basis to help secure enterprise IT assets. We will see a movement towards managed security services and continuous monitoring of IT assets across the organization. We can also expect to see new and enhanced security scanning solutions emerge that sit outside the traditional firewalls of organizations, to properly vet and identify traffic and requests before they are allowed access to the internal network or applications. Convergence of logical access to systems as well as physical access to sites will be part of the same decision. ” — Gunvir S. Baveja, president and CEO, eVigilant

TOM COOK, VICE PRESIDENT, SALES, HANWHA TECHWIN AMERICA

The mindsets of purchase influencers continue to evolve as new surveillance and security technology trends continue to gain traction. More specifically, the migration from analog to networked IP systems is more than an infrastructure issue; it is effectively redirecting priorities from physical hardware to data capture and manipulation. For example, new PTZ, fixed and multi-sensor IP cameras are coming to market that deliver new levels of imaging performance along with advanced analytics that go far beyond what is currently available. The ability for these devices to capture huge volumes of information will not only heighten overall situational awareness and security, they transcend traditional surveillance and security as they support advanced business intelligence applications for retail, process management, human resources, compliance, and myriad other operations. This trend will only continue to increase in 2017 and beyond 2020. — Tom Cook, vice president, sales, Hanwha Techwin America

JACK DEMAO, CEO, ELECTRIC GUARD DOG AND SDM'S 2016 DEALER OF THE YEAR

“By 2020, increased focus on terrorism prevention, as well as the public’s lack of appetite for more prisons, will play contributing roles in businesses favoring deterrence-based security technologies such as guards, high-security fencing solutions, and electric security fencing over detection-based strategies. While detection technology is rapidly improving, all of these technologies currently rely on a law enforcement response. Law enforcement resources are already strained, and as America becomes a greater target for terrorism those resources will be furthered strained, leaving police able to respond to fewer and fewer security calls. The cost of security failures will increase as a result, which means companies will have to adopt a more proactive strategy.” — Jack DeMao, CEO, Electric Guard Dog and SDM’s 2016 Dealer of the Year