Featured Stories

RSS

In the security industry today, as in the world at large, mobile is no longer a nice-to-have feature; it’s a must-have. Customers want to be able to check in on their businesses (and homes) from wherever they are. With the vast majority of camera and VMS providers on board with this demand, the chances are excellent that there’s an app for that.

In the grand scheme of a security system, monitor mounts are not only not top of mind, they’re all too often an afterthought, believes Keith Fulmer, president of Stensville, Md.-based Video Mount Products. “We’re the red-headed stepchildren,” he says. “We’re the low-tech guys, so people tend to think about us last.”

For every challenge the alarm industry overcomes, another pops up, almost like a fast and furious game of Whac-A-Mole. “Whack!” The industry beats the advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) technology sunset in 2008.

Attrition is the measurement of customer dissatisfaction, which, for the most part, is company-caused. However, some attrition of recurring monthly revenue (RMR) in recent years can be related to the effects of the recession on the security channel. Overall, in 2011 — the latest year for which data are available in the annual Attrition Measurement Study — the industry experienced mixed results depending on the size of a company and its location.

Wireless is supposed to be easy, right? When it comes to access control, the answer isn’t a simple “Yes” or “No.” For an integrator, knowing when to use wireless, which product to use, and how to install it requires skill sets that fall at both extremes of the spectrum. But for those integrators that navigate those extremes, the payoffs can be big.

Because light is a natural deterrent to crime, adding lighting controls and automation to a security system can improve the effectiveness of the alarm system while providing customers with a product that enriches their lives. “Homeowners are seeing the value of the lifestyle aspect in daily life, as well as security, which is equally important,” says Rob Puric, director, product management and marketing, Honeywell Security and Communications, based in Melville, N.Y.

Two tiny acronyms: IT and IP. A3 Communications, Irmo, S.C., is an expert in both. Founded as an information technology (IT) company 20 years ago by chief executive officer (CEO) Joe Thomas, the company added Internet protocol (IP)-based surveillance and access control to its portfolio in 2005.

The demand for residential video for both security and self-monitoring continues to grow as more homeowners take advantage of the convenience of mobile access and decreasing hardware costs. Regardless of the complexity and individual nuances of each home, employing a few key strategies can make design and installation proceed more smoothly for every system.