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The SDM 100 has been published since 1991. Its primary objective is to measure consumer dollars gained by alarm companies, in order to present an account of the size of the market captured by the 100 largest security providers. SDM 100 firms are ranked by their recurring monthly revenue. RMR is the amount of contractually recurring revenues due from customers, for such services as monitoring, contracted service and system maintenance, and leasing of security systems.

There has been much publicity recently regarding the new Internet Protocol (IP) addressing format called IPV6. The question is whether this new addressing method will affect physical security installations, and how the industry will handle this potentially dramatic change.

To date carbon monoxide (CO) detection has been a requirement primarily for residential installations. But that’s changing fast. Some states have passed laws requiring CO detection in commercial buildings with sleeping areas such as hotels and dormitories, as well as residences. The latest versions of the International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC) and several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards have similar requirements.

Spring 2012 has been an unusually active, dangerous weather season, with unprecedented tornadoes hitting the Midwest, Southeast and the state of Texas. April saw a shooting rampage that resulted in seven deaths at Oikos University, a small college in California. This shooting came just a few months after violence revisited the campus of Virginia Tech in December 2011. Two people were killed in that incident, which brought back memories of the deadliest college massacre ever on the same campus in 2007.

The fact is, we’re not getting any younger. As a nation, we are living longer and the largest segment of the population — the baby boomers — is hitting retirement age. In the United States, the age 65 and over demographic is the fastest growing segment of the population, and of that group the fastest growing segment is over age 85, says Ken Gross, president and founder of Medical Alert Monitoring Association (MAMA) and president of Broomall, Pa.-based Connect America.

There are no flashy changes or broad shifts to be found in the fire alarm market in 2012. In fact, in a lot of ways, the 2012 fire alarm market looks very similar to the 2011 market. Despite a lack of healthy construction in the commercial space, the industry continues to move forward — supported by code requirements, mandatory inspections, insurance incentives, and the simple unremitting need for life safety.

Days after the industry learned Tony Byerly would be stepping down as president of Stanley Convergent Security Solutions (Stanley CSS), North America, the company has announced his replacement.

Avigilon, Vancouver, Canada, a provider of high-definition (HD) and megapixel (MP) video surveillance solutions, is officially in the PTZ market, with the release of a high-definition pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera available in 1 or 2 MP resolutions.

The “green movement” has permeated the security industry on a number of levels from corporate and internal sustainability initiatives to green products and customer offerings. Manufacturers, dealers and integrators are playing their part in the movement with everything from simple, cost-cutting initiatives to documented corporate sustainability policies. Motivations involve a combination of corporate responsibility, the bottom line, and the ability to do business with customers that require a commitment to reducing the carbon footprint.