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SDM 100 & Top Systems Integrators Reports: QUALIFICATION FORMS NOW AVAILABLE

Deadline: March 14, 2012
February 21, 2012

Do you think your security dealership or systems integration company may qualify to be ranked on the SDM 100 Report or the SDM Top Systems Integrators Report?  Published annually by SDM Magazine, these reports provide an excellent opportunity to market your company to potential customers as one of the industry’s most well-recognized businesses, as well as to attract employees and impress potential investors.


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Stops, Starts & Bright Spots

As with anything challenging, there are things to be gained. In security in 2012, it’s going to be addressing the ‘bright spots’ or opportunities that present themselves during this slow recovery.
Laura Stepanek
January 17, 2012
Flat is a four-letter word when it comes to the economic performance of the security installation channel in 2011. Despite predictions last year for a meager, yet optimistic 1 percent uptick in 2011, expectations did not materialize and total industry revenue neither grew nor fell — keeping at $43.9 billion. Perhaps because of this, integrators and security dealers are now ultra cautious, offering flat projections for 2012.
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Mobile Apps Bring Sizzle to Surveillance

End users see significant benefits from using their smartphones and other mobile devices to watch what’s going on at their businesses. Here’s what integrators need to know to meet customer expectations.
Joan Engebretson
January 17, 2012
Like many managers of small businesses, Kevin Mykle gets awakened in the middle of night from time to time by a call from his central station to let him know that an alarm has come in from his company — Surrey, British Columbia-based Stampede Tack & Western Wear.
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Points of Confluence in the Resi Market

In the residential systems market, certain systems are bringing security dealers and electronic systems contractors into the same circle.
Laura Stepanek
January 17, 2012
Traditionally, security dealers and electronic systems contractors (ESCs) have operated in different circles, and there hasn’t been much cross-selling of systems that are germane to each industry.
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Extreme Access

Wind, rain, snow, salt, chemicals, even marshmallows ­— the access control system must be able to withstand them all.
Karyn Hodgson
January 17, 2012
Designing an access control system often starts with the reader technology. But in some environments, that is the least of your concerns. Harsh environments can mean anything from extreme temperature (hot or cold), to dusty, dirty, gaseous, chemical and beyond. And while cards and readers may work just fine in those conditions, that is anything but a given. There are far more things to consider in the design of systems for these special circumstances.
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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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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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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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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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