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In what is becoming an annual tradition looked forward to by many members of the security industry press (this writer included), Genetec hosted a good number of the world’s trade press representatives in July at their Montreal headquarters.

Emergency24 developed a free service that allows subscribers to acknowledge non-critical signals via two-way text messaging in order to further enhance the customer experience.

PSA announced the call for presentations for PSA TEC 2020 is open. Sessions will be selected that serve a variety of disciplines and focus on emerging technologies, critical issues in the industry and tool development to augment attendees’ knowledge base needed to drive the industry forward. Submit proposals at www.psatec.com/cfp until July 12, 2019.

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced the addition of three new PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) to its ASAP-to-PSAP service, bringing the total number of participating jurisdictions up to 52. Bradley County, Tenn.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and, Burleson, Texas are the three latest municipalities to go live.

ONVIF, the global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced that its Export File Format, the ONVIF specification for the export of video from security surveillance recording platforms, is the new standard recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the exporting and playback of video surveillance recordings.

 

Comcast released new survey results and a product feature that responds to Americans’ increasing obsession with watching their pets on their security cameras while away from home. According to the nationwide study of pet owners, nearly half (44 percent) of those surveyed check in on their pets more than four times a day, more than a third take a peek at their pet(s) during work, and 94 percent say checking in on their pet is one of the best parts of their day.

Allied Universal, a leading security and facility services company in North America (No. 11 on SDM’s 2018 Top Systems Integrators Report, based on 2017 data), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Dallas-based security integrator Securadyne Systems (No. 8 on SDM’s 2018 Top Systems Integrators Report, based on 2017 data). The deal is expected to close on April 15, 2019. This acquisition will combine a leading U.S. security services company with a world-class technology solutions provider, which will serve as a platform for providing technology-enabled security solutions on a global scale. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

It wasn’t hard to identify an overall “theme” to TEC 2019, held March 11-14 in Denver. Managed services was a dominant topic throughout the event, with multiple sessions covering different aspects — including how to approach it, finance it, train for it and profit from it. Of course there were also many education programs focusing on emerging technologies, critical issues in the industry, and tool development in a variety of disciplines including business management, sales and marketing, HR and recruiting, project management and operations, and installation and service.

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has announced Axis Communications as the recipient of the inaugural Member of the Year Award, which honors SIA member companies that have shown noteworthy involvement in SIA committees and working groups, SIA events and the SIA Education@ISC conference program; leadership activity; recruitment of SIA members; and contributions to SIA thought leadership and the industry overall. SIA will present Axis with the award at The Advance, SIA’s annual membership meeting, during ISC West.

The Monitoring Association [TMA] today announces the introduction of its Five Diamond Dealer Program. An extension of its prestigious Five Diamond Designation, which is the standard of excellence for the monitoring industry, the new program provides the means for TMA Five Diamond-designated alarm companies to share the benefits of its designation with key dealers. TMA is an internationally-recognized non-profit trade association whose mission is to advance the professional monitoring industry through education, advocacy, standards, and public safety relationships.