Custom Alarm is a security company out of Rochester, Minn., that offers fire inspections, connected security, video surveillance, access control and interactive services. Melissa Brinkman’s father Leigh Johnson founded the company, and she came to work at the family business in 1998 after spending several years in management positions in the hospitality industry. She held various positions at Custom Alarm, from marketing, to sales manager, to customer services manager, before being promoted to CEO in 2014. Here, Brinkman talks about the company’s 50th anniversary, working at the family business, why she’s so passionate about customer service, staffing and more.
This week, our guests are Tia Eskandari, senior director national service, Allied Universal, and Candice Aragon, chief experience officer, PSA Security. In conjunction with Senior Editor Rodney Bosch’s recent feature article, we’ll be discussing DEI in the security industry.
The SIA 2024 Security Megatrends report found the top four megatrends revolve heavily around AI. Additionally, SDM has been running a poll for some time asking what readers think is the most promising trend in the industry. 59 percent — as of recording this podcast — say that AI is the top trend. This week, our guests are Geoff Kohl of the Security Industry Association (SIA) and Steve Van Till of Brivo who will provide us with a little insight into the state of AI in the industry.
SDM spoke with Jeremy Bates of Bates Security; Mike Botten of LVC Companies; Aaron Simpson of Stone Security; and Justin Stearns of Chimera Integrations about how they are preparing for an uncertain economy in 2024.
SDM recently spoke with Shaun Castillo, president Preferred Technologies LLC, which was 2023’s Integrator of the Year. Castillo explains why he thinks 2023 was Pref-Tech’s year.