It’s amazing how much can change in a year. Last year’s state of the market report on access control was released at the beginning of April, just as the coronavirus started to spread throughout the U.S., and much of the research that went into the report was done before COVID-19 was a real concern.

What do termites, diamonds and security have in common? All three are components of the history of this year’s SDM Dealer of the Year. Sonitrol began when Al Cronk, a police officer, was interested in verifying alarms using audio; Bob Baxter invented microphones to detect termites in trees.

As the technology of video monitoring grows in capabilities and use cases, another concern begins raising its head: privacy. Recently, some countries have looked to use this capability to help with the coronavirus outbreak and enforcing stay-at-home and social distancing mandates.

Recently everyone has learned to live in what seems to be a new world, and in many ways, we have all succumbed to change in one way or another.

Evaluating the state of any market is a tricky thing during a pandemic — things are changing daily; new technologies are being explored; the future is unknown; and it’s difficult to look back at the past clearly.

A continuing strong economy, end user desires to do more with their access control systems and increasing interest in new technologies, integrations and models all led to a positive outlook in 2019 and a general feeling of optimism for 2020, with a few notes of caution.

From its humble beginnings in a Toyota Corolla, CPI Security — originally Crime Prevention Inc. — has operated with a singular focus.

The venue for the 14^th annual Axis Connect & Converge Conference (ACCC) was symbolic of the theme conveyed by host Axis Communications throughout the two full days of the meeting.

As one of six distinct security-related divisions of a global powerhouse, this year’s Systems Integrator of the Year draws on the history of not one, but two long-standing companies, along with a deep commitment to its employees and customers, and a strong understanding of technology to distinguish itself from the competition.

Is the smart home market maturing and stabilizing, showing a clear path forward for security dealers wanting to capitalize on the new desires of homeowners to interact with many areas of their home life, including security? Not exactly. But there are definitely signs that it has moved to another level of adoption and interest, making the time ripe for action on the part of those who want to adjust their business model to capture opportunities and revenue in this fast-growing space.