As a young girl growing up in Chicago I was enamored with television. We had a small black and white set and one of my favorite shows was Ray Rayner and Friends. The show ran on a local channel and featured some goofy cartoons (remember animation back when Clutch Cargo’s mouth moved pretty scarily)? Rayner would do crafts and host visitors. Some days he’d have a duck named Chelveston visit. Chelveston was big and mean and Rayner would feed him lettuce so he wouldn’t bite him, but that never stopped the duck from regularly nipping the back of his legs.
Despite the fact that Chelveston had a screw loose or something, I wanted a duck. I’d had every type of pet imaginable—ranging from gerbils to birds to turtles to a dog, so why not? And guess what? That Easter, my sister’s boyfriend bestowed on me, much to the chagrin of my mother, three tiny yellow ducks, fluffy and unassuming and precious. My friend down the alley also had a duck—a big white male, and the two of us decided it would be nice for the big duck to meet the little ducks. Long story short, we put the large male together with the little ducks and before we knew it the big duck was grabbing the little ones and seriously trying to kill or maim them. There was lots of screaming and I hurriedly gathered my three precious ducks and headed home. They escaped unscathed but I learned my lesson—big ducks don’t necessarily get along with others in the flock.
Maybe you feel like that some days--like you’re the little duck that just can’t get a break. That it’s only the big guys who get the business. That’s far from true. It’s the smaller companies that may just be able to react faster and adjust better to the changing integration climate. In fact, it’s the smaller companies that are going to be generating the lion’s share of the installation revenues from integrated systems in coming months or years—by their sheer numbers alone. Don’t get me wrong, the top 10 have their attributes, but maybe this is a wakeup call to them that they have to try harder. Take the example of the story inside, Web-Based Access Control, page 44. Connected™ Technologies is a father-son company that comes from the security, and now integration, trenches. And they are offering a new product called Connect ONE™ that is a true Web-hosted service, emphasis on hosted. Even better—the dealers can generate recurring revenue from it even without a central station. Also inside this issue, our cover focus is on Operation Security Blanket, page 34. The children of the Guatemala orphanage finally have a safe haven, thanks to DMP and a host of partners who got the job done. There’s also a story on mobile surveillance—remote viewing and the kind used in the transportation industry, page 52. Also look to the story called Peer to Peer—Attrition Busters, page 48. Learn what these integrators do to differentiate themselves from the competition and add value to their services, even in these tough economic times.
Maybe you are like those little fluffy yellow ducks that didn’t seem like they had a chance. But remember, little ducks are only that size for a short time, and then watch out. They become big ducks and can stand side by side with others in the flock.
Deborah O’Mara, editor
SECURITY Dealer & Integrator magazine
[email protected]
