National service: It's a dream that many independent security dealers and integrators share. It's the vision of being able to some day call your office in Albuquerque and to tell them that they, along with six other locations will be serving the security needs of a national-level corporation.
Some businesses are making it happen sooner, rather than later. The group of integrators known as the PSA Security Network, headed up by Bill Bozeman, CPP, is one such group. They've managed to create a new national accounts program whereby independent integrators would partner to deliver national integration services. The group has been expanding and gaining quite a bit of acclaim across the U.S., and the new national accounts program will allows geographically disparate businesses to partner in a controlled and hopefully equitable fashion.
U.S. Install, a national network of installing companies, is working similarly to have more of a national feel. The group announced this week that in April, it will launch a national network of installing specialists who can deliver business and home A/V services, whether independently or through area electronics retailers. The U.S. Install group is already well known for its electronic security offerings for retailers.
Pivoting on Video Analysis
As a new company enters the analytics and situational awareness space, further proof of a growing maturity in the market
Two years ago, after the ASIS show in Orlando, Fla., I remember sitting down and writing a piece on what the top trends were from that show. Orlando '05, I think, was the first ASIS show that showed that video analytics was starting to mature. Before that point, it was pretty much a world of bleeding edge technology where vendors could get by only by showing canned video clips. Here we sit, almost a year and a half after I wrote that column, and I think that I may have been a bit premature. I say premature because only recently has the market place started to support good competition and different models for analytics (analytics in the camera, analytics as a module to be added to DVRs, analytics sold as a DVR itself, analytics sold as software packages for enterprise applications). Further proof that competition can sometimes be the defining factor of market maturation is that a group of investors has bought ScadaCam and i-Alert from its previous technology holders, and the new company, Pivotal Vision, is promoting their entrance into this highly competitive video analytics and situational awareness space.
NBFAA's New Business Management Conference
Association to bring members together during summer to hear from leading alarm business visionaries
The security and alarm business has always been somewhat friendly to entrepreneurial business. With a good knowledge of security system design, a good third party central station provider, a couple vans and a small of crew of installers, you can be out landing jobs and competing successfully against established competitors in no-time. But while you know your PIRs from your door contacts, or your PTZs from your DVRs, do you really know your business well, and can you think as a strategic owner? That seems to be the question the NBFAA is raising to its membership as it announces a conference called "How Smart Businesses Grow" which is to be held in mid-June in Indianapolis. So if you've got the voltage drops down, but things like customer drops are still worrying you, then you may want to check out this newly announced conference.
More News of the Week
People in the news, alarm installer certification and more
First, a look at people making news: Cernium Corporation announced a new national sales director, Robert Stout. ... ID Wholesaler, an online supplier of badge printers and accessories, has named a new marketing manager, Jennifer Clancy. ... SecurityInfoWatch.com alarm business column Bob Harris announced that former national accounts sales manager at Bosch Harvey Eisenstadt has joined Harris' business consulting firm The Attrition Busters. ... And former Albany, N.Y. Police Chief Robert Wolfgang has joined Tech Valley Security to offer corporate security services.
And a look at businesses in the news: Windy City Wire is going to work with partners to offer a product of the month. ... Modern Fire & Security Systems of Michigan will be delivering the security system for the Colts' new Lucas Oil Stadium. They reportedly were allowed to kick back for a couple days during Indianapolis' celebration. ... Massachusetts alarm installers are rapidly moving through the process of being certified with background checks by the Department of Public Safety.
Finally, we close with a look at the top stories of the week, as selected by SecurityInfoWatch.com readers from around the U.S. and the world:
- Analog vs. Digital Video Surveillance: The Fight in the Streets
- Exploring the Realities of Megapixel Surveillance Technology
- Understanding H.264 Video Compression
- RF Laws That Matter: A Legislative Update for Feb. 2007
- L-1 Protests TSA's TWIC Award To Lockheed Martin
- Violence Spills into Ohio Hospital's Emergency Room
