Editor's Note: Growth Means Success

Nov. 5, 2014
The fourth annual SD&I Fast50 opens next month — a great opportunity to stand out among your peers

JC Penney once said that “growth is never by mere chance.” After three years of our annual Fast50 rankings, we have learned that is especially true among security dealers and integrators.
With the giant letters R M and R on our cover this month, it seems especially appropriate to write about the impending December launch of the fourth annual SD&I Fast50 — ranking the 50 fastest-growing security dealers and integrators in North America.

If you are familiar with the rankings, there will only be a couple changes in 2015: first, our main-stage ceremony at ISC West will mark the official unveiling of the top 50 rankings; and second, the top 5 firms, along with the detailed Fast50 report, will be featured in our April 2015 issue (instead of March).

Not only does this program recognize best practices for growing a security business, it is also an opportunity to drill deeper into the reasons for that growth. All companies that enter the Fast50 will fill out a detailed survey designed to not only determine the fastest-growing companies, but to also research and report the fastest-growing markets, technologies and services that are powering these firms.
That’s why it is so important to enter this free program — the more companies that enter, the greater the insight into what will work for everyone!


About the Program
The Fast50 recognizes growth across the entire landscape of security systems contracting, from alarm dealers and installers to systems integrators — of course, including the many smaller companies that make up our industry.

Fast50 is different because of the way we compile the rankings. Companies are recognized and ranked based on their year-to-year percentage and revenue growth, with our special algorithm balancing those numbers over a three-year period. That provides the ability to recognize all kinds of companies, large and small; thus, every firm has an equal chance to earn a ranking in the program. If your company has enjoyed three consecutive years of growth, it has a great chance to be recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing systems integrators.

It is important to note that any financial information provided for the survey will be kept under a strict non-disclosure rule. Because we base the awards on year-to-year percentage growth and overall revenue growth, the only numbers published will be the basic percentages — none of the hard numbers will ever be released.


How to Enter
Entering the Fast50 is easy, and it’s free. Simply visit the website at www.securityinfowatch.com/sdifast50 and fill out the survey when it becomes available in early December. It will ask for significant financial information, so please be prepared; but remember, all of these numbers will be held in the strictest confidence. You can also take a look at the 2013 and 2014 rankings.

If you want to see how being named the fastest-growing company will earn you valuable recognition, look no further than our March 2014 issue. AISG’s Levy Acs adorns the cover, and the top 5-ranked companies are profiled in-depth. Check out the full issue at http://sdi.epubxp.com/i/277471. Perhaps your company will be on the cover in 2015...good luck!