Security Networks, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., became the first dealer network to offer Alarm.com Web-enabled video monitoring, the company announced Friday. Security Networks is ranked among the industry’s largest full service life safety solutions providers, specializing in the residential market. The Security Networks Affiliate Program consists of some 140 member companies who operate primarily east of the Mississippi and in Texas.
“The future of the industry is in enhanced services and home automation,” said Gary Franklyn, vice president of Business Development, Security Networks. “We want to offer leading technologies to our customers,” Franklyn said. The service allows customers to control cameras and interact with their homes and businesses remotely.
“Affiliates can now take advantage of an additional source of recurring monthly revenue offering the Alarm.com platform,” he added.
Available through Security Networks’ iNet (Stay Connected) video monitoring services suite for cellular customers, Franklyn said affiliates and their customers were looking for remote connectivity through smartphones, PDAs and other devices. “What really led this push into enhanced services was the fact that homeowners aren’t using landlines any longer, only cellular. We’re already working on energy management synchronized with security, lighting controls and locking mechanisms using the Z-Wave protocol. We want to help manage the environment,” he said.
According to Mary Knebel, vice president of Sales Programs for Alarm.com, the service is a virtual keypad for the customer, a suite of interactive services dealers can select from. “One of the things that sell this service is the ‘apps’ which allow the customer to view video remotely, for example. For many dealers, having Security Networks behind them makes it easier for them to offer video services,” Knebel added. Alarm.com is based in Vienna, Va.
Greg Montgomery, vice president of Operations at TYM Security, Irving, Texas has been offering the Alarm.com video monitoring solution and welcomed the addition of the Web-based service. “It will allow us to continue to rapidly grow our video monitoring business and increase our RMR," Montgomery said. – Deborah L. O’Mara, editor, SD&I magazine
