SIW recently had a chance to catch up with Keith Jentoft, president of RSI Video Technologies, about a new Wiki that has been setup for members of the Electronic Security Association. Wondering what exactly a "Wiki" is? Well, according to Wiki.org, it's a piece of server software that allows users to create and edit the content of a Web page using any Web browser. The Wiki that most of you are probably familiar with and have used from time to time is Wikipedia.org, which is usually a good source of information on just about any topic.
According to Jentoft, when the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association changed it's name to ESA, one of the things the organization wanted to embrace was technologies outside the traditional "burg and fire" realm, which include video, access control and Personal Emergency Response Systems or PERS. Hence, the ESA has now established a Wiki on its Web site, alarm.org, dedicated to providing dealers with information about video and how they can setup a recurring month revenue business model. The Web site, http://www.alarm.org/references/esawiki, not only explains the different video RMR models, but also discusses legislation that affects video surveillance and best practices.
"As successful dealers start making money (with the video RMR model), we hope that they would contribute to the Wiki so it starts to become a repository for other dealers to make money on video," Jentoft said. "We think that as this grows, we're going to add integrators and... they can consider getting into the RMR business.
Unlike Wikipedia, however, this ESA Wiki can only be edited by ESA members. Though it is already active, the video RMR Wiki will be officially announced when the ESA sends out its next newsletter explaining the non-profit's name change, Jentoft said. A Wiki for access control and PERS are also in the works and should be live soon.
