In the Integrator Insights blog, Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine editor Deborah O'Mara talks shop about video surveillance, RMR strategies, alarm monitoring and other topics of interest for today's systems integrators.
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City of big shoulders to host ASIS 2013
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Thursday May 2, 2013
The vibrant and super-trendy city of Chicago plays host to ASIS in September and I had a sneak peek at the fun and flavor expected at the upcoming conference during a recent media tour of the soon-to-be “ASIS kind of town.” Expecting some 20,000 visitors to the event, which is slated for Sept. 24 to 27 at McCormick Place, the ASIS 59 th annual seminar and exhibits will operate under the moniker: "Strategic, Smart, Secure." Chicago, as one of the largest cities in North America, is well-poised to entertain and enlighten visitors. Exhibits and educational sessions will be held at the North and South buildings of McCormick Place—a campus onto itself that attracts more than three million visitors annually. The South, North and West... -
Fast50 winners unveiled
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday April 5, 2013
Today, Security Dealer & Integrator magazine announced the winners of its second annual Fast50 best practices and ranking program. You can see all the winners here in our digital edition and on SecurityInfoWatch.com . There are three different rankings but the overall winner is based on a formula leveraging percentage growth and revenue growth. Here are the top 20 companies based on the overall ranking (please note that this year we allowed for ties, also indicating the close competitiveness of the program): 1. Securityhunter 2. Tech Systems 3. Kratos Public Safety & Security Solutions 4. American Integrated Security Group 5. Vision Security 6. MSA Systems Integration 6. Netech Corp. 8. Security Networks 9. X7 10... -
Giving integrators the recognition they deserve
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday March 15, 2013
As we ready for ISC West 2013 in Las Vegas, I wanted to give a heads up on the 2 nd annual SD&I Fast50—America’s Fastest Growing Systems Integrators. I want to laud all the companies who entered our best practices and ranking program—and thank everyone for a job well done! It isn’t easy being a systems integrator today. For years, technology seemed to stand still and then poof—everything seemed to shift in the blink of an eye, although that’s mostly perception. However, the last several years have seen widespread changes in connectivity and electronics—and it has been difficult for alarm dealers and installers to make these changes, but that’s just what they have done. This year, we had close to 70 companies enter the... -
Security—change is in the air!
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Thursday February 28, 2013
The 2013 Leadership Summit in Orlando was a stunning example of how the industry is changing. The discussions centered on interactive services, automation, energy management and customer experiences. And this sentiment of embracing change is definitely shared across channel lines as I met with alarm dealers, systems integrators, central station companies and third-party monitoring firms as well as manufacturers and distributors at the show. One of the highlights for me was the Diamond Celebration—hosted by Interlogix—as we trekked to Universal Studios to award those true worker bees in our industry who go above and beyond their day-to-day jobs to give back, or pay forward! Presentation of Weinstock Award In a bit of a surprise... -
Moving verified monitoring to public-private partnerships
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Thursday February 7, 2013
Monitoring of alarms has been around—well, since the beginning of the industry. But has it lost it pizzazz with mass-marketed alarms and self-monitoring via smartphones, iPads and other connectivity devices? Have we diluted our value proposition? Not if the industry continues to tell its story, educate the user and focus on partnerships between the police, sheriffs, insurance providers and alarm companies who understand the importance of being able to verify alarms in progress. I’m not here to put down self-surveillance—i.e., looking in on the dog or protected premises while away, or fiddling with the temperature and such—but that’s not the real value the industry brings to the table and it’s not what you should be...
