Heads Up: It's Fast50 Time

Dec. 15, 2017
Our annual free program offers the double benefit of company recognition and usable market research from your peers

While the smart home explosion has captured the minds of most security dealers, last year saw a commercial-focused integrator – NextGen Security – nab the top spot as the fastest growing North American security dealer/integrator in our annual Fast50. Who will be named the fastest-growing for 2017? There’s only one way to find out!

But beyond honoring security service providers for their business efforts, SD&I’s annual Fast50 is about uncovering the industry’s hottest trends, technologies and markets; and we cannot do that without your help and perspective.

Now entering its seventh year, SD&I’s Fast50 has traditionally ranked the top 50 fastest-growing security dealers and integrators while giving our readers a little insight into the best practices that power these companies. We expanded the program in recent years to bring you timely and relevant market research, revealing tips and strategies for talent acquisition, marketing to customers, growth markets and technologies and much more.

The Fast50 will open for submissions at www.securityinfowatch.com/sdifast50 in January and will be open for two months. In addition to the traditional rankings, as part of our revealing market research, we will ask Fast50 entering company executives to submit their opinions on trending topics such as:

  • Cybersecurity and its effect on your technology choices;
  • Product commoditization and how to overcome it as a business;
  • Attracting and integrating new talent into your business;
  • The best ways to add RMR and new services;
  • How to deal with the DIY and other trends that are affecting both residential and commercial security;
  • The hottest technologies and markets; and more

This is the double-edged sword that is the Fast50 – a chance to gain some recognition as a market leader live at this industry’s biggest trade show AND the chance to learn from your peers about the successful ways they are leveraging trends and technologies on their path to greater profits.

This type of research will not be valuable without YOUR help! Once again this year, companies can choose to submit for ONLY the Fast50 research portion if they are unwilling to share financial data with us (this would disqualify a company from the rankings of course). As always, all financials for the rankings portion of the program are 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.

The rankings will be unveiled at a ceremony sponsored by the Security Industry Association (SIA) during the first day of ISC West. The top five will be honored on stage. The ranking and research results will once again appear in SD&I’s April issue.

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.

Entering the Fast50 is easy, and it’s free. Simply visit www.securityinfowatch.com/sdifast50 and click the "Enter Here" link to fill out the survey. Remember to be prepared with the following:

1. Your company’s gross revenues for the last three consecutive reporting years (if you would like to be considered for the rankings portion of the program);

2. A company executive’s perspective on growth markets and technologies; several market trends; and a few of your company’s best practices.

About the Author

Paul Rothman | Editor-in-Chief/Security Business

Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine. Email him your comments and questions at [email protected]. Access the current issue, full archives and apply for a free subscription at www.securitybusinessmag.com.