Mining for software treasures at ISC West

Las Vegas - As we embark on the final day of ISC West 2017, it may behoove security dealers and integrators to take a look beyond the biggest booths at the front of the hall and check out some of the smaller companies that are emerging onto the technology scene.

One of the technology categories that caught my eye at the show was business management software, where both emerging and established companies are offering interesting software solutions that can help dealers/integrators not only with their HR and customer relationship management needs, but also for project management, bid and proposal submittals, product selection and other business-related needs.

“Running your business without the right software platform is like sending your techs out to a job site without a truck,” says Rich Riehl, CEO of BidMagic, which makes a flagship business management product specifically designed for security, IT and AV integrators. “It’s an essential tool to doing business.”

Here is a look of some of the companies that I saw that may be worth a quick visit before the show closes at the end of the day. Of course this is just a handful of the offerings on the show floor designed to help dealers and integrators run their businesses…I encourage you to prowl the floor today and see what other cutting-edge software and technology treasures you can uncover in the sea of “little booths.”

Perennial Software (Booth #19135): While many alarm dealers and security integrators have heard of Perennial’s Sedona Office and Alarm Biller software platforms, according to company co-founder Michael Marks, there are still plenty of companies out there who simply depend on Excel sheets to manage their business. “The investment to adopt new and advanced technology can be a burden on small to mid-size companies; that is why new technology is adopted first by the larger security companies,” he explains. “As the costs decrease and the need for the technology increases due to competitive pressures, the small to mid-size companies eventually adopt the same technologies.” Cloud-based software offerings such as AlarmBiller can enable small to mid-size security companies to affordably adopt these applications at a fraction of the price of enterprise-wide applications with many of the benefits, Marks adds.

WeSuite (Booth #33058): “When it comes to estimating and proposal creation, there is never two of the exact same sale,” explains Katie Curtin, marketing manager for WeSuite, whose proposal software is geared to the commercial security integrator. The company was founded by long-time security integrators, which has led to a software product that automates and create efficient processes for the entire sales process, “from contact to contract,” Curtin says. WeSuite has separate software for lead and prospect management, and estimating and contract creation.

DMP (booth #23089): Obviously, long-established DMP is not relegated to a “smaller” booth, as are the other companies on this list, but I thought its new residential product line, Secura, deserves a mention. The line includes lots of the familiar smart home and residential security products, but one of the more interesting aspects is Secura’s sales software, which according to company SVP Joe Hurst, is the key to attracting a new generation of sales professionals to our industry. “If we are going to grow as an industry, we need to create career paths in our businesses,” he says, adding that Secura’s mobile-based sales proposal building tool is a way of attracting Millennials who want to launch a career into the security sales industry.  

BidMagic Proposal & Project Management Software (Booth #1090): If you create proposals with DIY spreadsheets – you are wasting lots of time cutting and pasting, Riehl explains, adding that accounting software is a poor choice for security product selection and management and cannot calculate labor. BidMagic proposals connect to accounting, inventory, project management, service call scheduling, Gantt chart job tracking, mobile time clocks and more.

Dove Net Software (Booth #1066): Dove Net is the distributor of “The Project System,” a business software for contractors that automates the creation of estimates, proposals, service tickets, inventory, purchase orders, job cost and billing, and links with accounting systems.

Tigerpaw Software (Booth #32061): Tigerpaw’s comprehensive tool empowers more than 35,000 users to manage, automate and integrate business functions including service, accounting, CRM, inventory, field service management, sales, marketing, quoting, inventory, ticketing and customer communication all within one, easy-to-use system.

Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of SD&I magazine. Access the current issue, along with archives and subscription information at www.secdealer.com, or pick up a free copy at ISC West booth #17141.