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www.securitysystemsnews.com VOLUME 17, NUMBER 4 APRIL 2014 ■ $7.00 COMMERCIAL & SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS ■ Altec Systems at 20 PAGE 29 ■ Viscom Systems' tech guru on what to look for at ISC West PAGE 26 FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION ■ Deaths caused by CO; will legislation follow? PAGE 33 ■ NItrogen extends life of life safety product PAGE 33 MONITORING ■ Affi liated Monitoring debuts new app in Vegas PAGE 40 ■ It's a UCC milestone PAGE 38 RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS ■ Sonitrol Security Services says its ready for 'next level' PAGE 47 ■ B Safe beefs up presence in New Jersey PAGE 44 SUPPLIERS ■ ScanSource portal brings myriad information to resellers PAGE 48 ■ New parent company says ISD will still be entreprenuerial PAGE 48 STATS .......................................2 NEWS .......................................6 LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP ..........9 SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING ......12 EDITORIAL .............................23 QUOTED .................................66 AD INDEX ...............................66 DATABANK .............................67 SPECIAL REPORT Managed services comes of age See page 31 ISC WEST SHOW PRODUCTS See show products before the show begins See page 52 Defi ning verifi ed alarms Wholesale monitoring study fi nd accounts up 19 percent NWOSS to build network Guardian woos dealer with new fi nancing ANNUAL BARNES ASSOCIATES/SSN/CSAA STUDY By Martha Entwistle HILLARD, Ohio—Northwestern Ohio Security Systems, a family owned systems integrator based here, values old-fashioned RMR generation, but it takes a "new school" approach to building its business, John Kostelac, NWOSS VP of sales, told Security Systems News. Right now Kostelac is working to create a network of systems Skyline is expected to sell 800 to 900 systems per month By Leif Kothe YARMOUTH, Maine—Much can be gleaned from the fourth annual Barnes Associates/SSN/ CSAA whole- sale monitor- ing survey, but i f a n y t h i n g s t a n d s o u t about 2013, it's that over- all growth was gaudy. The whole- sale monitoring segment enjoyed a 19.4 percent increase in the number of monitored accounts in By Leif Kothe HENDERSON, Nev. and VIENNA, Va.—It's likely that a new comprehensive verification standard will surface sometime in 2014. The Central Station Alarm Association is in the process of developing such a stan- dard for all manner of veri- fi ed alarms, and the Partner- ship for Priority Video Alarm Response, since its inception, has been gathering best prac- tices toward that end. It is less clear at this point what exactly that standard will look like. While those involved in producing a comprehen- sive written standard tend to agree about what issues it should address and which stakeholder groups need to have input, there's not a pure consensus about what specif- ic methods and technologies need to be included. The pivotal question is: What qualifi es as a verifi ed alarm? "At this time, I believe the only technologies acceptable to law enforcement are audio and video verifi cation," said CSAA, PPVAR tackle defi nition, collaborate on new comprehensive verifi cation standard 2013, according to a survey led by Barnes Associates, a consulting and advisory fi rm specializing in the security alarm industry. The survey was co-sponsored by Secu- rity Systems News and the Central Station Alarm Association. Michael Barnes, founding part- ner of Barnes Associates, called the spike in year-over-year change "unprecedented." The survey from the previous year showed the year-over-year rate hovering around 11 percent in 2012. "We were floored when the tally was complete and the whole- sale monitoring segment was up by 19 percent," Barnes said. Over the past five years the survey [which has numbers going back to 2007] has shown account growth numbers ranging any- where from strong (11.2 percent in 2008 and 2012) to negligible (0.7 percent in 2009 during the lows of the recession). Needless to say, a 19 percent spike was a significant outlier. "Our first inclination was that we had some signifi cant survey error," Barnes said. "The several larger participants that showed the most meaningful BARNES see page 30 NWOSS see page 26 By Tess Nacelewicz WARRENDALE, Pa.—A new in- house fi nancing feature offered by Guardian Protection Services' authorized dealer pro- gram is a major reason one of California's larg- est security dealers has joined the program, expanding Guardian's presence in that lucra- tive market. G u a r d i a n , b a s e d here, announced Feb. 26 that Skyline Secu- rity Management, a privately o w n e d , 1 0 - y e a r- o l d d o o r- knocking company based in Downey, Calif., is now a Guard- ian dealer and expected to pro- GUARDIAN see page46 duce an average of 800 to 900 systems per month. " We ' v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o get into the California market and landing [Skyline] got us into that market in a big way," Guardian CEO Russell Cersosi- mo told Security Systems News. A l t h o u g h G u a r d - ian already had some dealers in California, adding Skyline brings "significant volume," Cersosimo said. Sky- l i n e , w h o s e s e l l i n g methods include tra- ditional sales in addi- tion to door knock- ing, has a coverage area that extends to 11 states, including Texas, so it will also enhance Guardian's presence in the Southwest. R. Cersosimo VERIFIED see page 41 Michael Barnes suspects cableco/telecom infl ux is behind the 'unprecedented growth'; believes 'new players' have 500,000+ accounts Michael Barnes It is unclear at this point what the comprehensive verifi cation standard will look like www.securitysystemsnews.com VOLUME 17, NUMBER 4 APRIL 2014 ■ $7.00 COMMERCIAL & SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS ■ Altec Systems at 20 PAGE 29 ■ Viscom Systems' tech guru on what to look for at ISC West PAGE 26 FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION ■ Deaths caused by CO; will legislation follow? PAGE 33 ■ NItrogen extends life of life safety product PAGE 33 MONITORING ■ Affi liated Monitoring debuts new app in Vegas PAGE 40 ■ It's a UCC milestone PAGE 38 RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS ■ Sonitrol Security Services says its ready for 'next level' PAGE 47 ■ B Safe beefs up presence in New Jersey PAGE 44 SUPPLIERS ■ ScanSource portal brings myriad information to resellers PAGE 48 ■ New parent company says ISD will still be entreprenuerial PAGE 48 STATS ....................................... 2 NEWS ....................................... 6 LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP .......... 9 SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING ...... 12 EDITORIAL ............................. 23 QUOTED ................................. 66 AD INDEX ............................... AD INDEX 66 DATABANK ............................. ABANK 67 SPECIAL REPORT Managed services comes of age See page 31 ISC WEST SHOW PRODUCTS See show products before the show begins See page 52 Defi ning verifi ed alarms Wholesale monitoring study fi nd accounts up 19 percent NWOSS to build network Guardian woos dealer with new fi nancing ANNUAL BARNES ASSOCIATES/SSN/CSAA STUDY By Martha Entwistle HILLARD, Ohio—Northwestern Ohio Security Systems, a family owned systems integrator based here, values old-fashioned RMR generation, but it takes a "new school" approach to building its business, John Kostelac, NWOSS VP of sales, told Security Systems News. Right now Kostelac is working to create a network of systems Skyline is expected to sell 800 to 900 systems per month By Leif Kothe YARMOUTH, Maine—Much can be gleaned from the fourth annual Barnes Associates/SSN/ CSAA whole- sale monitor- ing survey, but i f a n y t h i n g s t a n d s o u t about 2013, it's that over- all growth was gaudy. The whole- sale monitoring segment enjoyed a 19.4 percent increase in the number of monitored accounts in By Leif Kothe HENDERSON, Nev. and VIENNA, Va.—It's likely that a new comprehensive verification standard will surface sometime in 2014. The Central Station Alarm Association is in the process of developing such a stan- dard for all manner of veri- fi ed alarms, and the Partner- ship for Priority Video Alarm Response, since its inception, has been gathering best prac- tices toward that end. It is less clear at this point what exactly that standard will look like. While those involved in producing a comprehen- sive written standard tend to agree about what issues it should address and which stakeholder groups need to have input, there's not a pure consensus about what specif- ic methods and technologies need to be included. The pivotal question is: What qualifi es as a verifi ed alarm? "At this time, I believe the only technologies acceptable to law enforcement are audio and video verifi cation," said CSAA, PPVAR tackle defi nition, collaborate on new comprehensive verifi cation standard 2013, according to a survey led by Barnes Associates, a consulting and advisory fi rm specializing in the security alarm industry. The survey was co-sponsored by Secu- rity Systems News and the Central Station Alarm Association. Michael Barnes, founding part- ner of Barnes Associates, called the spike in year-over-year change "unprecedented." The survey from the previous year showed the year-over-year rate hovering around 11 percent in 2012. "We were floored when the tally was complete and the whole- sale monitoring segment was up by 19 percent," Barnes said. Over the past five years the survey [which has numbers going back to 2007] has shown account growth numbers ranging any- where from strong (11.2 percent in 2008 and 2012) to negligible (0.7 percent in 2009 during the lows of the recession). Needless to say, a 19 percent spike was a significant outlier. "Our first inclination was that we had some signifi cant survey error," Barnes said. "The several larger participants that showed the most meaningful BARNES see page 30 NWOSS see page 26 By Tess Nacelewicz WARRENDALE, Pa.—A new in- house fi nancing feature offered by Guardian Protection Services' authorized dealer pro- gram is a major reason one of California's larg- est security dealers has joined the program, expanding Guardian's presence in that lucra- tive market. G u a r d i a n , b a s e d here, announced Feb. 26 that Skyline Secu- rity Management, a privately o w n e d , 1 0 - y e a r- o l d d o o r- knocking company based in Downey, Calif., is now a Guard- ian dealer and expected to pro- GUARDIAN see page46 duce an average of 800 to 900 systems per month. " We ' v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o get into the California market and landing [Skyline] got us into that market in a big way," Guardian CEO Russell Cersosi- mo told Security Systems News . A l t h o u g h G u a r d - ian already had some dealers in California, adding Skyline brings "significant volume," Cersosimo said. Sky- l i n e , w h o s e s e l l i n g methods include tra- ditional sales in addi- tion to door knock- ing, has a coverage area that extends to 11 states, including Texas, so it will also enhance Guardian's presence in the Southwest. R. Cersosimo VERIFIED see page 41 Michael Barnes suspects cableco/telecom infl ux is behind the 'unprecedented growth'; believes 'new players' have 500,000+ accounts Michael Barnes It is unclear at this point what the comprehensive verifi cation standard will look like From Tyco Security Products The Next Generation in Security Systems