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www.securitysystemsnews.com March 2015 SEcUrITY SYSTEMS NEWS news 6 NEWS By Spencer Ives YARMOUTH, Maine—Home auto- mation gadgets coming out of the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show are interesting, b u t d i s c r e - tion might be needed before some go too f a r, a c c o rd - ing to Security Systems News readers responding to the latest NewsPoll. CES was a popular event—28 percent of SSN poll respondents attended the show in Las Vegas. Though 69 percent of respondents couldn't make it, they stayed cur- rent on news reports. Three percent said that CES is not on their radar. "This is defnitely the next big emerging market, and we are going to see a lot of big players coming in and wrestling for their piece of the pie," said Enayat Shaikh, presi- News Poll: SSN readers talk about CES' new home automation gadgets dent of Spytek Security Solutions. "Although, there was a lot of rep- etition … some of [the gadgets at CES] were really useful and had big potential." S i x t y - o n e p e r c e n t o f r e s p o n d e n t s a g r e e w i t h Shaikh. Home home automa- tion is a big emerging market, which they are a part of, they said. An additional 22 percent said they were considering entering the market. "With the security pan- els' ability to serve as the hub of this t e c h n o l o g y explosion, the professional secu- rity dealer could not be in a better position to ride this new wave, but only if they are ready and willing to adapt quickly," said Bill Rose, COO for ASG Security. Seventeen percent said that home automation doesn't interest them. "We are an alarm company, not a toy company, [this] has nothing to do with burglar alarms," wrote one respondent. But what is the prevailing opin- ion on the latest gadgets? Twenty percent of respondents said that these gadgets are a necessity for consumers. Yet, the majority—66 percent—were a m b i v a l e n t , saying some gadgets are useful but oth- ers are ridicu- lous. "Some items are useful—locks, thermostats, video cameras—in securing homes News Poll based on answers provided by 64 respondents in January. Does your company offer home automation solutions? What's your opinion of some of these gadgets? Did your company attend CES this year? Talking touch screens with John Spooner J o h n S p o o n e r, executive VP for Alarm Detection Systems, based in Aurora, Ill., has been in the indus- try for 28 years. Spooner rose from service technician, t o i n s t a l l a t i o n manager, service manager then to E V P o f o p e r a - tions. Four years ago Spooner was appointed to his c u r re n t ro l e . I n January, Security Systems News asked John about his system. What kind of security system do you have? I have a Honeywell VISTA-21ip with Tuxedo keypads. It's a graphic touch. It also has a web browser built into it. It features weather and traffc on the keypad as well, allows you to control your Z-Wave devices. … For example, in my house I have light switches, I have door locks, I have the thermostat, and I also have the lamp module that I have control of. Why this particular setup? We're a First Alert dealer, and part of the Honeywell group. I felt it was important that if you're going to sell it you should know how to operate it and fully understand the functionality of the system. [I like] the features, the graphic touch screen, and it was the appropriate size panel for my size house. It had built-in Internet for Ethernet communication. What is one aspect of your security system that you wouldn't want to live without? The whole house protection, where all the perimeter windows and doors are protected, as well as the interior motion [detectors]. I have peace of mind when I leave knowing that the entire perimeter of the house is protected and if somehow [somebody does] get past that, I have the interior protection. Where do you see security going next? What are some big trends? I think the connected system, the app and having the ability to control and visually understand and operate your system remotely [will be big]. I think we're going to continue to see the security/burglar alarm systems migrate into the app/Internet world with remote connectivity. —Spencer Ives How I Use My systeM John Spooner chose a Honeywell VISTA-21ip with a Tuxedo keypad for his home security "This is defnitely the next big emerging market." —Enayat Shaikh, Spytek Security Solutions "We are an alarm company, not a toy company, [this] has nothing to do with burglar alarms." Together we can... Run or Walk and help transform lives Register at Security5k.com Our goal is 1,000 participants. Help us reach it! Join the Security 5K/2K at ISC West April 16, 2015 at Sunset Park, Las Vegas. All proceeds generated by the race will be contributed to Mission 500 to help children in crisis around the world and in the US. Show your industry pride, have fun, stay healthy and help save lives! Ways to get involved: Sign up to Run or Walk • Create a team within your organization Start a fundraising campaign • Sponsor the event • Volunteer ORGANIZING SPONSORS: NEWSpoll see page 14