Security Systems News

JAN 2016

Security Systems News is a monthly business newspaper that reaches 25,100 security installers, product distributors, central stations, engineers & architects, and security consultants. Our editorial coverage focuses on breaking news in all major se

Issue link: https://ssn.epubxp.com/i/620493

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 22 of 36

briefs www.securitysystemsnews.com January 2016 SECurITy SySTEMS nEWS Monitoring 20 Stanley Security makes monitoring moves, even after latest acquisition INDIANAPOLIS—Two weeks after acquiring SentryNet, Stanley Security partnered with I-View Now and joined the ASAP to PSAP adoption. Steve Walker, VP of customer ser- vice for Stanley told Security Systems News other monitoring companies under Stanley—such as Sonitrol and SentryNet—may join ASAP as well. SentryNet is already integrated with I-View Now; Sonitrol may integrate with I-View Now in the future. "The big advantage [of joining the ASAP program] is it reduces the time to communicate or dispatch on an alarm, so it just translates directly into an improved, faster response from the agency [and] it improves the accuracy of the agency response," Walker said. Walker said Stanley has been work- ing on joining ASAP to PSAP for about a year. First, the company's automation software, IBS, needed to be integrated with the program. "We're IBS' frst cus- tomer to successfully connect to the network," he said. This work should make it easier for other IBS customers to join ASAP, he said. I-View Now is integrated with many different DVRs and cameras, Walker said. "It greatly expands our product offering." Stanley has about 250,000 moni- tored customers in the United States and another 80,000 in Canada, Walker said. Stanley is the second predom- inantly-commercial business to join the program. Diebold joined ASAP in October. Per Mar's Brian Duffy joins NetOne's board SOUTHERN PINES, N.C.—Brian Duffy, president of electronic security for Per Mar Security Services, joined the NetOne Board of Directors. NetOne, formerly Security Network of America, seeks to connect inde- pendently owned, full-service alarm companies in the United States and Canada and share best practices. Per Mar Security Services is based out of Davenport, Iowa. ADS Security goes live with ASAP to PSAP NASHVILLE, Tenn.—ADS Security implemented the ASAP program, start- ing with Morgan Country, Ala., the com- pany announced in December. "ADS Security is proud to be at the forefront of new monitoring innovations and technologies that help keep our customers protected," Scott Lickteig, ADS director of monitoring operations, said in a prepared statement. ADS will work with other PSAPs in the Southeast, the company said in the statement. By Spencer Ives FOND DU LAC, Wis.—Ahern Fire Protection, a fre installa- tion and service company based here, has started offering fre alarm monitoring along with its other services. Monitoring will be handled by COPS Monitoring. "It's a pretty natu- ral fit when you're doing sprinklers for 35 years and where we've developed an incredible customer base," Jace Hierlmeier, executive vice presi- dent for Ahern Fire P r o t e c t i o n , t o l d Security Systems News. "Our goal here is to have a full-blown fre and life safety solution for our customers, and, of course, part of that solution would be monitoring," Hierlmeier said. Hierlmeier said that the com- pany will start by focusing on CSAA starts insurance-focused project By Spencer Ives SONOMA, Calif.—CSAA is starting a new project with Verisk Analytics, a frm that compiles data on insurance as well as other industries, to examine how a professionally monitored alarm system modi- fes insurance risk. The CSAA/Verisk Exchange Committee chair and president of Videofied, Keith Jentoft, told Security Systems News that the project will develop a channel of communication between security companies a n d i n s u r a n c e p ro v i d e r s , that will cause a drop in attri- tion. "What we're doing here is, if you cancel [a moni- toring subscription] there's going to be a closed loop," Jentoft said. "The insurer w i l l , t h e n , n o t i f y y o u t h a t b e c a u s e you cancelled your alarm, your insurance is going up. So, it will have a real, direct effect on reducing attrition." The project will cover the value of separate security func- tions, such as a water sensor with an automatic shut-off valve or video verification. This will mean incre- mental discounts for p r o p e r t y o w n e r s , Jentoft said. All of the services that CVEC is looking at are profes- sionally monitored, he said. Verisk is the par- ent company of ISO, Jentoft pointed out, a group that works on risk ratings across the country. ISO can speed up the process of get- ting the CVEC's work applied nationwide. "We're cutting years out of the implementation of this by working with Verisk." The project will be ongo- ing, according to Jentoft. "The tighter we get with the insurer, the more value we can create." The committee has a legal subcommittee and a technol- ogy subcommittee, focused on the data transfers between the two industries, which Jentoft said would be getting started this month. "We hope to have some preliminary results by ISC West." SSN By Spencer Ives MIDLOTHIAN, Ill.—DMC Security, a full service compa- ny based here, spent the last year upgrading its monitoring center, including new infra- structure, servers, phones and computers. It's looking into new services for 2016, including remote access con- trol for customers. "The only thing we don't do right now is two-way voice," DMC president Chet Donati told Security Systems News. "We're looking at it, and that would require a completely different phone system operation than the one we have in place right now." Adding this service would open DMC to more opportu- nities with PERS monitoring, Donati said. The upgrades started at the beginning of 2015 and should be com- pleted in Q1 2016. So far, the company has installed new computers and DMC upgrades existing customers located in Wisconsin, the heart of the company's footprint. Ahern cur- rently monitors for accounts "in the hundreds, but the potential for the thousands." Ahern Fire Protection is a division of J.F. Ahern, which has more than 1,000 employ- ees and 13 locations across six states in the Midwest. In addi- tion to its fre-related business, J.F. Ahern also does HVAC and plumbing. A h e r n F i r e P r o t e c t i o n h a s "dabbled" in moni- toring for a few years at the request of some customers, Hierlmeier said, but the com- pany announced a new focus on the offering in early November. J.F. Ahern started in 1880 as a plumbing company; it is a ffth-generation family-owned business. SSN upgraded all of its servers to support the newest version of Bold's Manitou automation software, Donati said. The central itself has a new HVAC system and a new roof. Donati asked his cen- tral station operators what improvements they would most like to see at the moni- toring center. As a result DMC installed dual computer monitors and brought in more comfortable chairs, he said. Putting in a new generator system for the whole build- ing is still to come, Donati said. "Before, the generator worked the call center. … The new one will handle the entire [6,000-square-foot] building." DMC is also looking into managing access control for its clients and equipping tech- nicians with iPads in 2016. DMC's account base is 70 percent commercial, accord- ing to Donati. The company has 25 employees. SSN Fire install company gets into monitoring Jace Hierlmeier Security and insurance collaboration could lead to a drop in attrition Keith Jentoft UCC wants to invest more in its dealers By Spencer Ives S A N A N T O N I O — W h o l e s a l e c e n - tral station UCC is i n v e s t i n g m o re i n its dealers, recently with a new line of regional educational sessions, according to company SVP Mark Matlock. Each four-hour session is basically "a plan of how to grow your c o m p a n y, h o w t o m a r k e t , h o w t o i n c e n t i v i z e y o u r sales force, how to pay commissions," Matlock told Security S y s t e m s N e w s . Controlling attrition is a big part of the session as well, he said. "We've had great traction with attendance in the two markets that we've done it, so this is something that we're going to continue to build upon in 2016," he said. The company has held two sessions so far, and is planning another five, in various cities, in 2016. Fifteen people attend the first session, held here Oct. 13, representing 10 of its dealers. The second session, held in Houston, had 30 in attendance, Matlock said, from 21 dealers in the area. UCC has helped some of its bigger dealers on a "one- on-one" basis. "[Now] we're opening it up to everybody, anybody who's a UCC dealer." How else does UCC gather its dealers? The company Mark Matlock UCC see page 21

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Security Systems News - JAN 2016