Apr 06, 2022
Recurring monthly revenue (RMR) is a great way to keep a business operating even if sales are down or projects are delayed. Here are some ways to implement RMR into your business.
Mar 03, 2022
Finding and keeping talented employees is a big challenge right now for the security industry. Here are some ways to attract and keep employees.
Feb 08, 2022
Cannabis creates a contrast of benevolent opposition; those that have tried it and those that have not. In addition, cannabis is deemed illegal by the federal government, but it is legal in individual states. Today, global sales are expected to reach $33.6 billion by 2025. With COVID-19, the use of...
Jan 05, 2022
"911, do you need Police, Fire, or Medic? Please hold.” Then, “where are you calling from?” These are words that no one wants to hear in the middle of an emergency. Anyone who has had to call 911 wants immediate service with emergency services onsite right then. When most people...
Dec 06, 2021
The security industry for many years has been split into two very distinct silos, security officers and security equipment. Interaction is typically a cursory monitoring of a property using cameras or reviewing incident data, but rarely trusted as an alternative for physical bodies. Security officers have traditionally been responsible for...
Nov 03, 2021
Any security integrator who has spent time in healthcare has come across a Computer on Wheels (COW) where nurses can take notes, check vitals, administer medications, and more. COWs have been the mobility client for nurses everywhere. It would make sense that a COW could be more than just a...
Oct 11, 2021
During the pandemic, many alarm monitoring employees discovered they were essential workers because of the need to monitor countless alarm systems across the country. Like the rest of the world, alarm monitoring companies had to quickly shift to a new strategy, and many were able to successfully do so. Read more from our blog.
Jun 04, 2021
Companies are spending vast amounts of money every year to prevent being the next statistic of cyberattack. Security system integrators have limited options on how to approach cybersecurity for their customers. Here are some of those options.
Jun 04, 2021
April 20th, 1999, two young men walked into Columbine High School and forever changed the world. Then came April 16th, 2007 (Virginia Tech), December 14th, 2012 (Sandy Hook), and April 30th, 2019 (UNC-Charlotte); and sadly, there are many more days in recent years. School shootings are just one of the...
Jun 04, 2021
Security needs are different from school to school, and funding for security upgrades can be difficult. Schools still have a responsibility to keep students and staff safe. Read more about the advances in technology, training, and the law from our blog.
Jun 04, 2021
The security industry is continually innovating to meet new and unexpected needs. This is the basis for innovation. One way the security industry has innovated is biometrics. Learn more about the history, legal ramifications, and the future of biometrics in the security industry from our blog.
May 05, 2021
Preventative maintenance (PM) is a service that offers early warning, brings peace of mind, and allows for revenue generation to security providers. Most Americans, since they began driving a car, know they need to change the oil in a vehicle on a regular basis. Most homeowners perform maintenance on their home on a yearly basis. Americans are used to the concept of PM. Failure to perform PM can be an expensive self-correcting injury; one not to be repeated without suffering. The question is, why would homeowners not want to perform PM of security systems that are entrusted to work at all times? PM and annual testing are generally only offered when required, such as quarterly and for annual fire alarm testing required by an insurance provider. While there are no current PM requirements or annual audit requirements for alarm and/or security systems, this may change in the future.
Mar 23, 2021
In the security industry, video surveillance is by far the most eye-catching deployment. Intrusion systems alert when tripped and access control prevents unauthorized access, but no one has ever said “come look at my wall of access control panels”. The Security Operations Center (SOC) and the multitude of cameras on a video wall are always part of the tour. Video surveillance is only a tool, but it is an extremely useful tool. Video can now offer traditional security functions and with analytics, it can perform intrusion detection functions as well. This can include alerting on break-ins while giving a picture of the suspect and reducing false alarms. Cameras are being used for Identity and Access Management (IAM) functions in conjunction with access control to use facial recognition among other analytics to control access.
Mar 02, 2021
The COVID-19 Pandemic is fully matured, even spawning new mutations of the virus. But the light at the end of the tunnel may be near. A year ago no one thought they would be wearing masks and eating in 50% filled restaurants in August, 2020, let alone today. The Pandemic has seen companies, small and large, suffer tremendously. Many of us have furloughed employees, possibly multiple times over the last 12 months. Our industry is strong, and resilience is something most integrators know. What does resilience look like? Integrators have to change how they do business because businesses have changed how they do business. Change is hard, but in order to be resilient, we must accept change. The last year has caused customers to realize they care less about what is being sold and more about how it will help them accomplish their goals. This is prompting technology shifts in our industry to meet those goal demands.
Feb 01, 2021
The Healthcare Market is a long sought-after vertical for many Security Integrators. While many facilities are dominated by the national chains, many regional and local security integrators are finding niches that are opening doors into this market. Healthcare brings a constant amount of new business, equipment lifecycle upgrades, and yearly support agreements. It can also bring siloed information, disparate stakeholders, and massive amounts of red tape.
Jan 07, 2021
We have entered a time where many homeowners are turning their home into a “Smart Home”. Where Kleenex and Band-Aid brand have become the call brand for facial tissue and adhesive bandages; today the “Smart Home” call brands consists of Amazon, Google, and Apple. Today we have doorbells and cameras...
Dec 02, 2020
Intrusion alarms offer crime prevention and emergency notification in the event of a break in, but they are also a source of nuisance alarms. Have nuisance alarms caused police officers to become complacent? Years ago, I was a police officer in a major metropolitan city. My district alone (1 of 12) received over 40 alarms in an 8 hour shift, every day. Triple that number if a thunderstorm came through the city. Not one officer ran emergency traffic to an intrusion alarm, unless there was a call from the homeowner in despair, a 911 hang-up, or some other verification confirmed the need. Alarm calls would sit in queue for at least 15 minutes and then officers had 45 minutes to arrive onsite.
Nov 04, 2020
From entry level to consummate professional, how does someone become an alarm technician? As many of us have found, the good alarm technician (both fire and intrusion) is a highly sought after asset that can make the difference for a company and their clients. For the technician entering the field, there are some up-front decisions that need to be made. Alarm Installer or Alarm Technician? First, a question; what is the difference between an alarm installer and an alarm technician? Answer: The alarm installer sees a problem, takes the defective product down, and puts a new product up, without finding out why the defective product became defective. They take that defective product down and replace it with a non-defective item until the problem is solved or they run out of non-defective products. The alarm technician finds the defective product and before installing a new product, problem-solves the defective product. They fix the issue, and then they install the new product. The following steps are a process to becoming an alarm technician for a company in the security or fire alarm industry.
Oct 01, 2020
Today there are cameras in many residences, almost every business, in a multitude of cities, and now even on some human bodies. The camera serves as the eye to the world when physical eyes cannot be present. The camera doesn’t sleep. The camera is a reactive piece of technology consisting of a lens, a processor, and an image sensor, and a way to output the captured image. The camera was designed initially to take an input and save that data to a storage device for review and / or to view real-time by a staff of operators who could then direct a response.
Sep 09, 2020
What does Microsoft Office365, Dropbox, Apple iCloud, and the future of electronic security systems have in common? Two simple words… “The Cloud”. What is the cloud? The answer to this question has eluded many, because there is no one simple answer. Talk to 10 different cloud providers, and you will get 10 different answers. It is not a puffy white thing in the sky where are dreams are held. The Cloud is a simply someone else’s data center. The cloud is someone else’s problem. It can be configured to hold different forms of digital media and data virtually. The data can be held in silos or combined. Storage and data can be added very quickly and extremely cost effective. 80% of the cloud is held by five companies, with Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) holding the majority.
Aug 05, 2020
We live in a world where everyone wants to hit the easy button, and generally, the cheap button. During COVID-19, pictures of home improvement stores being overrun were normal. Online retailers marked record months. Today, the world has moved to ordering everything online and has embraced the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality. Even commercial and industrial companies are doing more in-house work and cutting traditional trades in an effort to control quality and save money.
Jun 30, 2020
Spend any time on Facebook or LinkedIn in a security integrator group and you can find pictures tagged with #cctvfail. While some are funny, and others cause you to scratch your head, the real truth is that someone was paid to install that camera. Their work is a reflection on the installer, which makes these installers look bad. The work also reflects on the integrator’s brand. Poorly installed equipment becomes an eyesore with the Integrator’s name attached. Poorly installed systems also tend to create service nightmares. For recurring revenue, security installation companies should be selling maintenance contracts, but these contracts should be more of an insurance policy. If a poorly installed system results in a large number of service visits, the customer will eventually get fed up and find another installer. Repeated truck rolls also cut any recurring revenue and can lead to a loss of revenue.
Jun 10, 2020
In today's world video evidence is king. Alarm systems are no longer the only measure to prevent crime. While cameras have been around for many years, most small businesses spend the least amount of money for something that barely works. Video evidence is critical not only for the identification and apprehension of criminals, but it now has the technology to provide business intelligence as well.
May 01, 2019
While JADE Learning offers continuing education classes on the intricacies of alarm systems, there is often opportunity to improve upon these existing systems. These improvements could be by covering some previously missed access points to the home or by adding life safety features to improve not only security...
May 01, 2019
Fire alarm systems are at least an order of magnitude more challenging to understand than homeowner-type smoke alarms, even if individual smoke alarms within the home are wired together to work in concert. Fire alarm work must not be taken for granted because if a system...
