Key to Using the SDM 100

Download the SDM 100 print report here

The 2013 SDM 100 ranks U.S. companies that provide electronic security systems and services to both residential and non-residential customers. This ranking is based on information provided to or, in few cases, estimated by SDM. Ranked companies were asked to submit either an audited or reviewed financial statement, or a copy of their income tax return showing total gross receipts for the stated period. The vast majority of the firms ranked are privately held.

The main table ranks 100 firms by their recurring monthly revenue (RMR) of December 31, 2012. The firm with the highest RMR is ranked as No. 1, and so on. For each of the 100 companies, the following information is provided, from left to right:

  • Current year rank, which is based on December 31, 2012, RMR.
  • Prior year rank.
  • Company name, as used in the marketplace, and headquarters location.
  • Amount of RMR billed on December 31, 2012.
  • Indication of whether the RMR amount increased, decreased or stayed the same as RMR of December 31, 2011.
  • Number of subscribers (recurring-billable customers) at year-end 2012.
  • Amount of sales revenue from residential system installations in 2012.
  • Amount of sales revenue from non-residential system installations in 2012.
  • Total gross revenue in millions of dollars. This number represents total revenue in calendar-year or (the company’s) fiscal-year 2012 from security system sales/installation, service, leasing, and monitoring.
  • Number of full-time employees.
  • Number of business locations, including headquarters.

Note: An e following the figure indicates it is an SDM estimate.

 

 

SDM 100: ITS PURPOSE & APPROACH

The SDM 100 has been published since 1991. Its primary objective is to measure consumer dollars gained by alarm companies, in order to present an account of the size of the market captured by the 100 largest security providers. SDM 100 firms are ranked by their recurring monthly revenue. RMR is the revenue associated with the contractual agreement between a security company and its subscriber — derived from customer billing for services such as monitoring, contracted service/system maintenance, security-as-a-service/managed solutions, and leasing of security systems — and is typically the basis for valuation of a security company. RMR is the language of security company executives and is meaningful in comparative analysis among industry peers. Of the 100 security dealers ranked, 39 of them earned more than $1 million in RMR in 2012.

 

An abbreviated version of the table is shown here.

 

 

Rank 2013 Company / Headquarters Recurring Monthly Revenue Dec. 31, 2012 RMR Up/Down Compared With Dec. 31, 2011  Subscribers  Gross Rev. 2012 ($mil)  Full-time Employees 
1 ADT
Boca Raton, Fla.		 $252,455,574 5.2%  6,428,266 $3,286,949,035  16,300
2 Tyco Integrated Security
Boca Raton, Fla.		 $70830000e na 500,000e $8,300,000,000e 10,000e
3 Stanley Convergent Security
Indianapolis, Ind.		 $54,200,000 51.6%  550,000 $1,644,300,000  8,375
4 Vivint Inc.
Provo, Utah		 $34,276,032 26.5%  671,818 $398,596,583  1,820
5 Monitronics International
Dallas, Texas		 $32,095,753 22.1%  812,539 $349,953,000  760
6 Protection 1
Romeoville, Ill.		 $26,200,000 4.0%  1,535,654 $375,800,000  2,538
7 Slomins Inc.
Hicksville, N.Y.		 $15,715,129 7.0%  293,773 $291,366,811  642
8 Diebold Security
North Canton, Ohio		 $12,700,000 na  200,000 $2,991,700,000  na 
9 Vector Security Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pa.		 $11,100,000 8.8%  268,331 $233,855,000  1,106
10 Guardian Protection Services
Warrendale, Pa.		 $10,186,641 11.9%  264,310 $150,096,745  858
11 ASG Security
Beltsville, Md.		 $7,900,095 12.4%  187,021 $118,647,000  922
12 Interface Security Systems Holdings Inc.
Earth City, Mo.		 $7,814,849 34.6%  106,522 $112,768,000  826
13 Bay Alarm Company
Pacheco, Calif.		 $7,244,745 8.4%  118,917 $103,065,201  599
14 Security Networks
West Palm Beach, Fla.		 $7,168,895 42.4%  172,339 $78,490,055  301
15 Protect America Inc.
Austin, Texas		 $5,252,900 14.8%  142,736 $59,915,000  339
16 Security Systems Inc.
Cromwell, Conn.		 $5,224,716 23.3%  138,788 $53,756,200  180
17 Central Security Group Inc.
Tulsa, Okla.		 $5,223,059 14.9%  165,841 $60,344,697  296
18 Guardian Alarm Company
Southfield, Mich.		 $4,625,900 9.1%  119,535 $79,173,635  429
19 Alarm Capital Alliance
Newtown Square, Pa.		 $4,389,170 25.4%  134,903 $47,965,227  184
20 Devcon Security
Hollywood, Fla.		 $4,279,432 5.6%  na  $63,007,784  475
21 Kastle Systems
Springfield, Va.		 $4,100,000 5.1%  na  $68,000,000  na 
22 CPI Security Systems Inc.
Charlotte, N.C.		 $4,091,028 13.3%  101,072 $53,607,894  367
23 AFA Protective Systems Inc.
Syosset, N.Y.		 $2,539,000 5.0%  48,200 $73,636,800  446
24 Alarm Detection Systems Inc.
Aurora, Ill.		 $2,281,329 4.8%  27,288 $34,022,839  220
25 Ackerman Security Systems
Atlanta, Ga.		 $2,254,766 20.9%  97,374 $39,098,268  273
26 ADS Security L.P.
Nashville, Tenn.		 $2,087,334 7.4%  68,889 $33,875,867  263
27 SafeTouch
Jacksonville, Fla.		 $1,885,349 6.3%  78,718 $26,014,878  203
28 DTT
Los Angeles, Calif.		 $1,779,000 26.3%  7,791 $21,350,583  268
29 SAFE Security Companies
San Ramon, Calif.		 $1,734,232 0.5%  62,546 na  90
30 Electric Guard Dog
Columbia, S.C.		 $1,707,826 15.2%  2,709 $19,372,525  99
31 Per Mar Security Services
Davenport, Iowa		 $1,612,521 6.3%  32,337 $39,413,993  296
32 G4S Technology LLC
Omaha, Neb.		 $1,533,000 15.0%  918 $156,871,000  652
33 Mountain Alarm
Ogden, Utah		 $1,225,060 18.8%  20,692 $21,303,911  142
34 Safeguard Security
Scottsdale, Ariz.		 $1,207,879 10.5%  na  $36,238,000  na 
35 SSD Alarm Systems / Kern Security & Fire / Alpha Security & Fire
Anaheim, Calif.		 $1,170,888 -2.8%  na  $29,624,717  na 
36 First Alarm
Aptos, Calif.		 $1,165,874 2.3%  19,230 $20,997,730  137
37 EPS Security
Grand Rapids, Mich.		 $1,148,702 7.4%  18,059 $22,278,249  183
38 General Security Inc.
Plainview, N.Y.		 $1,106,658 3.6%  42,869 $18,859,634  154
39 American Alarm & Communications
Arlington, Mass.		 $1,007,996 16.5%  19,757 $26,947,851  193
40 NorthStar Alarm Services LLC
Orem, Utah		 $996,915 31.5%  22,556 $11,007,089  39
41 Sonitrol New England
Rocky Hill, Conn.		 $962,188 7.0%  27,037 $19,249,572  105
42 Kimberlite Corp.
Fresno, Calif.		 $944,258 -1.7%  6,033 $15,062,195  105
43 Sonitrol Pacific
Portland, Ore.		 $902,667 0.4%  4,500 $13,752,302  85
44 F.E. Moran Inc. Alarm and Monitoring Services
Champaign, Ill.		 $837,164 42.1%  25,171 $25,693,946  183
45 EMC Security
Suwanee, Ga.		 $759,500 15.0%  39,856 $13,367,270  100
46 Sonitrol of Sacramento & Sonitrol Orange County
Roseville, Calif.		 $757,800 4.8%  4,553 $12,943,346  68
47 Doyle Security Systems Inc.
Rochester, N.Y.		 $719,850 11.3%  23,802 $12,201,278  94
48 Security Equipment Inc.
Omaha, Neb.		 $688,479 6.2%  15,463 $20,043,472  140
49 All Guard Alarm Systems Inc.
Hayward, Calif.		 $609,048 1.8%  12,106 $9,771,760  63
50 Supreme Security Systems Inc.
Union, N.J.		 $576,340 -4.0%  8,045 $9,058,236  71
51 Custom Security Systems Inc.
Baton Rouge, La.		 $572,538 8.7%  26,569 $10,250,281  61
52 Matson Alarm Co. Inc.
Fresno, Calif.		 $563,032 7.6%  19,785 $9,562,342  66
53 Custom Security Systems
Lacey, Wash.		 $546,275 1.5%  46,670 $9,734,360  102
54 RFI Communications & Security Systems
San Jose, Calif.		 $536,765 6.4%  2,905 $43,425,378  268
55 RLC Security Inc.
Gibsonia, Pa.		 $532,561 87.2%  13,607 $4,929,733  2
56 Koorsen Fire & Security
Indianapolis, Ind.		 $530,228 1.9%  na  $78,521,934  na 
57 Sonitrol of Buffalo, Rochester, Toronto
Buffalo, N.Y.		 $524,118 0.2%  5,539 $10,495,745  86
58 Redwire / Sonitrol of Tallahassee, Bay, NW FL, EC FL
Tallahassee, Fla.		 $494,263 5.4%  5,348 $8,553,481  67
59 Select Security
Lancaster, Pa.		 $493,268 31.9%  10,680 $10,412,000  100
60 Post Alarm Systems
Arcadia, Calif.		 $489,866 1.1%  14,500 $9,781,607  121
61 Vision Security
Orem, Utah		 $474,544 56.0%  10,116 $30,982,056  18
62 American Security Systems Inc.
Long Island City, N.Y.		 $474,000 6.0%  7,111 $10,119,015  75
63 Sonitrol Tri-County
Grand Blanc, Mich.		 $473,518 2.8%  na  $9,489,306  70
64 Habitec Security
Toledo, Ohio		 $468,581 3.5%  na  $9,320,000  90
65 A-Com Protection Services Inc.
Columbus, Ga.		 $446,814 2.5%  15,018 $8,141,986  69
66 The Protection Bureau
Exton, Pa.		 $445,850 0.5%  7,650 $15,250,859  90
67 Intertech Security
Pittsburgh, Pa.		 $432,905 7.9%  4,646 $23,696,289  144
68 Peak Alarm Co. Inc.
Salt Lake City, Utah		 $425,248 12.9%  11,671 $7,408,350  77
69 Safe Systems
Louisville, Colo.		 $422,425 20.4%  9,761 $8,106,531  69
70 Blue Ridge Security Systems Inc.
Anderson, S.C.		 $420,854 3.3%  35,591 $11,760,089  92
71 Sonitrol SW Ohio
Mason, Ohio		 $414,346 10.8%  6,209 $7,061,871  48
72 World Wide Security & GC Alarm Inc.
Garden City, N.Y.		 $402,000 7.2%  15,060 $7,000,000  55
73 Scarsdale Security Systems Inc.
Scarsdale, N.Y.		 $392,900 6.5%  na  $12,925,002  83
74 DynaFire Inc.
Casselberry, Fla.		 $386,117 31.0%  5,205 $7,738,285  63
75 Electronix Systems Central Station Alarms Inc.
Huntington Station, N.Y.		 $378,595 7.0%  13,693 $8,661,785  71
76 Acadiana Security Plus
Broussard, La.		 $371,612 9.1%  11,986 $7,798,436  60
77 Security Systems of America
Pittsburgh, Pa.		 $347,603 2.6%  11,877 $6,835,910  137
78 Johnson Controls Inc.
Milwaukee, Wis.		 $335,417 0.6%  2,600 $14,689  695
79 Fire Protection Inc.
Everett, Wash.		 $321,000 19.8%  7,188 $15,620,000  71
80 Washington Alarm Inc.
Seattle, Wash.		 $314,288 2.6%  5,320 $5,361,247  46
81 Security Force Inc.
Raleigh, N.C.		 $312,116 141.5%  7,998 $7,100,000  42
82 Richmond Alarm Company
Midlothian, Va.		 $305,630 2.2%  10,060 $6,902,388  76
83 Bates Security LLC / Sonitrol of Lexington
Lexington, Ky.		 $302,982 7.4%  4,355 $8,152,321  53
84 Gillmore Security Systems Inc.
Cleveland, Ohio		 $292,684 13.1%  5,989 $5,147,919  42
85 ARK Systems Inc.
Columbia, Md.		 $286,392 23.5%  1,196 $18,300,000  117
86 Sonitrol Security Services Inc.
Charlotte, N.C.		 $284,655 1.6%  3,906 $5,861,885  53
87 Crime Prevention Security Systems LLC
Gainesville, Fla.		 $282,720 8.3%  13,221 $6,257,176  na 
88 Amherst Alarm Inc.
Amherst, N.Y.		 $272,898 9.3%  25,241 $5,498,249  53
89 Sonitrol of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Ind.		 $263,207 3.7%  1,985 $4,673,473  28
90 Pacific Alarm Systems Inc.
Culver City, Calif.		 $257,157 -1.0%  4,152 $4,013,077  47
91 Valley Alarm
Sun Valley, Calif.		 $256,538 3.6%  7,786 $3,946,833  20
92 Custom Alarm
Rochester, Minn.		 $248,680 0.4%  5,880 $10,043,817  62
93 Bonds Alarm Co. Inc.
Phoenix, Ariz.		 $246,742 2.0%  7,758 $3,866,295  30
94 Briscoe Protective Systems Inc.
Centereach, N.Y.		 $239,012 27.5%  2,345 $6,013,204  35
95 Moon Security Services Inc.
Pasco, Wash.		 $234,911 9.4%  6,848 $9,175,366  109
96 Sentry Security
Wheeling, Ill.		 $229,911 -9.4%  4,034 $5,743,917  21
97 SDT Inc.
Newtown, Pa.		 $226,974 9.3%  na  $14,113,749  88
98 Yarnell Security Systems
Lancaster, Pa.		 $217,000 3.6%  8,980 $5,100,000  41
99 Mijac Alarm
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.		 $210,309 3.1%  na  $3,725,255  29
100 NCA
Nashville, Tenn.		 $191,085 18.5%  16,517 $3,928,140  19

 

 

e = SDM estimate
 
No. 1 – Became a public company trading under the symbol ADT on the New York Stock Exchange.
No. 2 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100 as Tyco Integrated
Security since splitting from ADT in fall 2012. All figures are SDM estimates.
No. 3 – SDM’s 2009 Dealer of the Year.
No. 4 – Acquired by The Blackstone Group in November 2012 for more than $2 billion. SDM’s 2011 Dealer of the Year.
No. 6 – Most significant accomplishment in 2012 was to attain the highest
level of national account growth the company has seen to date. SDM 2012 Dealer of the Year.
No. 7 – Developed in-house managed cloud-based services.
No. 8 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100.
No. 9 – SDM’s 2003 Dealer of the Year.
No. 10 – Embarked on a campaign to upgrade customers to home
automation services.
No. 11 – Benefiting from increased market penetration and greater sales force adoption across all markets with the ASG Connect brand,
an enhanced interactive service platform for intrusion systems. Also launched ASG Video, a new hosted video service, in 2012. SDM’s 2008 Dealer of the Year.
No. 12 – Acquired and successfully integrated Westec Intelligent Video Surveillance into operations.  
No. 14 – Sustained continuous growth of more than 30
percent each year, with a growth in gross revenue of 48 percent from 2011 to 2012. The company also increased its staff by 27 percent.
No. 15 – 25 percent
increase in new customer additions over 2011.
No. 16 – 23 percent growth and some fold-in acquisitions.
No. 19 – Acquired two high-quality companies; one on the West Coast and one in the Southeast.
No. 22 – Kept attrition at less than 6 percent. SDM’s 2000
Dealer of the Year.
No. 25 – In addition to double-digit revenue growth, was selected by Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the “Best Places to Work.” SDM’s 2007 Dealer of the Year.
No. 26 – Opened first branch office in Mississippi.  
No. 27 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100.
No. 28 – Established a cloud-based portal to aggregate all loss prevention and business intelligence solutions for clients.
No. 29 – Purchased a monitoring station.
No. 31 – Recorded internal RMR growth year due to an increase in the services provided in the last few years. Great increases in financial success, due mostly to growth in integrated projects and larger projects.
No. 32 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100.
No. 33 – Refinanced the company and with additional capital bought several other companies, growing RMR significantly.
No. 34 – SDM’s 2002 Dealer of the Year.
No. 36 – Significant investment in company’s IT plant, switching to a virtual server arrangement.
No. 38 – 12.6 percent increase in profit.
No. 39 – Strong growth in RMR and volume over previous year.
No. 41 – Completely integrated IP-based alarm communication within the company. Technicians and sales teams received extensive training, and in the central station, IP was embraced not only from a hardware and equipment perspective, but also from a policies and procedures, and disaster recovery aspect.
No. 42 – Central station aided in the apprehension of 1,035 criminals.
No. 44 – Doubled the number of employees and experienced significant RMR growth.
No. 45 – Continued to expand monitoring of school systems with seven total school systems now being monitored. Large increase in number of monitored systems being placed online. Connected services business growing with continued expansion of the “SecurePath” marketing message that includes three connected paths for security monitoring.
No. 47 – Acquired two companies in Albany, N.Y., and opened a full-service branch.
No. 48 – Expanded hosted and managed services.
No. 49 – Installed a large residential security system integrating burglar, fire, CCTV and fence protection.
No. 52 – 12.7 percent increase in total revenue over the prior year.
No. 53 – No layoffs; maintained economic position; minimal RMR net attrition.
No. 54 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100. Acquired Microsoft Dynamics AX as new ERP platform to support future growth, while gaining workflow efficiencies and overall experience.
No. 55 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100. Secured a $50 million credit facility.
No. 59 – Now in fourth year of using door-knocking business model, with plans to add 2,000 to 3,000 customers.
No. 62 – Continued to build up fire division, both installs and “parts and smarts” for electricians.
No. 64 – Added more recurring service solutions, including verified video monitoring, managed access control and simplified home automation. Positioned as a services business, avoiding sales without RMR.
No. 66 – SDM’s 2010 Dealer of the Year.
No. 69 – Completed two acquisitions; one closed Aug. 31 and the other Oct. 31, 2012. This added 1,404 systems and increased RMR more than 10 percent.
No. 70 – Now has a person on staff to manage efforts to connect to customers and prospects through social media. Has run several new advertising campaigns for print media, as well as TV and radio.
No. 72 – Integrated acquired accounts and organic growth.
No. 73 – Process improvements and restructuring, rebranding.
No. 74 – Expanded private radio network using mesh technology.
No. 77 – Installed more than 100 AES radios.
No. 78 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100.
No. 80 – Invested in a new building, infrastructure and personnel.
No. 81 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100. Expanded operation further north and south into Virginia and South Carolina.
No. 82 – Integrated a 2011 acquisition into operation. Closed a central station and organized and updated the accounts.
No. 83 – Moved to a brand new corporate headquarters, a three-story 14,000-sq.-ft. building, while continuing strong sales growth and maintaining a high level of customer service.
No. 84 – Integrated an acquisition.
No. 86 – Integrated design of access and IP camera technology monitored by central station.
No. 87 – Purchased a branch office in Orlando, Fla., retaining 23 staff members from the previous company and growing business in the new market.  
No. 88 – Sales were flat and slightly down, yet profitability was up due to better management of resources.
No. 90 – Remodeled sales department and administrative/clerical office/department.  No. 92 – Converted centralcstation software to new platform.
No. 97 – Successful in closing two key accounts that the company had been working for a long time. Also invested heavilycin training of field staff.  
No. 98 – Added IP-based system capabilities.
No. 99 – First-time ranking on the SDM 100.