Reacting to Crises

CRISIS RESPONSE

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I have been living in crisis-mode for the past six months. Luckily my family has so far stayed healthy and is mostly taking the changes to our daily life in stride. Yet, while COVID-19 has seemed to take up a lot of our energy, time and planning lately, it is far from the only crisis the security industry responds to on a daily basis.

From fires to active shooters, rioting incidents and much more, the physical security industry is the lifeline for many urgent matters. In this month’s cover story, Responding to the Unexpected, Courtney Wolfe writes about critical incident response and solutions such as gunshot detection systems, analytics and other ways the security industry is stepping up to meet the needs of its customers both for their every day needs and for the unexpected ones, whether that be an active shooter or a health emergency like we have been experiencing this year.

Of course, COVID-19 is the issue that continues to be top-of-mind for most companies today, and many of this month’s features address the impact it has had on certain technologies and verticals within the security and life safety space.

In Enterprise Access Reacts to COVID-19, I discuss with top industry experts the impact the pandemic has had and will potentially have going forward in the enterprise access control space, where many have looked to their existing systems to explore features they hadn’t needed before (like contact tracing) and integrations that didn’t exist prior to this situation (such as EST systems). It also considers how this crisis may change future planning for these larger customers. And in VMS Solutions Evolve to Address Emerging Needs contributing writer Derek Rice writes, “As the world adjusts to a new normal, security integrators and users must change the way VMS solutions are sold, installed, configured and used.”

Two other features, the 2020 State of the Market: Fire Alarms and Distributors Help During COVID-19 also delve into ways the industry is both weathering and adjusting to changes wrought by this pandemic.

We hope you find this issue full of useful insight and thought-provoking ideas. Let us know what you think by joining us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or emailing me at Hodgsonk@bnpmedia.com.

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As the Editor-in-Chief of SDM, Karyn Hodgson is responsible for the overall editorial direction of the magazine, its supplements, e-newsletters and website. She works with the SDM editorial staff to develop content that helps security dealers and systems integrators operate successful businesses. Karyn represents SDM at trade shows and conferences, and directs exclusive research studies such as the SDM Industry Forecast. She also manages SDM’s Dealer of the Year and Systems Integrator of the Year Award programs. Karyn has an MSJ in Journalism (magazine publishing) degree from Northwestern University, and more than 25 years’ experience writing for and about the security industry. Contact Karyn with article ideas.