Trends & Industry Issues

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With the COVID-19 outbreak and various levels of lockdown, I’ve had a lot of time to read books and watch television. One of the technologies being heavily advertised is the 5G wireless technology, which is supposed to revolutionize cellular and internet connectivity.

But what is it going to do for our industry?

There are two unshakeable facts that determine the direction of the security industry. The first is that digital communications have redefined the concept of business risk.

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary this month, we thought it would be fitting to look back at the first Sales Stars column Brian Offenberger wrote for SDM back in 2015.

Marketing in the security industry is hard. The buyer's journey is beset by a range of shiny objects, competing offers, fear, uncertainty, doubt, budget shifts and cuts, priority shifts, urgent and important fires to extinguish, as well as various other threats to goals and timelines that disrupt the process.

Many years ago I reported on a case decided in California. Fireman’s Fund had paid various claims for burglary or fire losses and filed a lawsuit against alarm companies that had contracts with the plaintiff`s insureds, claiming subrogation to losses arising from property damage incidents sustained by insureds.

Communication — both with end users and emergency personnel — has always been an essential part of any monitoring business. The methods through which monitoring centers communicate, though, have become incredibly varied.

Thomas Paine, an early American philosopher, once said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Although these insightful words were written in reference to the American Revolution, they embody the sufferings of so many people today, due to the proliferation of COVID-19.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove widespread stay-at-home orders, 2020 was shaping up to be a challenging year for larger security dealers. As SDM reported last year at this time, at least two banks that had been major lenders to those dealers had either stopped making new loans or had begun imposing terms that were less favorable to the dealers

There is a lot written these days about cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT) regarding their impact on security integrators. I put the situation into the context of digital risk — our societal movement into the age of ones and zeros — which has redefined the concept of both business and personal security.

Companies are racing to implement phone-based credentials to increase security and user convenience. In general, that’s a good thing. However, if you’re thinking they’ll finally solve all of your identity security and credential management issues, think again.