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They say a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. So perhaps it was fortuitous that the founding partners of Stone Security — all members of the Edmunds family in Salt Lake City — had no background in security integration when they formed the company in 2006. Steve Edmunds, a retired Air Force captain and Delta Airlines pilot, started the business with his sons and son-in-law after a brief foray into residential security, which they quickly discovered wasn’t for them.

I love this time of year. As I write this in August, the weather is warm, the grass is green, and the sun is shining bright. Especially this year, it’s nice to take a brief moment, tilt your head back, and bask in the warmth of the sunshine for a few minutes.

Selling and installing security solutions is enough of a challenge under normal circumstances, but a global pandemic can really shake things up. For example, the video management systems (VMS) market was chugging along until COVID-19 reared its ugly head and changed everything.

Enterprise-level access control systems have been slowly reinventing themselves over the past several years. Once solidly the sphere of the large, proprietary, on-site systems, more security and IT directors had begun exploring what else they could do with access control.

The typically steady fire and life safety industry saw growth in 2019, with overall global revenues surpassing $7.5 billion, according to David Gonzalez, research analyst, physical security and critical communications, Omdia, London.

To say that security professionals’ plates are full at the moment would be an understatement. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the industry has stepped up to play a vital role in keeping people safe, secure and even healthy through uncertain and scary times.

The COVID-19 crisis has created both challenges and opportunities for security dealers. Security distributors have stepped up to reinvent training, as well as the equipment purchase process.

Visitor management, when done right, is like security, safety, receptionist, and analyst all in one. It keeps the building secure and safe from threats of all kinds (human, viral and other). It checks in visitors, logging who entered the building and when — and all of that valuable data can then be analyzed to tell building owners how the building is being used, and how they may better suit visitors’ needs.

The coronavirus pandemic metrics may fluctuate week-by-week and state-by-state, but many businesses and other public places that had been shuttered are now reopening in some mode — and that begs the question of how security integrators can help them establish safety through technology.

Recurring revenue within the alarm industry has been the lifeblood of alarm dealers for decades. On the integration side of the physical security industry, however, many security integrators have historically had little or no recurring revenue.