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In today’s world, cyber threats are on everyone’s minds. That’s because it’s slowly becoming the number one business risk for organizations of all sizes. From system hacks and DDoS attacks to the increased prevalence of ransomwares, news of cyberattacks seems constant. While there have fewer reports of major attacks comparable to the Yahoo breach of 2017, where the personal information of 3 billion users was exposed, that’s no reason to be complacent. Governments are stepping in to update policies and standards, which hold more organizations accountable.

Advances in technology have put smart home capability within the reach of most security systems buyers, greatly enhancing security’s consumer appeal — and one of the most appealing smart devices is the smart lock.

Everyone has stories. Take this year’s Monitoring Center of the Year recipient and the time the company hired a consultant to make sure management was meeting the needs of the millennial generation.

Ener-Tel Services, based in San Angelo, Texas, started in 1984 as an automation controls company for heating and cooling units, explains General Sales Manager Ron Pullen. “The owner also did a lot of work for Verizon, so the ‘Ener’ is for energy management and the ‘tel’ is for telco. We started off as an energy management company and grew into all the other categories like fire, CCTV, access control, home and business security, and fire alarm and sprinkler. We do residential, light commercial and have a commercial group that does the integration side, talking to architects and engineers.”

To tweak a line from a famous Frank Sinatra song: 2017, it was a very good year. It was a very good year for connected homes, that is. Massive amounts of advertising from big players inside and outside the security space, a rapidly advancing technology landscape, and an avid interest from homeowners at all economic levels led to a connected home space that is growing by leaps and bounds.

Honeywell announced Resideo will be the corporate name of the Honeywell Homes product portfolio and ADI global distribution businesses when they become a stand-alone, publicly traded company following completion of a spin that is expected by the end of 2018. Honeywell will license its brand to Resideo under a long-term agreement for use in its home comfort and security hardware, and software solutions for all channels.

Security dealers increasingly are offering smart home devices such as smart lighting control, smart thermostats and smart door locks to their customers. By taking the right precautions, dealers can help ensure that those devices enhance the customer’s lifestyle without posing cyber security vulnerabilities.

The keypad has been a fixture of the access control world for a long time. The first pushbutton combination lock is credited to Alfred A. Peters in 1875. And since then, they have been a popular — and often a more affordable — option for securing doors when a customer doesn’t want to keep track of keys or cards.

In today’s security market it can be extremely difficult as a security dealer or integrator to truly differentiate yourself from your competitors, build and establish your unique brand, and remain sticky to your customer base. There is simply so much competition within the industry that everyone is basically saying “me too” and offering it for a few dollars less.

Without question, the availability of high definition over coax (HDoC) technologies has had a significant impact on security integrators’ ongoing efforts to upgrade end users from traditional analog solutions.