It’s August, and for many areas of the U.S., it’s the hottest month of the year, although this year seems set to outdo itself in the temperature department! As I write this, many of you are “enjoying” the triple digit temperatures out in Las Vegas, while seeing the hottest new technology in-person for the first time in over a year.

Which manufacturers and distributors do the largest systems integrators support? This Top Systems Integrators brand-usage report lists the companies that earn their business.

I am not a big baseball fan, but it seems to me that in almost any sport, flexibility is important — both for the athlete, physically, and in the game itself. Baseball is after all famous for its “seventh inning stretch” — a chance to stand and limber up those muscles, whether you are a player or a spectator.

Security integrators faced no shortage of curveballs in 2020, but many in the top 100 managed to stay ahead in the count and find successes.

SDM 100 COMPANIES operate in a wide variety of geographical and vertical markets, including both residential and commercial business, and education, government, commercial and institutional customers.

IT’S SUMMER TRADESHOW SEASON, post-COVID style!

If there is one word that could describe 2020, both in life and for the top 100 security dealers, it is unpredictable. Following several years of growth — and a very strong 2019 — SDM 100 companies found themselves on slippery ground beginning in March 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? Each May SDM features the SDM 100 (link to story) — a ranking of the top 100 security dealer companies measured by their RMR the previous year.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES. As I sit in my home office in Maryland (unlike many of you I already worked from home, so that hasn’t changed), the first daffodils are appearing and the beautiful flowering trees are starting to bud. The vaccine news here and around the country seems to be getting more and more positive by the day, and there is a general feeling of real optimism that things might get back to closer to “normal” soon.

FOR MOST OF US HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, March marks one year since our lives — both personally and professionally — turned upside down as the result of a disease scientists called COVID-19.