Joan Engebretson

The pandemic has brought changes for wholesale central stations. UL has temporarily allowed central station operators to work from home, provided certain requirements were met; and multiple wholesale central stations chose that option — others went a different route.

The latest version of the UL standard for smoke detectors is designed to help ensure that devices can both detect a wider variety of fires, and avoid generating a nuisance alarm when there is not an emergency.

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.

The right operations software can make a big difference for a security dealer — saving time, money and providing a competitive edge.

More customers are using access control, and doing more with it, than ever before — and the industry has advances in access control software to thank for that.

Today’s video management systems (VMSs) have powerful capabilities, including the ability to manage video systems installed at multiple locations, to use heat mapping to count people in an area and keep track of how long they stay there and to use analytics and audio to detect left objects, weapons and even bullying behaviors.

When publicly held security dealer Monitronics filed for bankruptcy in May 2019, then came out of it several months later, it had a ripple effect on the entire security industry.

The wholesale central station business is a multi-faceted one, and companies in this business are keen on innovation, adding new capabilities every year. A few commonalities emerged as we spoke with central stations for this year’s annual roundup of wholesale monitoring.

Distributors play a key role in the security business, offering not only products but also training and other resources to security dealers. Here is what’s new in this area.

Smart home capabilities are the sizzle that can help sell the security system steak. And smart locks are among the most sizzling smart home options. Here are six key developments in this area — and seven more that could be coming over the horizon.