CMS upgrades to single MAS platform across four stations

LONGWOOD, Fla.--Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS), one of the largest wholesale monitoring companies in the United States, has completed an upgrade of its monitoring platform to MASterMind version 6.22. The upgrade enhances service, functionality and efficiency for alarm dealers and operators by changing over CMS' four monitoring stations (Cypress, Calif.; St. Paul, Minn.; Manasquan, N.J.; and Longwood, Fla.) to the same monitoring platform. Tony Wilson, president of CMS, said that the upgrade, which was completed in September, improved CMS' monitoring power and accuracy: "Now that we're on one platform, we can operate more seamlessly for our employees, and our customers and our dealers, which makes us more efficient." One big problem faced by central stations everywhere is the unpredictable activity spike, which can be caused by just about anything, even the weather. According to Wilson, a standalone central station is stuck with its own limited resources when a spike hits. "This is something that makes us unique from our competitors. We're more able to handle spikes in activity," Wilson said. "We have the ability now to take the resources from our four centers and use them where there's a spike. Again, we've got the benefit of all four working together. We've created a command center and we've got a supervisor monitoring traffic and weather patterns." Heading up the command center is senior vice president of operations Ron Carr. In the newly created position, Carr will oversee all monitoring, operations support, dealer support, and information technology efforts for CMS nationwide. Carr has more than 25 years of experience in the telecom and alarm monitoring industries, most recently serving as a consultant for RBCS Enterprise Corp. and RJC Consulting Services, where he managed numerous call center projects and improvements. In a consulting capacity, he oversaw the successful CMS facility move to Cypress, Calif., and also lead CMS' upgrade to MASterMind. Wilson said the upgrade would benefit its dealers in the form of improved customer satisfaction. "It should have a positive effect," Wilson said. "Good, consistent response from your monitoring base decreases attrition." Mainly, said Wilson, the upgraded single platform for all CMS centers means that CMS can continue to offer good service: "The important thing is that it's seamless to the customers, and they continue to get good response to their alarms. Our goal, as simple as it is, is dependable, accurate response times on a consistent basis."