Securenets hosts Videofied solution

MARION, Ark.--Securenets, a provider of hosted surveillance solutions based here, has announced it now offers SouthVault for Videofied, a hosted service for end users to monitor their own security surveillance network. SouthVault is an alternate monitoring and notification service accessed through an online portal. SouthVault receives the alarm transmission from the panel and hosts it on a Web site while sending email notifications and phone calls to up to 20 designated end users. Securenets VP of marketing Johnnie Walker said it was all about "moving in the direction people want to move in ... They want it easy, they want it portable, and they want it now."

According to Securenets president Fran Glasco, the service fills a void where the deployment did not necessarily warrant 24/7/365 live monitoring by a central station, nor law enforcement notification and dispatch. "I discovered that oil wells needed to know what was going on out at the wells, but they didn't need police response," Glasco said. "They said, 'I need to know if my pumper is showing up every day.'"

RSI president Keith Jentoft said Securenets was a good fit for RSI. "I think Fran has put together a good hosted monitoring solution that complements Videofied's outdoor security capabilities," Jentoft said. "It's not your typical low-end self-monitoring, but a powerful hosted solution for Videofied systems."

The real question is whether  services like SouthVault and similar systems from companies like Alarm.com, will eventually render the monitoring station unnecessary. According to Walker centrals need not worry. "The big thing is this: Central monitoring will always be around," Walker said.

Added Glasco, "We've also been approached by central monitoring stations to offer our service to their customers, and we're setting up a dealer program for Videofied dealers."

According to Alison Slavin, VP of product management for Alarm.com, today's end users are becoming savvier and are demanding greater control of every aspect of their lives, including their security. She stresses, however, there is still a need for the central station. "Alarm.com ... dealers package Alarm.com services with central station monitoring in 99 percent of installs," Slavin said in an email interview. "So the customer gets both [self-monitored and central station monitored services]."