Archive: October 2016
My Alarm Center secures $10m in additional funding
October 26, 2016Paul Ragusa
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.—My Alarm Center, a residential security and home automation provider, recently secured $10 million in additional funding, giving the company increased capabilities on the acquisition front and in its growth organically.Led by Ironwood Capital and supported by Alcentra, Saratoga Investment Corporation, NXT Capital and OFS Capital, the $10 million is additional second-lien debt, an increase of the $50 million second-lien term loan to $60 million, with the proceeds going to...
Specifically Speaking with Andy Parsons, RCDD
October 26, 2016Paul Ragusa
How did you get into security consulting?When I graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science, I didn't know what I wanted for a career other than it needed to be something in the field of technology. I interviewed for an entry-level position at EDI not really knowing what they did and was hired on the spot. EDI consults and designs various technology and low-voltage systems used in large facilities such as hospitals and corporate office buildings. A major aspect of what we design...
ESA announces Leadership Summit keynote
October 26, 2016Spencer Ives
The Electronic Security Association recently announced that Dr. Joseph Kuhns, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of North Carolina, will be the keynote speaker for the 2017 ESA Leadership Summit, to be held Feb. 12 through Feb. 15 in Tampa, Fla.
“Dr. Kuhns brings extensive experience and knowledge from the world of criminology that will provide attendees with helpful data that can be applied to how they approach the market and work with their customers,”...
Securing IoT
October 26, 2016Paul Ragusa
Last week's malware attack sent a sobering chill through the security industry, as it illuminated the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of IoT products, showing how easy it is to hack into unsecured IP devices.
The hackers, who were able to affect sites including Twitter, Spotify and CNN, launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack using tens of millions of malware-infected devices connected to the Internet to overwhelm Dyn, a provider of Domain Name System services.
Although the attack amounted...
Poll: Video technologies most talked about, poised for most advancement
October 25, 2016Spencer Ives
YARMOUTH, Maine—Following ASIS 2016, where many technologies were showcased and industry problems addressed, Security Systems News asked readers about top trends, and many pointed to video technologies and interoperability.“I believe the biggest technological advancements will come from cloud security deployments and managed service providers,” Christopher Martini, regional manager, corporate security and business protection for Jaguar Land Rover, wrote in. “As an end user,...
MONI recognized for customer service
October 25, 2016SSN Staff
DALLAS—MONI announced it has been ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among home security companies by J.D. Power.
"Customer support and satisfaction have been a primary focus throughout MONI's 20-year history in smart home security and we strive for continual improvement based on customer feedback," Jeff Gardner, president and CEO of MONI, said in a prepared statement. "The J.D. Power ranking is an acknowledgement of MONI's efforts to satisfy every customer in every interaction,...
Allegion's Tim Eckersley awarded
October 24, 2016Spencer Ives
SILVER SPRING, Md.—SIA announced in late September that Tim Eckersley, Allegion's senior vice president and president of the Americas, will receive this year's Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award, in part for his work with PASS—the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools.“School security is a passion of mine—for as long as I can remember, I've had a genuine interest in kids' wellbeing. As a board member for the Security Industry Association as well as a business leader for...
Five Questions: Dave Simon
October 24, 2016Spencer Ives
YARMOUTH, Maine—H&S Protection Systems, based in Pewaukee, Wis., in August announced that it hired Dave Simon as the company's director of business development. Simon said that in his new role, “There's a shorter goal and a longer goal. The shorter goal is very sales oriented, digging up leads. … Longer term, it's taking that sales side and sharing some of the things that are learned, along with techniques, for developing the business in new areas.” Security Systems News asked...
The rise of security
October 19, 2016Paul Ragusa
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—Several reports have come out in the past month looking to quantify growth within security, each illuminating the fact that the industry is growing both here in North America and globally as well.
In terms of the global security market, the first Worldwide Semiannual Security Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC), released last week, forecasts that worldwide revenues for security-related hardware, software, and services will grow from $73.7 billion in 2016...
COPS sees quick response times during hurricane
October 19, 2016Spencer Ives
COPS Monitoring recently announced that it was able to achieve a 12.4 second average response time during Hurricane Matthew—quicker than the company's 13.9 second average for priority response in the past 12 months. COPS gave credit to its team for the achievement.
“Achieving a 13.9 second response time is difficult enough. When a situation like severe weather causes alarm traffic to increase 20 to 30 percent, it's not uncommon for many central stations to have response times that are...