Tag: Ken Kirschenbaum
Does RMR tell the whole story?
September 4, 2013Leif Kothe
Today, Ken Kirschenbaum, an industry attorney, broached the topic of valuation in the alarm industry in his email to subscribers. In the monitoring space, a company's valuation is based “exclusively on a multiple of RMR,” Kirschenbaum explains. A reason for this is that, in a sale, an alarm company isn't selling its ongoing business so much as its subscriber accounts.
While the RMR multiple can shed light on the value of a company on the verge of a sale, it doesn't tell everything. In...
The value of an IP address
August 5, 2013Leif Kothe
As promised in my last blog, I'm going to touch on another service discussed in Ken Kirschenbaum's new technology seminar, held last Friday, that could offer some significant benefits to monitoring companies.
The company, called Keep Your IP, is an IP forwarding service that allows dealers to retain their IP addresses, giving companies the ability to move from one central station to another without sacrificing the value they've built within their organization. Davin Roos, president of Keep Your IP,...
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is here: Notes from the webinar
August 1, 2013Leif Kothe
Earlier today I listened in on a technology webinar, hosted by Ken Kirschenbaum, an industry attorney, that featured several voices both in the industry and in intersecting fields. Many of the speakers are at the forefront of technological innovation as it pertains to the central station space, so naturally the discussion dealt primarily with how to stay competitive by leveraging new technology that can improve retention and carve out new sources of RMR.
A recurring theme of the talk, unsurprisingly,...
Contract chat: exculpatory and limitation of liability clauses
July 31, 2013Leif Kothe
A few weeks ago, in response to a Georgia appellate court decision upholding a verdict against Monitronics in a multi-million dollar case, Ken Kirschenbaum, an industry attorney, posed a simple question on his email newsletter to subscribers: "Why should an alarm contract be drafted so that judges find so much confusion?"
It's a fair question. There was little consensus among the appellate court judges, and some of the judges who concurred with the original verdict cited different reasons for doing...
Remote doormen: No jacket required for RMR, but mind your data
June 26, 2013Rich Miller
Does anyone remember Carlton, the heard-but-never-seen doorman from the forgettable '70s sitcom “Rhoda”? Little did anyone realize it, but the character was destined to become a model for RMR more than 30 years later: a remote gatekeeper providing access without the need for actual flesh and blood at the doorway.
Carlton and his real-life colleagues have increasingly given way to remote doorman service, with access granted after audio and video review by a central station operator. Depending...
Lowe's Iris: Boon or bane in fight against false alarms?
August 8, 2012Rich Miller
On one hand, it's hard not to see the appeal of Lowe's new Iris home management system. It's do-it-yourself for those with the dexterity to install a thermostat, it's cloud-based so homeowners can control and check on their properties remotely, and it's inexpensive: starter kits range from $179 to $299, and there are no monthly fees for those who choose to do their own alarm monitoring.
On the other hand, how many homeowners are really prepared to be their own central station?
Sarah-Frances Wallace,...
Court decision favors ADT—and other alarm companies
May 2, 2012Tess Nacelewicz
PASADENA, Calif.—ADT came out a winner in a recent court decision here, and the finding also is good news for others in the alarm industry, according to industry attorney Ken Kirschenbaum.ADT was sued in federal court by a California jewelry store, Manila Fine Jewelers, which lost $821,000 in a burglary. While the trial court found that “ADT failed [to] properly install [the store's] alarm system and failed to provide notification services when it actually received an alarm signal from...