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SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS AUGUST 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS 27 RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS BRIEFS Honeywell app aids in sales/installation calls MELVILLE, N.Y.— Honeywell in June released an app that will make it easier for security professionals to get prod- uct information using their iPads dur- ing sales calls and installation. David Gottlieb The app is free and available in the Apple iTunes App Store, the com- pany said of the Honeywell Security Group App. The company said the new app “provides easy access to source- books, videos and product brochures for dealers, integrators and install- ers that serve both the residential and commercial markets. Once the app is retrieved, users can read and store as many items as needed.” Honeywell Security global marketing communications leader David Gottlieb told Security Systems News that sales professionals can use the app to sup- port their sales presentation right from an iPad. “There’s brochures, there’s videos on the app,” he said. For an installer, Gottlieb said, “There’s an abundance of product information.” Select Security wins recognition for growth LANCASTER, Pa.—Select Security announced in June that it was named by the Central Penn Business Journal as one of the top 50 fastest growing companies in central Pennsylvania. In order to be eligible for the list, com- panies are required to show revenue of at least $500,000 in each of the fiscal years ending 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as revenue growth in 2010, as compared to 2008. The list ranked the companies according to revenue growth over the three years, with both dollar and per- centage increases taken into consider- ation. “Select Security has shown enor- mous growth over the past few years and I think that reflects the reputation we have built,” said company president Patrick Egan, in a statement. Protection 1 recognized for customer service ROMEOVILLE, Ill.—Protection 1 was ranked in the top 5 of the Best in Class Call Center – Over 200 Staff category at the 2011 Call Center Excellence Awards in Las Vegas, Nev. “This acknowledgement means a great deal to us,” said Protection 1 President and CEO Tim Whall, in a statement. “Customer service is the cornerstone of our culture. Our focus has been to provide each and every customer with nothing short of extraor- dinary service at every turn.” Devcon updates its look By Martha Entwistle HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—Devcon Security has a new look to go with its new national presence. This super-regional security company, which has gone national in the past year, said in June it would begin a rebranding effort in early July. Spearheading the effort is Kristin Clark, Devcon VP of marketing. Clark is well acquainted with rebranding efforts having come to Devcon from Brink’s/Broadview where she was director of media and mar- ket planning. There, among other duties, Guardian dealers do business in cloud Company says it leads the industry in enabling dealers to sell and get funded electronically By Tess Nacelewicz PITTSBURGH—Guardian Protection Services, a super-regional based here, has launched new web-based services for dealers that allow them to sell and get funded electronically—saving both them and Guardian time and money. The company believes it is the first to offer dealers such services, which include enabling dealers to upload contracts via the Guardian cloud, instead of physically mailing piles of paper documents to the company. Dealers also can get funding for their accounts more quickly. “It doesn’t seem like anyone else in the she spearheaded the brand change from Brink’s to Broadview. Clark joined Devcon in December 2010 with the task of developing the market- ing plan to go along with the new national strategy of the company. “We were shooting for a fresher, more modern look with clean lines,” she said. As of July, new customers were to receive lawn signs and decals sporting the new look. The entire rollout will take a while, however. “We’ll be rolling it out logically. It’ll be a three- to four-month process to go from the old look to the new look. There will be a dual logo out there for a certain period of time.” Devcon is in the process of revamp- ing its web site. The new logo includes a mark on the right side that signals “forward movement” and the new technology the company is using. In addition, the mar- keting and sales materials feature “people in motion, enjoying life, without worry,” Clark said. SSN industry has gone totally electronic with their paperwork,” Eric Aulbach, Guard- ian’s senior vice president of information technology, told Security Systems News. Dealers don’t have to buy anything, or install any software; they just access the services remotely, Aulbach said. “It’s a totally web-based application,” he said. “All that’s required is a user name and password and within the cloud you can access all of the services.” He said the new services are a col- lection of web-based tools known as D.A.R.T (Dealer Automation Real Time), which “automate the Guardian onboard- ing, account creation, account audit and funding process.” Guardian developed D.A.R.T. in con- junction with Guardian’s dealer com- munity, based on their feedback, Aul- bach said. The company told potential new deal- ers about the new services at the ESX show in Charlotte, N.C. in June, but actually unveiled them in April to existing dealers at Guardian’s national dealer convention in Las Vegas, said Hank Groff, national director of Guardian’s dealer division. He said the company has received posi- tive feedback from dealers. One dealer, GUARDIAN see page 28 Newly rebranded Bates Security acquires By Tess Nacelewicz LEXINGTON, Ky.—Bates Secu- rity, a Honeywell First Alert Professional Authorized Dealer based here, recently acquired Winchester Security in nearby Winchester. The acquisition—which netted Bates just under 300 mostly residential accounts—is the third for the company in about a year, general manager Jeremy Bates told Security Systems News. Bates Security also rebranded in May from its former name, ADR Security Services, Bates said. “We wanted to rebrand it to a name that made more sense,” he said, explaining the switch to the family name for the business. The Bates family owns both Bates Security, whose business is about half residential and half commercial, and Sonitrol of Lexington Inc., a sepa- rate company serving commercial cli- ents, Bates said. BATES see page 28 Door knocking in Hawaii generates concerns By Tess Nacelewicz HONOLULU—After hearing complaints that summer-sales-model companies in Hawaii this summer are using deceptive sales practices, the Hawaii Burglar and Fire Alarm Association decided to warn homeowners itself. Members recently talked to a local television station about reports they say they’ve had from customers and others about door-knocking companies using unethical sales techniques. “We just decided that was the best way to get the word out to the public,” asso- ciation vice president Mary Paulson told Security Systems News about the June 15 news story that aired on station KHON2. The television report did not name the companies allegedly engaged in decep- tive sales, and neither association mem- bers nor the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii provided SSN with specific infor- mation linking the complaints to particu- lar companies. But the TV story appears to have put Hawaii residents on the alert. Timothy Caminos, director of com- munications for Hawaii’s BBB, told SSN that since the news story aired, “We have received a high volume of calls about alarm companies.” Even in the month prior to the report—in May—the BBB also received 844 inquiries about alarm companies, Caminos said. “The inquiries are higher this year [than in other years],” he said. Caminos said inquiries are not neces- sarily complaints—they might be from residents simply wondering if an alarm company that approached them is legiti- mate, for example. Caminos said it is sometimes hard to know which companies are involved because residents tell the BBB that the sales reps don’t always give a company name or sometimes provide only a cell HAWAII see page 29