Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40004
SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS SEPTEMBER 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com MANAGED Continued from page 22 be property managers, Ladd said. Lord agreed, and noted that those property managers are happy to see integrators take even more responsibility—for increased fees, of course. For example, said Lord, his company has noticed that many property managers don't have an Internet line to run the managed access system in the various build- ings. In the past, the integrator would tell the property managers that Internet access was a require- ment they needed to handle. Now, said Lord, his company will get a line in and handle the monthly connection cost—all billable to the customers, while taking away one more thing for them to be concerned with. And while many integrators have jumped on the managed access trend, there are compa- nies out there seeking to make entry even easier for smaller security firms. Doug Penson is president of SecurU, based just outside of Toronto, Canada. He offers man- aged access to clients with Kan- tech's hattrix platform, but has recently started a subsidiary, My Managed Security. My Managed Security is a reseller of hattrix, said Penson, aimed at letting smaller security firms explore the managed access world. The platform is hosted on My Managed Security's network infrastructure. The integrator clients, and end users, access the system through the cloud. All the branding reflects the integrator clients, not My Managed Security. "They can get in with little risk, little skin in the game. It allows them to feel out and compete with the whole market and compete with some of the larger companies that get into the infrastructure," said Penson. My Managed Security also helps smaller integrators with the business model of managed access—how to set price points, establish new customers and mar- keting, and how to work RMR into the existing budget. "We're familiar with RMR, we get how it works. We know its strong and weak points," said Penson. "Our goal is to take that knowledge, improve on it, and implement this to our dealers out of the gate." There are three levels of service the dealers can offer through hat- trix (hence the product name: a hat trick refers to three goals by one player in hockey). At the first level, the dealer provides the end client with the hardware and software, and the client is able to access web- hosted services to lock doors, run reports, change cards, etc. The next level is a hybrid model, and the security firm man- ages the customer's account dur- ing business hours, with the cli- ent looking after their own needs on off hours. The final tier is full concierge services, with a 24/7 managed platform—the security firm han- dles all aspects of access control for the client, all the time. Ideally, said Penson, this model will help small security firms inte- grate themselves into their clients' business models—they'll be able Doug Penson to handle alarm and video ser- vices, as well as access control. "It's going to build a stron- ger relationship with the client; you're going to find your attrition is lower, because you're handling more than one service for the client. When that salesperson from the other alarm company knocks on their door, trying to take over that alarm account, now there's more embedded than just one alarm account," said Penson. Guido DiPalla, Kantech's busi- ness development manager for North America, said he's hearing more and more demand from the field for a unified backend solution as well as a demand for integrating building automation services. Now that many security compa- MARKET TRENDS 23 nies are getting into the managed access game—and more small ones may be joining the trend—DiPalla said there's an apparent need for a company to offer a back-office solution to help small companies manage the accounting and cus- tomer relation part of the business. "They're looking for some- thing that's automated," said DiPalla. "The whole concept is to spend less time managing your customers." SSN 2011 OFFICIAL WINNER It's that easy – secure a complete IP solution for any application. Now the TruVision™ Line delivers even more IP video components for a complete network solution. Committed to providing IP video functionality for small to mid-sized applications, the TruVision™ Line offers integrated network security that's affordable and effective. With expanded components including megapixel cameras and recorders, combined with IFS network switches, TruVision is growing to meet even more of your customer's needs now and in the future. Learn more at interlogix.com/truvision. Now a complete IP solution is available from one provider with the new TruVision IP cameras, IFS switches and the award-winning TruVision NVR 20. MAXIMUM WINNER AWARDS © 2011 Interlogix, A UTC Fire & Security Company. All rights reserved.