By Ashley Willis
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Dynamark Security Centers' newly operational UL-listed, third-party central station provides more reliable alarm monitoring and faster response.
Dynamark Monitoring, which opened Monday, deploys Bold Technologies' Manitou Alarm Automation software. The station also uses redundant Sur-Gard System IV and DMP receivers to ensure all signal formats can be handled quickly, efficiently and seamlessly, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Tom Piston tells SSI.
"The nice thing about building a brand new central station is that we have the latest and greatest technology," Piston says. "We made sure that everything we deployed was the most current version. The Bold Technologies software is very user-friendly, and our operators took to it very quickly."
In addition to third party, wholesale monitoring, Dynamark Monitoring offers account funding programs to help dealers compete with other national programs. It also provides account purchase plans to help dealers monetize their businesses. Unlike most dealer programs, Dynamark Monitoring does not require dealers to sell accounts, according to the company.
The decision to build the central station stems from the company's strategic move to enhance its dealer program.
"For the dealer program to be really good, we needed to have a central station," Piston says. "It seemed like a good idea to have our own central station because of the monitoring potential and the recurring monthly revenue [RMR] that revolves around it. We didn't want to just contract with somebody else; we wanted our own."
The company initially planned to purchase an existing central station; however, when the deal didn't work out, Dynamark's founder Wayne Alter set out to build his own. The facility now employs roughly 20 people, including a full-time central station manager and IT manager.
Alter first repurchased First Action Security Team, which supplies security products, training, marketing assistance and other support services to customers.
"The opening of Dynamark Monitoring now makes the Dynamark Dealer program a complete package," Alter says. "It costs nothing to join and dealers can pick and choose which products and services they wish to use. We'll monitor, handle billing and collections for them, and we'll buy the accounts if they choose."
The company will monitor more than 20,000 residential and commercial accounts within the next few months.
For more on Dynamark's Dealer Program, check out SSI's October issue.
Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.