June 25, 2012
SSI Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine talks with leadership at five highly skilled installation firms about how their companies have been affected by the recession and ongoing economic challenges.
February 6, 2012
The cover story of February’s SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION Business Issue features Protection 1 CEO Tim Whall, who participated in an exclusive and extensive interview. There was so much more to the conversation than was practical to include in the print or even extended online version. Plus some of it was more of a personal and overall industry assessment perspective rather than centered on P1 alone. So, here Whall describes his top challenges, security technology and industry consolid
January 31, 2012
For an unbiased assessment of the “new look” of P1 and Tim Whall’s leadership, Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine posed several questions to three of the most respected security industry business, finance and investment analysts. Following is what Mike Barnes, partner in Barnes Associates; Ron Davis, principal of Davis Mergers and Acquisitions Group; and Les Gold, partner with Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp (MS&K) had to say.
December 14, 2011
There are enormous differences between a great salesperson and a great sales manager. To be successful selling on a consistent basis, facing the negatives, the turn downs, the no’s salespeople face on a daily basis requires a thick skin, the ability to bounce right back up when knocked down, a positive can do attitude, a strong work ethic, a polished professional presentation, the ability to read people, prospecting skills, and certainly, closing skills.
December 14, 2011
SSI Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine he talks to San Francisco 49ers Vice President of Stadium Operations and Security Jim Mercurio about security plans for the 49ers new stadium set to be built in Santa Clara, Calif.
December 12, 2011
I’ve been asked the question posed in the headline above hundreds of times in the past usually by alarm company owners who were stuck in a sales/production rut. Their company wasn’t growing, and the company owner/president/CEO was trying to do everything, wearing all the hats in the company.
December 7, 2011
SSI Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine interviews the San Francisco 49ers Vice President of Stadium Operations and Security Jim Mercurio about Candlestick Park's new video surveillance upgrade.
November 2, 2011
In this follow-up blog, Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine shares highlights from a media forum addressing emergency communications featuring Jack Poole, principal of Poole Fire Protection in Olathe, Kan.; Bob Farm, project manager for United Fire Protection in Kenilworth, N.J.; Bob Kaczmarek, vice president of sales & marketing for FireTron Inc. of Stafford, Tex.; John Wojdan, president of Great Lakes Building Systems in Buffalo, N.Y.; and Peter Ebersold, marketing director for NOTIFIER.
October 28, 2011
In this blog, Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine shares highlights from a media forum addressing emergency communications featuring Jack Poole, principal of Poole Fire Protection in Olathe, Kan.; Bob Farm, project manager for United Fire Protection in Kenilworth, N.J.; Bob Kaczmarek, vice president of sales & marketing for FireTron Inc. of Stafford, Tex.; John Wojdan, president of Great Lakes Building Systems in Buffalo, N.Y.; and Peter Ebersold, marketing director for NOTIFIER.
October 25, 2011
They say power corrupts but for security systems it's a lack of power that corrupts. All the latest and greatest products, systems and technology is fantastic, but it ain't worth a plug nickel without the electrical energy required to maintain operational integrity. Power loss is an omnipresent threat for any electronic device but one that is too often misunderstood or disregarded.
September 30, 2011
Anyone who has been in the industry any length of time knows the top two trade shows of the year are ISC West in Las Vegas in the spring and ASIS, which shifts locations each year, in the fall. They both typically draw about 20,000 security industry professionals. ISC has traditionally been a dealer-focused event while ASIS has been more about corporate, institutional and government end users, but these lines have blurred in recent years with large factions of both groups attending.
September 29, 2011
As physical security becomes more emeshed in the logical world on networks it becomes ever more imperative for the establishment of device, system and installation standards. This is an area that has been sorely lacking in the electronic security realm, and so it has justifiably been receiving more attention. Still, there remains much work to be done.
September 15, 2011
Tyco Int'l Ltd. has reached an agreement to acquire Visonic Ltd., for approximately $100 million in cash. The acquisition will boost the wireless product and technology portfolio and market presence of the Tyco Security Products business in the intrusion security market.
September 1, 2011
The September issue of SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION features my in-depth interview with United Technologies Corp. (UTC) Global Security Products President Kelly Romano. To add some balance to that piece with an objective, I spoke to three of the industry’s top analysts, including Sandy Jones, principal of Sandra Jones & Co., Bill Bozeman, president/CEO of PSA Security Network, and Walter Bailey, CEO and senior managing director of Focus Consulting Partners LLC.
August 24, 2011
In the 2011 Law Enforcement Security Industry Study, police and sheriffs provided tips on how alarm companies can strengthen their relationships with law enforcement. In this latest blog, read their responses on how to improve intrusion detection.
August 15, 2011
In the 2011 Law Enforcement Security Industry Study, police and sheriffs provided tips on how alarm companies can strengthen their relationships with law enforcement. Read on to see the responses.
August 10, 2011
In this blog exclusive, Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine speaks with Customer Alarm COO Melissa Brinkman and Director of Marketing and Vice President Nikki Johnson on best practice tips on reducing false alarms. The techniques helped the company earn the 2011 Police Dispatch Quality (PDQ) award.
August 1, 2011
The August issue of SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION features an exclusive integrator roundtable in which four of the industry's sharpest CEOs discuss a variety of important operational and industry topics. I was fortunate enough to have some additional time with two participants, Safeguard Security President Mike Bradley and Contava President Curtis Nikel. Following is what transpired when we talked about the state of physical-logical security convergence.
July 27, 2011
In the 2011 Law Enforcement Security Industry Study, police and sheriffs provided tips on how alarm companies can strengthen their relationships with law enforcement. Read on to see the responses.
June 10, 2011
The June issue of SSI features Provo, Utah-based Vivint (formerly APX Alarm) profiled for winning this year’s SAMMY (Sales & Marketing) Award for Best Community Outreach Program. As part of the process, I spoke at length with Kristi Knight, Vivint vice president of corporate communications, not only about the rapidly rising company’s marketing but also about its success, recent name change and controversial tactics.