The November issue of SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION includes a feature article on this year’s CSAA Five Diamond Marketing Marvel Award winner, Tallahassee, Fla.-headquartered Redwire. Conducted in partnership with SSI and reviewed by an independent panel of judges, the Marketing Marvel Awards: recognize and honor firms that use their CSAA Five Diamond designation to better position themselves in the central station monitoring marketplace; inspire other certified firms to market their Five Diamond advantage; heighten awareness of the Five Diamond program throughout the industry; and elevate the profile of Five Diamond firms for their professionalism to mainstream media and the general public.
During my interviews with Redwire’s leadership, I asked a bonus question not contained in the print piece. That question was: Looking at the industry, what do you see as the top three challenges as well as the top three opportunities for monitoring providers today? Following is what company President Doug Smith had to say …
Challenge No. 1: “Clearly, the changing dynamics regarding alarm verification and phone lines continue to present challenges for traditional alarm companies. As Redwire is a relatively new company, it does not have the legacy account base that does not support IP, VoIP or wireless communication and as Redwire is primarily a nonresidential provider, it is able to push video alarm verification, mitigating the risk of these two potential problems.”
Challenge No. 2: “Another challenge is the growth of compliance issues. Like many businesses, security companies face an increasing cost and resource burden related to building codes, contractor licensing, false alarm ordinances, alarm system permitting, various taxes and fees, and so on. As an integrator, we find the work necessary to remain compliant with government imposed fees and permits to be a growing cost item for our customers. Additional pressure flowing downstream to alarm companies from government-imposed regulations on banks and insurance companies have added costs that have to be accounted for as well.”
Challenge No. 3: “Competition continues to provide challenges for the industry as cable and phone providers enter and re-enter the market. We anticipate that this may force smaller, primarily residential providers to move upstream to small business and other commercial spaces as they face competitors that can offer bundled solutions, such as phone, TV, Internet and now security, that appeal to certain residential buyers. This means additional competition in the commercial space, which in turn will drive a need for differentiated services, such as video verification, managed access, video hosting, etc., that will require dealers to broaden their service offering. A small alarm vendor attempting to make this entry in the commercial space may have to develop competencies in areas outside of their regular proficiency. The result will be higher cost structures and the attendant squeeze on profits. It also will likely mean a decline in service delivery and ultimately customer happiness as dealers divert resources across a broader spectrum of product and service offerings.”
