The 2004 National Alarm Monitoring Technology Symposium &
Exhibition (NAMTSE) more than lived up with its name April
15-19 at the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. More
than 250 Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and
National Burglar and Fire Alarm (NBFAA) members, vendors
and others participated in the dozens of informative
seminars, demonstrations and exhibits.
Split into three distinct educational tracks, the sessions
covered established and emerging areas in operations
management, sales and marketing, and business and financial
management. In addition, training was also provided for
becoming UL Listed and disaster recovery.
Video, access control, GPS and Internet monitoring and IT
convergence were among the hot technology topics
discussed. “We will see more developments in open
connectivity and interoperability during the next two years
than we have the past 20,” Bosch Security Systems Inc.
Director of Systems Integration Sales John Judd promised
during his “Today’s Technology Landscape” lecture.
Judd also emphasized the urgency for electronic security
contractors to beef up their IT knowledge. “It is easier
for network people to learn security than the other way
around,” he asserted. “We need to open our eyes to it and
approach them now, before they beat us to it by learning
all about security on their own.”
Security Sales & Integration Editor-in-Chief Scott
Goldfine made two presentations, one on sales and marketing
techniques and the other an upbeat report on industry
trends called “Spring Is Back in Security Industry’s Step.”
In addition, Goldfine presented a check to CSAA President
Richard Sampson on behalf of SSI for the
association’s participation in the magazine’s LeadTracker
service (for more, visit
HREF=http://www.ssileadtracker.com>www.ssileadtracker.com
>
).
Taking advantage of the locale, more than 150 attendees
enjoyed a private, evening tour of Elvis Presley’s
Graceland estate. The location and date of next year’s
NAMTSE, formerly the CSAA Mid-Year Meeting, has yet to be
determined. CSAA’s Annual Meeting is set for Oct. 22-28 in
the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit HREF=http://www.csaaul.org>www.csaaul.org.
