Securitas Awarded 2024 National System Integrator of the Year by Axis Communications

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Securitas Technology was recently awarded the 2024 National System Integrator of the Year by Axis Communications at its 19th annual Axis Connect and Converge Conference (ACCC) held in Nashville, TN. The company was recognized for its innovative solutions and dedication to meeting its clients’ needs.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from Axis Communications,” said Tony Byerly, Global President and CEO of Securitas Technology. “Our shared values and focus on innovation have allowed us to create exceptional solutions for our clients, helping them navigate complex security challenges while staying at the forefront in today’s dynamic environment. This award is a testament to our team’s dedication, the strength of our partnerships, and our ongoing commitment to help make your world a safer place.”

“Success is built on partnerships, and on behalf of Axis, it is my pleasure to congratulate Securitas Technology on being named the 2024 National System Integrator of the Year. Securitas Technology’s dedication to their clients and the exceptional work they do solving their challenges continues to amaze me,” said Larry Newman, Senior Director of Sales, Axis Communications, Inc. “We’re grateful for our incredible partners who continuously go above and beyond. Together we are making the world a smarter, safer place.”

Axis works with more than 90,000 partners across 179 countries at every stage. Axis’ partner network includes the Channel Partner Program, the Technology Integration Partner Program, the Architecture & Engineering Program, and the Axis Developer Community. For more information about Axis’ partner programs, visit www.axis.com/en-us/partner/programs.

NMC Team Member – 500th Graduate of AVS-01 Monitoring Center Operator Training

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NMC’s Josh Olsen is the 500th professional to graduate from TMA’s Monitoring Center Operator AVS-01 Online Training! The training, which launched in July of this year, is an interactive three-module course. Developed primarily for monitoring center operators and delivered online, the dynamic course provides a comprehensive introduction to the AVS-01 Standard; illustrates the Standard’s measurable alarm level classifications; demonstrates the call handling process; and explains the importance of public safety and law enforcement engagement.

Olsen shared NMC has successfully implemented the AVS-01 standard and expressed his appreciation for the course’s design and methodology, commenting, “I believe I learned something new and useful as we move forward with streamlining and perfecting the way we communicate and respond to those in need.”

Congratulations, Josh!

For more information about the AVS-01 training course and to enroll, please visit TMATraining.net.

Everon receives 2024 HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor

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U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su recognized Everon as one of the 839 recipients of the 2024 HIRE Vets Medallion Award during a virtual award ceremony presented by the U.S. Department of Labor. Everon earned the gold award after applying earlier this year. The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act (HIRE Vets Act) Medallion Program is the only federal award program that recognizes employers who successfully recruit, hire, and retain veterans.

“We’re extremely passionate about being a military-effective organization and showing our nation’s former servicemembers a long-term path to success as they reenter civilian life,” said Mike McWilliams, President & Chief Operating Officer for Everon. “Given their unique set of technical skills, a call to serve others, and valuable leadership experience, former military servicemembers are some of the best professionals in the security industry. We’re proud of all the veterans who’ve joined us at Everon and whose drive for excellence matches our own.”

In an effort to foster an environment that would attract former servicemembers to a civilian career in the security industry, Everon has championed a number of veteran integration assistance programs to ensure the inclusion and success of military employees within the organization. This includes dedicated mentorship and peer-to-peer communications channels, the opportunity to participate in service projects that benefit nonprofit organizations whose missions support veteran and military member communities, and inclusive company events to honor service members and their families.

“Our goal is to create a sense of community and connection among veterans and military servicemembers at Everon that opens them up to opportunities for sustainable career growth and development,” McWilliams continued. “We’re so proud of what this award means and the impact it shows we can have in transforming the security workforce.”

Everon joins 838 other companies from 49 states, plus the District of Columbia, who have shown a commitment to hiring veterans but also ensuring that they have a long-term career and growth plan that uses the diverse skills they acquired through their military service.

Recipients of the 2024 HIRE Vets Medallion Award meet rigorous employment and veteran integration assistance criteria, including veteran hiring and retention percentages, availability of veteran-specific resources, leadership programming for veterans, dedicated human resource efforts, and pay compensation and tuition assistance programs for veterans. More than 1,600 employers have earned a HIRE Vets Medallion Award since 2019.

The New DICE Revolutionizes Video Monitoring with Cost-Effective Cloud Solution

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Dice Corporation, a pioneer in alarm and video event management, announced a groundbreaking change to its pricing model for its interactive Video platform.

By eliminating per-camera charges and offering free camera connections, Dice is significantly reducing the cost of entry for alarm and video monitoring centers seeking to leverage cloud-based solutions.

This innovative approach takes advantage of DICE’s extensive infrastructure and expertise in developing integrated GPU farms. By optimizing cloud-based video monitoring, Dice is aligning the costs of video surveillance with traditional alarm monitoring, making it more accessible and affordable for businesses of all sizes.

“Our UL and ULC infrastructure as well as our North American carrier operations at IPtelX provide us with a substantial competitive advantage,” said Cliff Dice, President and CEO of DICE Corporation. “By owning the software, data centers, and fiber network, we can offer video monitoring centers and traditional alarm centers significant cost savings. Our new pricing model further empowers businesses to adopt video monitoring solutions, as they can now focus on subscriber-based revenue rather than per-camera costs. We believe this will greatly accelerate the adoption of video monitoring within the alarm and guarding industries.”

DICE’s advanced AI-powered solutions are designed to streamline operations and reduce reliance on human intervention. By automating many aspects of video monitoring, Dice is driving down costs and improving efficiency.

For more information on DICE Corporation, visit www.dicecorp.com or call 989-891-2800.

ESA – TMA 10/18/24 AVS-01 Webinar Available to Stream

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On Oct. 18th, ESA hosted “Selling and Installing for Escalated Response – The Benefits of Selling AVS-01.” TMA-AVS-01 (Alarm Validation Scoring Standard), a new TMA Standard, the defines how monitoring centers and 911 ECCs will communicate the alarm level of burglary signals during the dispatch process with the goal to increase the safety of first responders and drive escalated response to the highest priority alarms. This webinar explored the current state of this impactful standard and what the future holds for sales and installation companies.

SPEAKERS:

  • Jeremy Bates, Bates Security
  • Steve Butkovich, TMA President, CPI Security
  • Chris Denniston, Rapid Response Monitoring
  • Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response Monitoring
  • David Holl, Lower Allen Township (PA)

Stream the 10/18/24 presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP9a9NEC20s&t=4s

 

COPS Monitoring Makes Another Significant Investment In Technology

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COPS Monitoring has announced its latest significant six-figure investment in technology. The company’s data storage upgrade to NetApp’s newer state-of-the-art Storage Area Network (SAN) is a testament to COPS Monitoring’s unwavering dedication to technological advancement. This strategic move ensures reliable and secure services for our dealers and their customers.

“We understand that back-end upgrades may not sound exciting to most people, but we believe that making frequent and recurring investments is crucial to providing reliable monitoring services,” said Jim McMullen, President of COPS Monitoring. “With a focus on staying prepared for the future, we elected to upgrade our existing NetApp infrastructure. By doing so, we are confident that we’ll continue to meet our customers’ evolving needs and deliver the highest service levels.”

The new SAN incorporates advanced features designed to enhance fault tolerance and provide the latest data security. Equipped with dual power supplies, dual controllers, and hot-swappable components, the new NetApp SANs are widely regarded for delivering unparalleled reliability and resilience. Configured in a RAID format for added fault tolerance and employing AES 256-bit encryption, this new system also offers robust data security, a standard recognized as one of the most secure methods available today.

Recognized for its five nines (99.999%) uptime, exceptional performance, and scalable architecture, SAN technology ensures optimal storage solutions for data centers. By facilitating ultra-fast and reliable data transfers between servers and storage devices, SANs significantly boost application performance and availability, ensuring seamless operations in even the most demanding environments.

To leverage its geo-diverse redundancy, COPS Monitoring will deploy two identical NetApp SANs in its New Jersey and Texas facilities. Each SAN has a total storage capacity of 35 petabytes, roughly 1.5 times the storage capacity of the Library of Congress, or 13 years of HD video. With this massive amount of storage, these SANs will help to ensure that COPS Monitoring can effectively manage and safeguard the ever-expanding volumes of data generated by its business operations and partners.

A key enhancement in this upgrade is the shift from SCSI-based SSDs to NVMe-based SSDs, which provides higher data transfer speeds, reduced latency, and improved input/output operations per second (IOPS). These improvements significantly boost overall system performance, enabling COPS Monitoring to deliver even faster and more responsive services to its customers.

CPI Security Commits $1M to Support Hurricane Helene Relief Initiatives

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CPI Security has pledged over $1 million to assist those in need as Hurricane Helene’s devastation continues to affect communities in Western North Carolina.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., CPI Security is sending crews of its own employees weekly, focused on helping its customers and employees in need. The crews are equipped with generators, Starlink satellite internet service, chainsaws and other much needed supplies.

CPI has already sent over 75 employees who have volunteered over 1,000 hours, according to an announcement.

“The devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is like none I’ve ever seen before,” Ken Gill, CEO and founder of CPI Security, said. “Many of our employees, customers, and neighbors are trying to rebuild from this storm, and we’re committed to standing alongside them.”

In addition to CPI’s direct engagement with its affected employees and customers, CPI Security has donated to organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, the American Red Cross, High Country Charitable Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

“There are many lives, homes, and businesses that will need to be rebuilt,” Gill said. “This effort will be ongoing for quite some time. Please continue to pray for those affected and give of your talents.”

SDM Magazine, October 24, 2024

TMA Dispatch, Fall Issue, Is Now Available

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The fall issue of the TMA Dispatch is now available! Login to the TMA member portal to read.

Our Cover Story…With the increasing demand for advanced and scalable video monitoring solutions, the debate between Edge AI and Cloud AI has gained significant attention. Traditionally, edge devices focused on on-premises storage and video management. Members of TMA’s Technology Committee came together and drew upon their collective expertise to construct this issue’s cover story, the first of a three-part series, to help TMA members navigate the complexities of these technologies and make informed decisions when it comes to AI technology and its application.

In our Guest Column…Stephen Devine, Chief Technology Officer, APCO International, explores the decade-long discussion on the topic of NG9-1-1. In this column, he writes about the key benefits and make the case for the “comprehensively interoperable and an end-to-end solution.”

In Technology…Cyber-attacks – you hear about them…you read about them nearly every day. Is your company of the many that remain unprepared? TMA Technology Co-Chair Matt Narowski takes on this HOT topic. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it can’t be you.

In Research…The sale of smart smoke/CO detectors is booming! According to Parks Associates, 9-10% of U.S, Internet households own a smart smoke/CO detector and more than half of smoke/CO detector owners pay for a service. Parks Associates VP Jennifer Kent explores the latest trend.

In the GSOC Column…It’s important to put your best foot forward when hiring and onboarding a new team member. Training is critical. GSOC TMA GSOC Council Co-Chair Randy Rickert shares what every GSOC training program should have.

Read these and more in the latest issue the TMA Dispatch now!

TMA 2024 Achievement Highlights

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With your support and participation, TMA has advanced the following initiatives over the past year:

  • To support TMA’s Alarm Validation Standard (AVS-01), three free operator training modules and a Training Manager guide were released to excellent reviews. Over 332 individuals from 35+ companies have completed the course. APCO International offers 1 CDE for course completion, which may encourage AVS-01 adoption in the public safety community.
  • The 2024 Mid-Year Meeting was delivered virtually in April. It covered AI, government affairs, litigation strategies, marketing, diversity, tech and video monitoring advancements, and leadership/industry trends.
  • In October, TMA will hold its Annual Meeting on St. Thomas in the USVI. Senior leaders and members of public safety organizations will gather to discuss overarching issues that impact the professional monitoring industry.
  • In November, TMA’s OPSTech program will take place in Charlotte, NC, featuring a visit to Security Central in Statesville. The hybrid format includes two days of operations and tech education, with a third day of three concurrent tracks covering deep-dive sessions on video monitoring, cybersecurity, big data, and GSOC best practices. Eight of the 14 sessions will be available virtually.
  • Since January 1, 2024, nearly 1407 Operator Level 1 & 2 courses have been sold, with over 1236 students successfully completing the courses.
  • TMA announced in June that it had signed a new agreement with Mission Critical Partners (MCP) to manage the lifesaving ASAP Service. The managed service provider will also assist in designing and developing the next-generation alarm signaling message broker for the ASAP service, which will deliver expanded capabilities, integration options, and an ongoing roadmap for the platform.
  • The ASAP service continues its exponential growth this year, with 147 active ECCs and plans to reach 160 by year-end. ASAP now covers over 17% of the US population, over 56,000,000 nationwide!
  • The TMA-ATN-01 Monitoring Center Notification of Active Threat Detection is a brand-new Standard that has been in development since mid-2023. Monitoring centers are increasingly receiving what may be classified as non-traditional alerts, such as shot detection.  These events require immediate notification to Public Safety.  Alert and situational information may be received in the monitoring center from a human source, initiated by technology, or a combination of both.  Monitoring centers increasingly monitor shot detection, weapons detection, manual lockdown notification, and other innovative threat technologies.  Human interaction initiated during the alert may indicate an active shooter situation.  These detection technologies and subsequent alerts are typically from facilities with high human presence.
    • The Project’s Need:
      • When a monitoring center receives electronic notification that one of these systems has been activated, a standardized workflow is needed to ensure timely and accurate notification to identified entities, such as first responders, employees, students, etc.
      • The standard is developing an efficient means for the monitoring center to provide responding authorities with information that assists with an efficient and safe response.
      • The standard will also facilitate means to initiate other actions, such as “shelter in place,” “wait for further instructions,” and notifications via multiple methods.
    • ATN-01 will be an ANSI Recognized National Standard by the end of 2024.
  • TMA presented the first Louis T. Fiore Electronic Communications Scholarship to Destini Spain, an engineering student at VCU in Richmond, VA. The scholarship, established to honor Mr. Fiore’s enduring contribution to the alarm industry and the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), is intended to promote careers in electronic communications. The 2024 recipient will be announced at the 2024 TMA Annual Meeting in October.
  • The 2024 TMA/SSI Marvel Award, presented in partnership with Security Sales and Integration magazine (SSI), was awarded to Elite Interactive Solutions. The 2024 TMA/SDM Excellence Awards, presented in partnership with SDM magazine, drew a combination of entries from small-to-medium and enterprise-sized member companies. 2024 winners included: Monitoring Center of the Year – Enterprise: ADT; Monitoring Center of the Year – SMB: Stealth Monitoring; Monitoring Center Manager of the Year: Erik Chalifour, TELUS Smart Security & Automation; Monitoring Center Operator of the Year: Brenda Eichfeld, COPS Monitoring; and Monitoring Center Support Person of the Year: John Turner, ADT Security Services. The application period for the 2025 awards opens Dec. 2, 2024.
  • TMA has published the spring, summer, and fall issues of TMA Dispatch magazine and 38 issues of TMA Signals weekly e-newsletter. Engagement in TMA’s social media communities, which include LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, has continued to grow in 2024.
  • A process was approved to offer translation and exam proctoring services for TMA’s monitoring center operator courses, available to Five Diamond program applicants on a case-by-case basis, ensuring non-English speaking operators have equal access to course materials and certification opportunities.
  • This year, we are pleased to celebrate the achievement of 104 Five Diamond Designated companies and counting! The program is a testament to an unwavering commitment to excellence, quality, and service in professional monitoring. A company bearing the Five Diamond designation exemplifies the best in business.
  • TMA’s Installation Quality Certification Program, known as “IQ Certification,” continues to make significant strides. This year, we proudly recognize 15 companies that have achieved this esteemed certification, highlighting their excellence in installing, maintaining, and servicing electronic security systems.
  • We are excited to announce that 56 companies have achieved FirstNet Certification this year, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to public safety and emergency response.
  • The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) diligently monitors federal issues impacting the alarm industry’s ability to use telecommunications technology for public protection services. With the backing of legal counsel and a lobbyist, AICC effectively interfaces with the FCC, regulatory agencies, and Congress on behalf of its members. The committee addresses a range of critical issues, including Right-to-Repair, the interference on alarm systems and other 900 MHz devices, Non-Compete Restrictions, Net Neutrality, the Chevron Doctrine, and NG911, among others, ensuring the industry’s interests are well-represented and protected.
  • TMA’s Government Relations (GR) Committee continues collaborating closely with the AICC and other industry GR Committees and educating TMA members on vital legislative priorities.
  • TMA’s Compliance Committee continues to work actively on summarizing licensing requirements across all 50 states, having already summarized 15 states, ensuring that industry standards are met nationwide.
  • The Surveillance and Video Verification Committee has completed 8 modules of video monitoring operator training, which will inform a future video monitoring standard. Modules will be released online as they become available.
  • The Technology Committee is conducting a due diligence review of TMA’s online operator technology training for potential updates.
  • The NextGen Committee has launched the New Empowering Leadership Series with Chairs Jessica Lambert and Amy Becht. The series offers engaging discussions on influential resources that have shaped our industry mentors. Stay tuned for more to come!
  • TMA Staff and leadership participated in public safety associations’ meetings to promote ASAP and AVS-01, exhibiting at APCO, hosting a dinner for the Fire Life Safety Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and attending the NENA Annual Meeting. Plans are underway for a reception in honor of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). TMA will host again the top leadership of the main public safety organizations at its Annual Meeting: APCO, IACP, IAFC, NENA, NLETS, and NSA.
  • We continue to enhance the member portal, the InfoHub, adding resources and continually work to improve the member experience. Make sure to update your profile!

TMA acknowledges and thanks our many volunteers; your efforts allow us to succeed in elevating the professional monitoring industry. With your continued support and engagement, we look forward to another productive year. Many thanks to each of you!

For more information please reach out to membership@tma.us.

Jamie Brennan to Serve as DMP’s Executive Director of National Accounts

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Jamie Brennan has returned to DMP as the executive director of national accounts. He will build and lead a team to develop initiatives and strategies for national accounts.

“We are excited to see the growth in this team,” said Jon Adams, vice president of sales at DMP. “As many of you know, Jamie successfully managed our relationship with ADT/Everon for many years.”

Prior to joining DMP, Brennen served at many of the national companies he will be focusing on in his new role. Brennan has over 25 years of experience in the security industry, including sales leadership, strategic account development and product marketing.

Contact Information:
Jamie Brennan | Executive Director of National Accounts
Email: JBrennan@DMP.com