Editor's Note

One Size Does Not Fit All

This month I ventured out just a little bit to talk about residential security, though much of what I learned also applies to commercial and industrial security. No better place to learn about software than Silicon Valley.

After grabbing a taxi from San Francisco International Airport, I headed to Redwood City, only to be dropped off at the corner of a vacant lot and nowhere. My new good friends at Icontrol came quickly to my rescue. I learned really fast that this is how these guys work; off to the rescue, and the security dealer, now than ever before, can be the beneficiary of their knowledge.

Icontrol has been a security player for quite some time, but recently they expanded offerings into the security market with home security applications that dealers and integrators can be part of. This is good news for this group in the industry.

Greg Roberts, vice president of marketing at Icontrol, said in the cover story, “the security dealer now has more value than ever of the products they can offer to the consumer.”

Icontrol isn’t messing around either. Their smart home platform powers some well-known names, such as ADT (ADT Pulse), Comcast (Xfinity Home), Time Warner Cable (IntelligentHome) and Cox Communications (Cox Homelife), among others.

So, where is the value to the security dealer network? Icontrol has now stretched its boundaries where the smaller dealer, you know them as “Mom and Pop shops” can offer this same platform where security and home automation can reside. This solution offers incremental recurring monthly revenue opportunity, and dealers can enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Icontrol’s part in all this is to make sure their solutions are the most secure and reliable platforms in the smart home security space, but you can read all about this and more in this issue’s cover story with Icontrol.

This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.

Featured

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.