KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** Change is coming--remote video monitoring is NOT the same as alarm monitoring August 2, 2024 ************************* Change is coming--remote video monitoring is NOT the same as alarm monitoring ************************* Ken The current alarm model will not work as the world incorporates and transitions to remote video monitoring. Even the most rudimentary analysis proves this. For this letter, let's just look at one of the critical elements of the alarm business model--the central station. POINT 1: The biggest and most important remote video monitoring players don't use a central station model. Neither Deep Sentinel (best) nor Stealth (biggest) use this approach. Why? Because it doesn't work. POINT 2: Anecdotally we have hired former central station employees. We have fired all of them. They just don't have the process, the workflow nor the pace. Think: signal goes into queue, you follow steps, you check box VS. signals go off, you investigate yourself, you dismiss or respond to signals, then management must review every decision you made. POINT 3: The pricing and revenue share model. Alarm has a huge built-in monthly margin that is mostly used in customer acquisition and installation costs. Customers getting a higher level of service won't continue to pay 90%+ gross margins to pay back an initial install. The same transition occurred in the cell phone industry and is bound to come here. POINT 4: The expectation that a "trigger" results in a "call" and then you're "Done." None of these things are true--and these are the key things a central station does. POINT 5: Behavior, Liability, Imagery. These problems define the value in remote video monitoring-- and they also define a bigger problem than a central station can handle. What if a video event lasts for 5 hours? No analytics will get rid of this? What if the person is white/black/latino/asian? What if they're a child? What about unexpected medical emergencies? Weapons? Police on site? Even the most consistent workflow in the alarm industry, the central station, is not transferable (without revolutionary change) to the remote video monitoring world. People may try very hard to make them analogous, but this is the same as trying to operate a train business using employees who drive horse-drawn carts. They may be the same people, but the job and the business certainly aren't the same. Selly Dave Selinger, CEO Deep Sentinel selly@deepsentinel.com m: 925.399.8113 Sales: 833.692.3735 ; sales@deepsentinel.com ******************** Response ******************** Cameras have certainly changed the dynamics of security. The evolution went from Closed Circuit TV, to video clip, to live streaming and now live streaming with live real time intervention, albeit, virtual. Who can argue that “A picture is worth a thousand words”? [The adage a picture is worth a thousand words is popularly attributed to Confucius, but according to Wikipedia was born much more recently: "It is believed that the modern use of the phrase stems from an article by Fred R. Barnard in an advertising trade journal, in 1921, promoting the use of images in advertisements".] The security cameras monitoring your property stream instantly to local AI that detects potential threats in seconds—the fastest detection solution of all security camera monitoring services. Through security camera monitoring, guards watch every time a person steps foot on your property. If necessary, the guards intervene directly using the camera’s 2 way audio or built-in siren. The Standard Form Agreements, the All in One [commercial or residential forms] cover camera installation and monitoring, from CCTV, to clips, live streaming and live real time intervention; all you need do is check the appropriate box on the agreement. If all you do is cameras then you can get the Standard Camera Sale [or Lease] which will cover just cameras from installation to monitoring. There was some confusion initially whether security companies limiting their work to cameras were covered by the “alarm license”; they are, and that license will permit all electronic security work and monitoring. I’m not advocating just cameras or just any particular system; all of them add to overall security and s The stepped up camera service offering professional monitoring, and of course lending itself to significant RMR, does require specialized expertise and not all central stations provide this service. Before deciding whether to provide camera installation and monitoring you need to make certain your central station of choice can accommodate camera monitoring. If it doesn’t you need to select another central station, for the cameras and maybe it’s time to move to a central station that’s evolving with the times, not to mention technology. There are a number of companies, like Deep Sentinel, that have their own monitoring centers that specialize exclusively in camera monitoring. Obviously this monitoring service is much more expensive than signal monitoring. On the flip side dealers charge significantly more RMR for camera monitoring, particularly live monitoring. I don’t want to give away some of the pricing, so check with your central station or with Deep Sentinel or others in the live camera monitoring business. Be sure to know your cost factor for monitoring before offering the service to your customers. Another service that is close enough to live monitoring to mention here is Live Gate Monitoring. This is popular in some areas where there is clustered gated communities with gate access, typically manned by guard stationed in guard houses. The Commercial All in One does cover this service too, but there is a specialty Standard Form VIRTUAL REMOTE GATE GUARD MONITORING AND ACCESS CONTROL SERVICE: Sale agreement. K&K also offers a Standard Form for VIRTUAL DOORMAN. If you’re unfamiliar with what live monitoring service looks like, here are a few quotes from the Deep Sentinel website. If you have questions reach out to Dave Selinger at Deep Sentinel. Here’s how it works at Deep Sentinel: Remote security guards engage with suspects and contact law enforcement within seconds. Deep Sentinel boasts the fastest response of any security system that calls police—with no false alarms. Activity within the system’s motion detection zones wakes the security cameras. Once the AI technology detects a potential threat, your camera instantly streams to our guards for live security monitoring. Deep Sentinel guards can then immediately intervene through your camera’s microphone, set off a blaring alarm, and contact law enforcement in seconds. ************************** STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
