March 10, 2012
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Comment
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Ken
So, I think someone should call the ASPCA since I am about to "Beat a Dead Horse!"
My belief is that manufacturers that produce products that send images and/or audio (as does Visonic with both video and audio) to professional Central Stations are charged with not only supporting "priority response" but also false alarm reduction, customer retention (how many clients are lost each day because they get tired of the false alarms or other problems?) and First Responders relationship enhancement. Think about the latter for a second. I am building my 'alarm' business and want the full cooperation of the police, fire department etc. What better way than to educate them on an offering that can actually show an intruder in a business or home? How about showing the bad guy holding a firearm during an armed robbery? All this for a lot less of an investment by the owner than costly and elaborate CCTV systems. Now to all my friends and colleagues in CCTV, we all know there are millions of applications when the clarity of pictures, recording, archiving, convergence etc are where you fit so please don't roll your eyes!
Ok, hopefully this is short enough that it was read, my 'commercial was aired' and I was able to avoid offending anyone including my friends Keith Jentoft and Jorge Hevia.
Mark Ingram, President
Visonic, Inc
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Response
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The above is a follow up the the articles on March 1 and March 2, 2012. I want to comment on a remark by Jorge Hevia of Napco [www.napcosecurity.com] that the Videofied [ www.videofied.com ] system is "not an incremental RMR builder for alarm dealers" but that the product "addresses law enforcement, non-response markets and offers no incremental RMR to the dealer".
Videofied, just like other video products and services affords dealers the opportunity to offer additional features and services, all of which can be charged a RMR.
If an alarm product or alarm service did not produce some financial benefit to the alarm dealer then why provide that service or product? The Standard Form Contracts, all of them except for the Sales Contract, all are designed for recurring revenue. Video systems presently have several categories as far as I can tell: (1) self contained camera systems with local DVR or local monitoring station, or (2) cameras with video feed that is monitored by a central station, or pass through a manufacturer's or dealer's server. In category 1 there is no recurring revenue unless you get a Service Contract signed. In category 2 there would be recurring revenue for the monitoring or the access to the system. Another way to classify video is comparing the intended purpose of products manufactured by Napco, Honeywell Visonic and Videofied. Napco, Honeywell and VIsconic offer remote video and remote access to the alarm system, which I believe can also be integrated to other non security systems in the home or premises. These systems are not intended strictly as video verification devices because the video stream is often sent to the subscriber's Internet capable device, not a central station. The video feed is also constant. Videofied is designed to transmit a 1o second video stream only to a central station and only when an alarm is activated; the video data is used to verify the alarm condition.
I think the gest of the distinction which Videofied makes is that Videofied is a product and service designed to send video in an alarm condition and is true video verification. Other camera systems, including those combined with other integration features, are designed for interaction by the subscriber and can be used in non alarm condition situations. By the way, nothing in this or the other video articles is intended to promote or endorse one product over another, but merely to review the products and services.
All of these products are useful. Useful because they add opportunity to the alarm dealer. That means you need contracts for the various products and services, and, you guessed it, we have them. Selecting the right contracts is not easy [preparing them was even harder] so do not hesitate calling us to discuss which contracts are necessary and suitable for your business. I know we have more contracts than Forest Gump has shrimp, but that's because you provide different services and use different products. We are trying to keep pace with technology and alarm / security business models. Call our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 ext 312 or me for assistance.
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comment from our resident revolutionary
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Picture is worth thousand words. True. Burglar alarms also prevented many attempted bank robberies and home break-ins WHILE COPS were responding to alarms. Now you serve the cops with picture of burglars. How much longer until cops stop doing ANY WORK (except writing tickets) and start claiming "false alarms" or "picture not clear enough"?
Dusan