Rapid Response Monitoring Services, Inc. - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named 24 recipients for this year’s SIA RISE Scholarship, a program offered through SIA’s RISE community, which supports the education and career development goals of young industry talent and emerging pioneers. Through this scholarship program – open to SIA student members and RISE members who are employees at SIA member companies – each awardee will receive a USD 3,000 scholarship to use toward continuing education and professional development courses, SIA program offerings and/or other academic or education programs. Array of security professionals Scholarship funds can be used to expand knowledge in the areas of business, human resources Scholarship funds can be used to expand knowledge in the areas of business, human resources, information technology, marketing, sales, project management, security engineering, and/or risk management. “SIA congratulates this year’s class of RISE Scholarship awardees – an impressive, diverse array of security professionals and rising stars who are making their mark on our industry,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “We are proud to present scholarships to more recipients this year than ever before and honoured to support these inspiring young pioneers as they pursue their educational and career development goals.” RISE Scholarship The winners for this year’s RISE Scholarship are: Zachary Allen, account executive, Convergint Technologies Brianna Bonfondeo, account manager, Traka, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Joi Brown, control centre specialist, Rapid Response Monitoring Services Brenda Constantin, account executive, 3Sixty Integrated, a Division of the Cook & Boardman Group Jonathan Crabtree, channel sales specialist, Genetec Taylor Davenport, HR business partner, i-PRO Americas Mason Fanning, end user specialist, ASSA ABLOY Natalie Fetsko, customer success manager, dormakaba Aishwarya Gandhe, senior channel marketing coordinator, North America, Genetec Anish Chandra Jalla, software developer II, Genetec Kajaanei Kajenthiran, security guard, City of Toronto, Canada Will Knehr, senior manager of information assurance and data privacy, i-PRO Americas Ryan Knoll, account executive, Pro-Tec Design Chandni Lalwani, DevOps engineer, HID Global Vincent Malenfer-Henard, security analyst, Genetec Josh Martin, mechanical engineer II, dormakaba Bryn Menzel, director of strategic accounts and marketing, 3millID Corporation Gabriella Moraniec, contracts manager, GSA Schedules Taylor Nevells, digital marketing and content specialist, Wavelynx Juan Pelayo, technical support supervisor, i-PRO Americas Itzel Portillo, marketing specialist, Allegion Joel Searle, program manager, ZBeta Maria Sturges, project coordinator and administrator, Northland Controls Julie Trinh, SDK specialist, Genetec New opportunities in the security industry SIA would also like to thank the following individuals and companies which contributed to the 2024 RISE Scholarship fund.  Tax-deductible donations were made through the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST), a nonprofit organisation co-founded by SIA and the Electronic Security Association and dedicated to connecting passionate, innovative professionals with new opportunities in the security industry. ADI Allegion Axis Communications Convergint Genetec HID i-PRO Secure Access & Digital Systems Securitas Technology TIME program SIA RISE is a community that fosters the careers of emerging pioneers in the security industry. In addition to the SIA RISE Scholarship, SIA RISE offers fun in-person and virtual networking events for young professionals, the Talent Inclusion Mentorship Education (TIME) program for early and mid-career professionals, the 25 on the RISE Awards, career growth webinars and trade show education tracks and the annual AcceleRISE conference – a unique event designed to ignite new thinking, strengthen leadership and sharpen business acumen in young security talent.  The SIA RISE community is open to all employees at SIA member companies who are young professionals under 40 or have been in the security industry for less than two years; learn more and sign up to join.

The Orange County Emergency Services, Public Safety Communications Division became the 146th Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the United States and the 14th ECC in the State of North Carolina to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Implementation of ASAP "The ASAP program provides our ECC with most accurate and timely alarm notifications possible while reducing the workload of our Public Safety Telecommunicators. The implementation of ASAP provides significant benefits to our Department, our partner public safety agencies, and the community we serve," stated Christopher H. Ward, Division Chief – Public Safety Communications for Orange County Emergency Services. Orange County went live on July 22, 2024 with the following companies: Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Alert360, Securitas, Holmes Security, Brinks Home Security, Dynamark Monitoring, United Central Control, Protection One, Guardian Protection, National Monitoring Center, Johnson Controls (Tyco), Vivint, CPI Security, Wegmans Security, Affiliated Monitoring, ADT and Security Central with Alert360 being brought online soon.

The Buncombe County Public Safety Communications Centre (BCPSC) became the 145th Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) in the United States and the 13th ECC in the state of North Carolina to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP).  Launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, TMA’s ASAP service is designed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of calls for service from alarm monitoring centres to Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs).   Agreement with MCP TMA signed a multi-year managed services agreement with MCP in June Buncombe County went live on June 21st and 22nd with the following alarm companies: Rapid Response Monitoring; Vector Security; Alert360; Securitas; Quick Response; Brinks Home Security; Dynamark Monitoring; ADT; Protection One; Guardian Protection; National Monitoring Centre; Vivint; Johnson Controls (Tyco); Security Central; United Central Control; CPI Security; and Affiliated Monitoring. TMA signed a multi-year managed services agreement with Mission Critical Partners (MCP) in June to power the growth of its ASAP Service. The goal of the new partnership with MCP is to expedite the expansion of the ASAP Service and drive the development of a cloud-based solution. The next-generation solution will allow for the real-time sharing of rich data, including camera video streams, live location, health information, photos, and interior blueprints, dramatically improving situational awareness for emergency responders.

There is a growing trend towards more outsourcing of the monitoring function among security companies. Technology developments are accelerating and increasing the need for monitoring companies to invest. The barriers to entry are higher than ever. These are some of the trends covered in a discussion at Securing New Ground 2019 titled ‘Monitoring: New Models and New Monetisation Strategies’. A panel of monitoring company executives addressed topics centered on how the industry is changing and evolving. New entrants in the monitoring space New entrants in the monitoring space face barriers to entry, in particular the need for more investment"“New entrants in the monitoring space face barriers to entry, in particular the need for more investment in infrastructure and expertise,” said Spencer Moore, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Rapid Response Monitoring. ”Because of the expense of new technologies, more full-service monitoring companies are outsourcing the monitoring function to existing wholesale monitoring companies.” “The cost of entry has gone up, and companies are trying to preserve capital,” agreed Jim McMullen, President/COO at COPS Monitoring. “Larger companies are realising wholesale monitoring does a better job from a customer service viewpoint. We are more focused on monitoring and the quality of service. It takes a lot of money to keep up with the cyber world,” added McMullen. Wholesale monitoring companies Wholesale monitoring companies are finding that they need petabytes of storage space, among other expensive requirements. “The trend is toward technology evolving quicker, and that often requires investment and training in a monitoring center,” said Daniel Oppenheim, CEO of Affiliated Monitoring. “Because trying out new technology is so important, wholesale monitoring centers often find that they serve as a ‘laboratory’ to experiment with newer technologies. Limited trials often expand later to broader outsourcing of a company’s monitoring services”, said Oppenheim. Automated Secure Alarm Protocol “What people miss out on is that monitoring is quite complex, and there are specialised services and skillsets, and barriers to entry from a regulatory perspective,” said Moore. Adding value to the monitoring function is The Monitoring Association’s ASAP-to-PSAP service Adding value to the monitoring function is The Monitoring Association’s ASAP-to-PSAP service. The national service saves time, improves accuracy and increases efficiency in communications between monitoring centers and public safety answering points (PSAPs). The service uses the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Public Safety Answering Points Up to 60 PSAPS have joined the programme, although the low number is misleading, given that a single PSAP could represent the ‘City of Houston’. (There are an estimated 6,000 total PSAPs nationwide). It has taken six to eight years to develop the program from its genesis to where it is today, when more participation is finally creating a critical mass. Technology is fundamentally changing monitoring companies. “We used to be a services company powered by a little bit of technology, but we’re now moving toward a technology services company,” said Moore. Critical ‘filtering service’ Monitoring provides a critical ‘filtering service’ between public requests for emergency service and those tasked with providing the services. In effect, monitoring centers work with manufacturers to make them more resilient to false alarms. Monitoring companies also provide a human touch in a time of need, and emotional empathy. Today, emergency information is being transmitted to PSAPs electronically, which saves time and money. The current low-taxation environment means there are fewer resources for municipal governments, so cost savings make a difference. Monitoring, a specialised skillset Increasingly, monitoring is becoming a business that requires a more specialised skillset Increasingly, monitoring is becoming a business that requires a more specialised skillset. Regulation, and the need for increasing investment, is driving consolidation. “With a decreasing number of monitoring companies, there are fewer customers for software developers and other tools. Less outside innovation makes it more likely monitoring centers will have to ‘go it alone’ and develop software and other tools internally,” said Oppenheim. Importance of monitoring systems “In effect, consolidation will serve to limit technology choices, and to increase the need to in-source a lot of expertise”, agrees Moore. Tying monitoring systems into other software systems is another continuing challenge. “People want our system tied into their system,” said McMullen. “I have two people who focus full time to tie our systems into other systems. There will be more computers talking to computers.”