Verizon Enterprise Solutions - Experts & Thought Leaders

NAPCO Security Technologies introduces a new optional dealer tool for its cellular communicator line. New StarLink Signal Strength Tester enables dealers to quickly perform a site survey test of the protected premises to identify the optimum installation and mounting location for any StarLink Cellular Communicator, using an easy visual LED signal strength indicator. The tester includes a desktop stand and built-in rechargeable power pack with plug-in AC transformer. Models are available in black or red, for StarLink or StarLink Fire Commercial Fire, and for AT&T or Verizon LTE Networks. Ask for these StarLink Signal Strength Tester models at your Napco Distributor, SLE-LTEV-SS (black) and SLE-LTEV-SS-CF (red) for Verizon; or SLE-LTEA-SS (black) and SLE-LTEA-SS-CF (red) for AT&T LTE networks, respectively.

Verizon announced the addition of BlackBerry Cylance’s AI-driven antivirus security solutions to its industry-leading Managed Security Services (MSS) portfolio. “Businesses of all sizes are suffering alert-fatigue generated by other endpoint solutions. Many are turning to managed security services to gain holistic, expert-level management across their endpoints, gateways and networks on a round the clock basis,” said Stuart McClure, co-founder of Cylance and president of BlackBerry Cylance. “By offering BlackBerry Cylance’s AI-powered endpoint protection, Verizon’s MSS customers will now have access to a powerful antivirus technology with the ability to prevent known and unknown threats, reducing the strain on other security controls, and alerts that must be tracked, processed and audited.” Preventing ransomware, fileless attacks CylancePROTECT prevents ransomware, fileless attacks, and other unknown threats from executing on the endpoint before they can do harmCylancePROTECT and CylanceOPTICS endpoint security products are now available for licensing and management by Verizon Managed Security Services. CylancePROTECT prevents ransomware, fileless attacks, and other unknown threats from executing on the endpoint before they can do harm. This significantly reduces the number of alerts and amount of security data passed on to other security controls. CylanceOPTICS is the industry’s first AI driven endpoint detection and response (EDR) product. It delivers on-demand threat hunting and automated response capabilities. Delivering AI driven security solutions “BlackBerry Cylance is the logical partner of choice given its ability to deliver protection against known and unknown malware, malicious scripts, fileless attacks, zero-day payloads, as well as harder to detect ‘living of the land’ assaults,” said Alex Schlager, executive director, security services, for global products and solutions at Verizon. BlackBerry Cylance’s endpoint security intelligence is also used to power the Verizon Risk Report security assessment framework“BlackBerry Cylance is at the forefront of delivering artificial intelligence driven security solutions, and the first next-gen vendor to deliver on-device machine learning threat detection in an EDR product. Their prevention-first philosophy maps extremely well to our desire to help customers gain the upper hand on today’s adversaries. We look forward to offering our customers BlackBerry Cylance’s added value services within our award-winning managed security portfolio.” Identifying security gaps In addition to inclusion in Verizon MSS portfolio, BlackBerry Cylance’s endpoint security intelligence is also used to power the Verizon Risk Report security assessment framework. The framework enables companies to make data-driven security decisions, identify security gaps and prioritise improvement actions, and focus security spend where it will have the most impact. Three levels of assessments are offered: Outside-in, Inside-out, and Culture and Process. BlackBerry Cylance is used for the Inside-out assessment – an evaluation that automatically searches for malware, unwanted programs and other potential vulnerabilities. Combining powerful intelligence and analytics Verizon combines powerful intelligence and analytics with an expansive breadth of professional and managed servicesVerizon was named a leader in the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services, Worldwide. It is a pioneer in delivering global managed security solutions to enterprises in the financial services, retail, government, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy and transportation sectors. Verizon combines powerful intelligence and analytics with an expansive breadth of professional and managed services, including customisable advanced security operations and managed threat protection services, next-generation commercial technology monitoring and analytics, threat intel and response service and forensics investigations and identity management. Verizon brings the strength and expert knowledge of more than 550 consultants across the globe to proactively reduce security threats and lower information risks to organisations.

ShotSpotter, Inc, the provider of gunshot detection solutions that help law enforcement officials identify, locate and deter gun violence, announces that Verizon Communications Inc. has expanded its partnership to include reselling ShotSpotter Flex, the company’s flagship gunshot detection solution, as a stand-alone offering to its customers. ShotSpotter, used by more than 90 cities to help fight gun crime, expects to benefit from the scale and distribution Verizon offers. Longstanding relationships “We believe adding the leadership, reach and influence of Verizon as a ShotSpotter reseller will be a force multiplier for our business, allowing us to access and serve more cities across the country,” said Ralph Clark, President and CEO of ShotSpotter. “Verizon’s large and experienced sales teams have longstanding relationships with many municipalities, so it’s a natural fit.” We expect the addition of ShotSpotter Flex within our Smart Communities suite of solutions, including public safety and traffic management “We expect the addition of ShotSpotter Flex within our Smart Communities suite of solutions, including public safety and traffic management, will be a clear value-add for cities, and we are excited to include this offering to our customers,” said Mrinalini Ingram, VP of Smart Communities for Verizon. Improve response times Earlier this year, ShotSpotter announced an agreement with Verizon to bring the ShotSpotter solution to cities across the country by leveraging Verizon’s Light Sensory Network, an IoT platform deployed on street lights. ShotSpotter Flex helps law enforcement agencies by quickly directing police to the location of gunfire incidents. The SaaS-based system sends alerts within 60 seconds of gunshot detection to dispatch centers and to patrol officers on their mobile computers and smartphones. The alerts improve response times to crime scenes to better aid victims and identify witnesses, as well as help police locate key evidence to identify and prosecute suspects.

“Netflix,” “twerk” and “selfie” were added to the dictionary. Boston Marathon bombing. Activist Nelson Mandela and actor Paul Walker died. Edward Snowden gave NSA classified documents to Wikilinks. These events may seem like they happened only yesterday, but they are some of the top news headlines from four years ago. Four years can feel like a very short time, and in four short years, every security panel installed by dealers to date will go dark. The current communication method for most home security systems is via CDMA and 3G (GSM) technologies. With the emergence of faster, better, and stronger 4G LTE technology, carriers are migrating away from old technology standards and methods towards new, more efficient ones. As such, the older technology is going dark, and soon. One year ago, AT&T stopped certifying new 3G parts. Meaning manufacturers of cellular modules, like Nortek Security & Control, have stopped making them. At the end of 2018 they will stop letting customers add systems utilising 3G radios to their channels. Knowing this, dealer programs like Monitronics and Guardian have already stopped or have significantly slowed the acceptance of 3G operated systems. Shifting from 2G to 3G technology One of the big questions asked by most security dealers is: Should I roll a truck to replace the panel/cellular communication? To appropriately answer, let’s take a look back at the last time a shift in technology like this occurred. In 2016, 2G communication switched over to 3G and many dealers waited until systems failed to communicate before they started changing equipment, which is not a recipe for success. These networks help lay the foundation for how smart device technology interacts with a home security system and on which network To be fair, network providers don’t turn off bandwidth and access points like switching off a light. It starts slowly, as the provider starts to allow the technology to degrade over time. What dealers will experience is that parts of their service area will start to go down, or the service will become much slower than normal. Unfortunately, there is not a published schedule for where and when the services will decline, so the best advice is to begin to change the entire customer base early to avoid disruption. With that in mind, the answer about rolling a truck is a resounding yes. Dealers should figure out how many ticking time bombs they have, figuratively speaking, and start laying out a plan to upgrade them over time. Waiting can be a costly move that proves to be deadly to their business. It’s ideal to plan for the longest window to make this change to ensure that the majority of your customer accounts don’t sunset at once. Understanding 4G, 3G and CDMA The cellular market is shifting away from older communications standards with all major carriers quickly adopting 4G LTE technology. The benefits of LTE are a faster network and more broadband, which equates to faster Over-the-Air (OTA) programming and updating, and extended life without the need to roll a truck. Customers will experience faster home control response and faster streaming of CCTV video.Many telecommuniations providers are rolling out their 4G LTE offerings. For example, Verizon's 4G LTE network offers a super-fast cellular connection and the robust data capacity needed to rapidly deliver interactive services. AT&T is also rolling out 4G LTE, but due to coverage concerns, those radios will also be backward compatible with 3G – for a while. That backward compatibility tends to lead to more expensive radios, but ensures that the new radio you install today will work today and for years to come. The cellular market is shifting away from older communications standards with all major carriers quickly adopting 4G LTE technology These networks help lay the foundation for how smart device technology interacts with a home security system and on which network. This also allows for channel connection and using the network to send push alert notifications, updates, and other new and timely information. LTE Cat 1 vs. Cat 3 and VoLTE Another nuance of LTE is Category 1 (Cat 1) vs. Category 3 (Cat 3) LTE. Cat 3 LTE is what is available now and offers data transfer speeds and voice quality similar to the smart phone on which you may be reading this article. Cat 1 LTE are less expensive modules and are available for data only applications but, the industry is waiting for VoLTE (Voice over LTE) certification on Cat 1 to ensure two-way voice functionality. Word is that lower cost LTE will be available soon, however the date is still unknown. The trade-off is lower speed (100 Mbps to 10 Mbps) but for the data transmitted by security systems the speed (security panel application) is not noticeable. Cat 3 supports two-way voice today. The latest sunset dates for existing cellular technologies came straight from Verizon and AT&T. Verizon is pushing to be the first U.S. based network fully on LTE, so they have an aggressive sunset date of December 31, 2019. AT&T is also working to switch to LTE, although their window for sunset is longer: the end of 2021. That said, AT&T has warned cellular module makers that at the end of 2018, they will no longer issue SIM cards for 3G devices, which moves up the need to jump on the LTE train significantly. AT&T has warned cellular module makers that atthe end of 2018, theywill no longer issue SIMcards for 3G devices Cost-efficient system upgrades The choice is simple; do you want to create a plan to upgrade your current installation base and avoid costly disruptions of service and potential loss of customers, or wait until that decision is forced upon you? If you wait, you may find that entire sections of the towns or states that you cover go out overnight, leading to a service nightmare. Of course, there is a cost to making these service calls. After polling several dealers, I found that the costs hover between $150 and $250, including the cost of the new radio. This can also take a needed technician away from a new install. So, how can dealers try to turn the lemons of this forced change into lemonade? By finding ways to turn this need to upgrade equipment into a profitable visit. As service technicians plan for routine service calls, map out nearby customers and see if they are willing to have the technician that is already in the area make a stop to upgrade their system. Prepare for future technological updates Some savvy dealers are offering promotions during these upgrades, offering home automation devices or new doorbell cameras, where they profit off of the sale of the new equipment and any increase in RMR helps to defray the costs of the service call. The new solutions also benefit the homeowner and make their system more valuable to them, which creates a win-win. Finally, be forward thinking and also switch out the panel to one with a replaceable cell sled, like the 2GIG GC3, so for future technological updates you don’t have to roll a truck and only have to mail out a new radio. The change is coming – will you be ready?