The security industry has long been characterized as resilient for its ability to prosper in times of economic upheaval. The era of COVID-19 has only burnished that reputation. There will be no respite in 2023. To remain viable, installing security contractors will have to continue navigating supply chain delays, inflation, labor shortages, among other hefty challenges — not the least of which, a looming recession.

For many dealers viability and prosperity is achieved, in part, by way of partnering with a wholesale monitoring center. In my cover story for this issue of Monitoring Today I delve into the many ways these third-party central stations are helping dealers gird their businesses for success.

We also wanted to highlight monitoring center personnel who perform this important life safety work day in and day out. So for our second feature, SDM Content Editor Laura Mazzuca Toops speaks with a pair of finalists for The Monitoring Association’s 2022 Central Station Manager of the Year honor, both of whom share their personal paths into the security industry, as well as their leaderships styles, core principles they work by and more.

Nor will you want to miss our featured columnists and the wealth of knowledge and insights they deliver on a range of important industry developments around life safety standards, alarm communications, business prospects and more. A contribution from TMA’s Celia Besore describes how the ASAP-to-PSAP service delivers faster responses to emergencies and positive outcomes, while a pair of PPVAR board members highlight the new AVS-01 standard and how it will provide situational awareness for responding officers.

Lou Fiore explains why central station voice channels can still be useful to alarm companies, and Peter Giacalone explores opportunities around presence detection and the ability to identify or locate the existence of people in a specific area or physical space. Finally, let’s all wish SIAC a happy 20th anniversary. David Margulies looks at the organization’s work these past two decades in fostering relationships with law enforcement agencies and combatting onerous alarm ordinances.

We hope you find this supplement insightful and beneficial to your company. Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2023!