“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Deric Morrow, 37

Deric Morrow has been in the security industry for 15 years, starting with ADT as an alarm dispatcher. He moved around within the company, filling numerous roles as it spun off from its parent company, Tyco Integrated Security, and merged with Johnson Controls. Today, Morrow works with middle to large commercial customers guiding them through security solutions and providing a service that lowers their risk level and potentially increases their revenue.

“What truly inspires me is to make a difference for the customers by offering a product that can truly provide protection to people and assets,” Morrow said.
He identified camera analytics, cloud storage/computing and communication methods as current, top trends in the industry.

“Camera analytics can provide a similar level of protection that an around-the-clock monitored camera system could; the cloud is greatly increasing productivity, while also giving the end user the protection on more secure networks; and customers like to contact us in various ways,” Morrow explained. “Companies need to “evolve into keeping communication channels open through assorted outlets—email, text, social media and web chats.”

According to Morrow, talent entering the security industry must be given a clear path to future growth with the ability to branch off in various areas and access training at affordable rates with more online options.

Most exciting to Morrow is critical event management (CEM) and gun-shot detection devices. “CEMs allow end users to gather information from direct contact to international news and make sense of the current risk level and events affecting their business,” Morrow said. “I feel that active shooters are creating the same level of casualties that we used to see from fires; detection devices are a first step in providing a technology to protect lives. I see these devices becoming as normal as today's smoke alarms in commercial applications.”