“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Nicole Kenny, 38

As a child, Nicole Kenny would visit her mother who managed a central station, and following in her footsteps, her first job was working for the same central station.

Now, with a 15 year tenure at Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS), “I have the pleasure of managing two different teams — the operations support project team, responsible for everything from data cleanup to activity reduction analysis and the business development support team, who's primary focus is on existing alarm companies across the country including day to day communication, pricing, promotion and retention,” Kenny said.

She identified interactive alarm notification processes as a top trend. “These processes really engage the customer with their alarm software, assisting with subscriber retention,” explained Kenny. “We strive to support our dealers with progressive tools so they can manage and grow their business, so over the last few years, CMS has enhanced our online portal for alarm dealers and their monitored customer.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) development is on the rise, and with it, Kenny noted the security industry is providing a new means of enhancing the verification process. “Not only does this help with the reduction of false alarms, but it provides clarity in the industry, as a growing number of jurisdictions are moving to verified responses to combat the amount of false alarms. Furthermore, the reduction of false alarms has a huge benefit in retaining customers and improving the quality of service.”

Kenny feels fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of young, diverse professionals at CMS. “As new technology [is developed] and continues to advance, millennials will continue to be attracted to our industry, which will lead to the next era of security,” she said.