Alarm Central upgrades, aspires to the big league

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--Alarm Central, a third-party central station, will complete an upgrade early next year that includes video monitoring and remote access to accounts to vie with larger central stations. The central began operating in 1998 and works with more than 200 dealers. Its dealers can now monitor their accounts from remote locations, such as palm pilots. "Dealers like the fact that they can be hands on with accounts," said Jeremy Wyble, operations manager. The account makeup is 60 percent residential and 40 percent commercial. Alarm Central's dealers inquired about the video monitoring service as more communities move to verified response. The central station's software platform will also change and is slated to be completed by January. Alarm Central was using the Bold THEOS 7.2 for the past seven years, and will switch to Bold Manitou, which will provide an easier user-friendly platform, Wyble noted. "The new Windows-based software system takes the guess work out of the operator's hand," Wyble said. "It cuts down on operator errors, and doesn't allow operators to make those mistakes." The alterations to its services reflect the growth that Alarm Central anticipates. "We are actively trying to expand this company with customer service as the priority," Wyble said. It is undergoing an aggressive effort to pick up more accounts. For example, the company will attend trade shows, such as ISC West in the spring. Alarm Central has more than 25,000 accounts sprinkled throughout every state, though they're clustered in the Midwest. Operators at the central are in the process of acquiring Central Station Alarm Association certification. The goal is to meet CSAA five-diamond central station certification by the first quarter of 2006.