How I Use My System: Matt Cooper

Matt Cooper is the new director of field operations for Protection 1. He sees this role incorporating elements from his previous role as a regional operations manager. The main difference being, he said, that his new role is on a national scale. Among other responsibilities, he is working to “create a bridge” between the regional branches and the national accounts. Cooper, an ex-Navy man, talked with Security Systems about the system he has at home.

What kind of system do you have?

Honeywell Vista 20. It's just such a workhorse. I'm using the full functionality of disarming your system remotely … kicking on lights in the front of your house so your spouse isn't walking into a dark house. [It has] all the bells and whistles of a newer system but built into the full functionality of a Vista 20.

Why this particular setup?

A bunch of different reasons. Most importantly, you have the beauty of being able to go wireless or hard-wired, which most systems have. Quite honestly, being with Protection 1 for the past 11 years of my career, it was our main platform of a product for the longest time; [this meant] ease of use and ease of being able to get the equipment or service if necessary. The Vista 20 is the only system I can remember from my service days of not having to go back several times to iron out the kinks that come along with security systems.

What is one aspect of your security system that you wouldn't want to live without?

Being able to get notifications on my system. We have the opportunity to actually go in and, through linking my home camera system with my security system, I can look and get video snapshots of what's going on—was there an actual person in my living room or was it really a balloon blowing around?

Where do you see security going next? What are some big trends?

I think it's undeniable—the industry is definitely going more toward network and IP-based systems. I think anybody that's been in this industry for longer than a year can really see the difference. If you see anything from an IT perspective, you understand that this is going to be more cell-phone driven, more user friendly, more at-your-fingertips.