Integrators '20 under 40' 2017—Steven Alter

Steven Alter, 32

Central station manager, Dynamark Monitoring

Hagerstown,�Md.

Steven Alter is the central station manager for Dynamark; “I monitor the day-to-day operations of our monitoring center—that's a 24/7-365 job. We monitor systems all across the U.S. now, ” Alter said.

Asked what he likes most about the industry, Alter pointed to the impact a monitoring center can have. “My favorite thing is, from the monitoring side, when we make a save—when we save somebody's life. That's just something that you don't get to do in many other jobs, and � at the end of the day, you can say 'You know, I really did something to help somebody,'” Alter said. “When we get those opportunities, we look at that as � the reason we exist, the reason we get up every morning and do what we do.”

Alter started his career in the industry with First Action Security Team. “I worked in their warehouse, stocking security equipment. � I got to learn the equipment. Then I moved into an inside sales position, where I was able to sell the security equipment to end users,” he said.

Alter expects to see more video monitoring in the future. “I think that's � the wave of the future,” he said. “Over the years, I think it's going to be more and more common.”

Video monitoring will spread throughout the industry, he said. “Residential customers are starting to use it now as well. Through services like Alarm.com and Alarmnet, they get to install cameras that tie-in with their alarm systems so it can send us a video clip and an alarm at the same time,” said Alter. “The commercial side—it's going to be the same benefits for them.”