News Poll: Reader opinions vary on PERS offerings for the security dealer

YARMOUTH, Maine—Security Systems News asked its readers about personal emergency response systems and how the offering could fit in with a traditional alarm dealer's portfolio; some see the two systems as different, others say there is opportunity for security dealers.

“We have always provided PERS although a small part of our business,” Jim Buckley, president of Buckley Security Service Inc., wrote in. “[It] does increase RMR but we also provide a system for those on fixed income no RMR. � Seniors today are more mobile than earlier years so the mobile PERS will give them peace of mind.”

Forty-seven percent of poll respondents said that security dealers are in a good spot to offer PERS devices, as they are already in the home and life safety business. “If done correctly, dealers [may] see huge benefits from offering PERS/mPERS. However, having the right central station is absolutely key to the success, as most central stations aren't experts at handling PERS/mPERS,” one respondent wrote in.

Thirty-seven percent said that PERS could benefit a security company depending on its core focus.

Seventeen percent said that security and medical alerts are fundamentally different. “Security dealers can make more RMR moving into home automation and video than PERS,” said Bryan Stapp, president of Medical Care Alert.

A security company can benefit in different ways from offering PERS or mPERS devices. Forty-seven percent of respondents said the biggest benefit is increased RMR opportunities. Thirty-three percent said medical alerts diversify a company's offering portfolio. Twenty percent of respondents don't see any benefits in a security company offering PERS devices.

When asked about the biggest technologies in the PERS space, 67 percent said mPERS will dominate the market over time. Twenty-seven percent predicted more connections with telehealth devices.

“The PERS pendant can be enrolled in the security panel. Motion detectors can be used to check that the user is moving around. [Door and window] sensors can be used on cabinets, refrigerators, & interior doors to check on activity,” one reader said.

Another reader described how PERS systems can expand an end user's way of life. “We may expect to see PERS that are integrated into health and exercise equipment, mobility scooters/accessibility carts, and other machines that an active person may use on a daily basis. The system may offer peace of mind to a person who may otherwise be timid and hesitant to participate in these types of activities.”

Seven percent said that traditional PERS devices will stay the largest technology in the future.