PERS Summit to keep pace with mobile technology, telehealth

PARK CITY, Utah—The second annual PERS Summit will reflect changes that are attracting more alarm dealers to this growing market for RMR, including advances in technology that are making personal health management increasingly mobile.

The summit, hosted by AvantGuard Monitoring Centers, will be held here at the Deer Valley Resort on Sept. 10-12. It is designed to give all independent dealers who are interested in personal emergency response systems—not just those from AvantGuard—a forum to stay up to date on the information and tools they need to successfully market and manage their PERS ventures.

Josh Garner, CEO of AvantGuard, said the focus this year will be expanded to keep pace with the changing demands of the marketplace.

“This is the first time we'll see telehealth being talked about at the PERS Summit,” Garner told Security Systems News. “We'll also be talking about the broadening of mobile PERS, where it's not just targeting seniors but all demographics, from the very young to the very old and all people in between.”

That development takes into account the use of GSM in the PERS world, Garner said.

“The alarm industry has had cellular communicators for years,” he said. “But that product is really only about 18 months old in the PERS industry. There are some new entrants coming in with GSM cellular-based PERS systems, so that's going to be of high interest to those in attendance.”

Keynote speakers this year will be Kristen Simmons and Elizabeth Smart. Simmons, partner and customer experience architect at Lightswitch, has worked as a top marketer for major brands including Mazda and led that company's  “Zoom Zoom” ad campaign. Smart is an abduction survivor whose experience will shed new light on the need for PERS in our communities, Garner said.

“First, we all provide services that could have prevented that event,” Garner said, referring to Smart's kidnapping in 2002 at age 14 that led to her being held for nine months. “Secondly, mobile PERS technology is exactly the kind of technology that can help us find missing children. People remember [Smart] and we think she'll be a great kickoff speaker.”

To register for the 2013 PERS Summit, click here. An early-bird special will be available until June 17.