SureView Systems begins training program

TAMPA, Fla.—SureView Systems, a video and event management software provider based here, on March 16 opened an entirely Web-based training course for its Immix platform to all customers.

“We were training people on what they asked us to train them on,” Chris Brown, company director of central stations, told Security Systems News, “What we missed was� getting them really immersed in the product—to the point where they understood what else it could do for them.”

The training program has 40 different courses, each about 15- to 20-minutes long. The course selection is also tailored to position; an operator might take 15 or 18 specific courses, whereas a system administrator would take all 40, Brown said.

The program finishes with a test on the material, and the “passing” grade is defined by each customer. “For instance [one company] may say everybody has to score a 90 percent in order to pass,” Brown said.

Two-and-a-half months of beta-testing and feedback from partners preceded the program's launch, Brown said.

“We got a couple of pieces of feedback [saying] that they would like to see the testing component � be a little more rigorous,” he said, and SureView accommodated that. “Otherwise, most of the responses we got back were very positive.”

The program is free. “We really felt like we owed it to our customers and our new customers to really get them proficient and get them all the training [they need],” Brown said.

“The big push for us this year is to go out and help our partners understand the business better, the video and event-based monitoring business. � In doing that, we needed to make sure they understood all the inner workings of the system,” he said.

Sureview Systems is also planning a users' conference to further education on the system, Brown said.

“I will be surprised if 90 percent of our customers don't engage the training program,” he said.

"On behalf of CSAA, I applaud SureView for having the foresight to develop this kind of training for the users of its software. Education resources in general are good for any industry, and we think it's a positive thing that they are supporting their customers with this new program,” Jay Hauhn, president of CSAA, told SSN in an email interview.

CSAA offers central station operator training. CSAA has more than 14,000 trainees across more than 30 countries.