Tag: David Smith
AMAG Technology, Identity One announce GSA FICAM approval
November 29, 2022SSN Staff
HAWTHORNE, Calif.—AMAG Technology and Identity One announced that their joint access control solution has been approved by the Federal Identity Credential and Access Management (FICAM) conformance program.
Now featuring Identity One’s FIPSlink software as a validation system, AMAG’s Symmetry Access Control platform has been added to the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) approved product list (APL), making it available to all federal agencies for procurement....
COPS to offer mPERS monitoring
March 14, 2018Spencer Ives
WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—COPS Monitoring, a company with a network of six monitoring centers across the U.S., is looking to monitor mobile personal emergency response systems for its dealers this year.“MPERS has been growing in popularity since its introduction several years ago,” David Smith, COPS' VP of marketing and business development, told Security Systems News in an email interview. Smith added that the company's move to offer mPERS monitoring stems from dealers, and their customers...
Central Monitoring Operators: training, empathy and thinking really fast
August 30, 2017Kenneth Z. Chutchian
YARMOUTH, Maine—A central monitoring station can be a cool place to work—if your idea of cool is not knowing what's going to happen from one minute to the next, or talking people through crises, real and perceived, or getting information fast and accurate while determining whether lives are at stake.Experts at four security firms weighed in recently on the stressors and satisfaction that operators experience—and the kinds of support these employees receive to keep fresh.“It...
COPS announces new workshop series
August 2, 2017Spencer Ives
WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—COPS Monitoring, a brand under Lydia Security Monitoring, on July 27 announced its Grow Your Business roadshow, with seminars currently planned for Denver, Colo., Boca Raton, Fla., Salt Lake City and Williamstown, N.J., with more to be announced.
“The genesis of the seminars actually began with our UCC dealer customers; we started these … sometime in the 2015 time frame,” Ron Bowden, director of dealer development for Lydia's UCC brand and leader of these seminars,...
COPS sees quick response times during hurricane
October 19, 2016Spencer Ives
COPS Monitoring recently announced that it was able to achieve a 12.4 second average response time during Hurricane Matthew—quicker than the company's 13.9 second average for priority response in the past 12 months. COPS gave credit to its team for the achievement.
“Achieving a 13.9 second response time is difficult enough. When a situation like severe weather causes alarm traffic to increase 20 to 30 percent, it's not uncommon for many central stations to have response times that are...
Wholesale monitoring company success: It's all about the dealer
September 16, 2016Spencer Ives
YARMOUTH, Maine—Wholesale monitoring centers use a variety of methods to grow their revenue and account bases, but dealer relations and support is the key to success, according to several executives who spoke to Security Systems News.Affiliated Monitoring's VP Daniel Oppenheim put it this way: “We are in a business, much like equipment manufacturers, where our success is dependent on the success of our dealers.”Third party central stations grow by adding more dealers or supporting...
Jim McMullen wants to acquire more wholesale centrals
April 13, 2016Spencer Ives
Jim McMullen, president and COO of Lydia Security Monitoring, as well as president and COO of COPS Monitoring, is interested in purchasing more third-party central stations. Lydia's recent purchase of wholesale central station UCC was a big topic at ISC West 2016, both in COPS' booth and in UCC's.
“We would like to go out there and buy other companies that specialize in a particular segment of the [monitoring] marketplace, so that we can draw on their expertise and grow it from...
Lydia receives $75 million
January 27, 2016Spencer Ives
WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—Lydia Security Monitoring, the parent company of COPS Monitoring, received a $75 million credit facility from Citizens Bank, the bank announced Jan. 25.“Lydia plans to use this line of credit for general corporate purposes and to expand its presence in the market,” David Smith, COPS' director of marketing and communications, told Security Systems News, in an email interview.Citizens served as lead left arranger and administrative agent for the transaction.Jim...
Monitoring stations with an edge: Earning dealer loyalty
August 26, 2015Kenneth Z. Chutchian
YARMOUTH, Maine—It's supposed to be a win-win when wholesale central monitoring stations want to manage, service or purchase accounts from alarm dealers. The dealer can acquire some capital. The central station builds its portfolio. This business relationship can be sweet, as when central stations offer perks to purchase accounts. Or it can go sour when the central station and the dealer, after an account transfer, wind up competing with each other for customers.
The only chance that...
COPS' David Smith talks about 'redundant staffing'
April 22, 2015Spencer Ives
Since I came into the industry, I have heard a lot about redundancy; making sure that everything runs smoothly, service is consistent, nothing is down for long. At the center of these discussions has always been the latest technology that adds new levels to that redundancy. On the show floor at ISC West, I heard David Smith, director of marketing and communication for COPS Monitoring, talk about an entirely different kind—redundancy of people. This is the task of trying to find the same types...