Security Sales & Integration June 2021 - 6

Between Us Pros
scott.goldfine@emeraldx.com | @SSIeditor
TEC Trends &
Takeaways
The selling
model moving
forward
will likely
incorporate
communications
tools leaned
on during the
COVID-19
shutdown,
specifically
video meetings
and leveraging
social media.
▶ AS ONE OF MY FAVORITE television
characters Maxwell Smart (played by the late
great Don Adams) used to say, " Missed it by
that much. " I'm referring to PSA TEC in Denver
May 3-6, which for more than 20 years has
perennially been my favorite electronic security
industry event (aside from the SSI and Total Tech
Summit, this year Nov. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.).
I am a fan of TEC's professional yet relaxed atmosphere,
high caliber of integrator participants,
unrivaled education program and vibrant networking.
However, the 2021 edition was " just a
bit outside " (quoting the also hilarious Bob Uecker
from " Major League " ) my timeline to resume
attending trade shows.
I was not alone, of course, as onsite attendance
was an estimated 20% of usual. Fortunately,
PSA went the extra mile to make it a hybrid
event with the majority of presentations being
streamed live. I was able to take in more than a
dozen sessions, which for the most part upheld
the program's rich tradition of excellence and
value. Moving ahead from the pandemic and to
what extent the new normal will replicate the old
normal was understandably top of mind during
the proceedings.
I greatly appreciated all those industry professionals
who put in the time and effort to share
their experiences and knowledge with the rest of
us. Subject matter covered the spectrum of vendor-supplied
training; leadership, business and
operational topics; industry trending; and technology
updates. Particularly compelling were sessions
on post-pandemic sales, staffing and diversity,
cybersecurity programs, and managed services
implementation, as well as the group's usual " State
of PSA " and " State of the Integrator " panels.
According to participants, the selling model
Editor-in-Chief and
Associate Publisher Scott
Goldfine, an Industry Hall
of Famer, has spent 20+
years with SSI.
6
moving forward will likely incorporate communications
tools leaned on during the COVID-19
shutdown, specifically video meetings and leveraging
social media. This is especially true because
providers and clients alike are expected to work
from home at least some of the time for the foreseeable
future. Integrators also anticipate, at least
Security Sales & Integration JUNE 2021
to some extent, continuing to use virtual interviews
to evaluate employment candidates.
" I predict this will be part of your life. Someone
had to step up and do it, " said newly retired PSA
CEO Bill Bozeman, referencing SIA's new Cybersecurity
Certification, the first program of its kind
for the physical security integrator community.
" This is really exciting to see come about, addressing
cybersecurity and physical security needs, "
added PSA President Ric McCullough during the
" State of the PSA " session. They also said managed
security services are becoming core to the
integration business, with new PSA CEO Matt
Barnette suggesting it might be time to change
the terminology since it is becoming a standard
offering. It was also announced that Alarm.com
was being added as a PSA vendor partner with a
tailored package for member companies.
At " State of the Integrator, " participants noted
the pandemic's effect on Cloud-based solutions.
" More enterprise clients have begun to get into
it whereas pre-pandemic it had been customers
without their own IT staff. We see a big trend
moving from on-prem to Cloud, " said John Nemerofsky,
COO, SAGE Integration. " We saw
acceptance prior to the pandemic, but I believe
those circumstances accelerated it. But it is still
in its infancy in our industry, " added Pierre Trapanese,
CEO, Northland Controls. According to
Michael Ruddo, chief strategy officer, IST, " We
have experienced very slow adoption, but ultimately
everything is heading that way, and manufacturers
may force us down that path. It seems to
require a dedicated sales staff to do it properly. We
need to get onboard with Cloud as an industry. "
The panel also tackled the current state of artificial
intelligence and its relevancy to security
today. " I think AI will be a bloodbath, but when
the shakeout happens it will be fantastic. A lot of
people are throwing an AI label on something as a
buzz term, so be aware and cautious, " said Trapanese.
" Calling it AI may be an overstatement right
now, but we are deploying facial authentication
and other biometrics. Still, the rollout has been
slow, " added Nemerofsky. " My wish is AI does not
become the analytics of old. It is cool technology
and has very specific use cases, and adoption will
come and eventually take hold. Privacy issues need
to be addressed upfront as well, " said Ruddo.
Only time will tell if this event's hybrid format
will continue into next year. For more coverage,
go to securitysales.com/psa-tec2021.
securitysales.com
http://www.Alarm.com http://www.securitysales.com/psa-tec2021 http://www.securitysales.com
Security Sales & Integration June 2021

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