by Jessica | Jun 25, 2019 | WHIRC News
I’d like to personally thank all our customers, dealers, manufacturers and peers that attended our 10th annual Partner Symposium, which was held at Crown Plaza Minneapolis Northstar Downtown on June 20, 2019. With this being WHIRC’s 25th anniversary year, our event focused on all the new technology and how to build your business for the future.
This full day of networking and learning include a four-person Dealer Panel, which gave guests the opportunity to discuss issues they are having with their own businesses. Our panel of industry peers offered strategies to overcome them. Guest speakers represented LogicMark, Interlogix, Alula, Residio and Hedge Tactical Solutions. In addition, these vendors were on hand to answer questions and showcase the latest technology.
This year’s Symposium kicked off with a Twin’s game the night before that gave everyone the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful Minnesota summer evening. It was fun to see our partners outside the workplace in the relaxed setting of Target Field.
We were happy to once again provide this free educational opportunity for our customers and industry partners. If you missed the opportunity this year, we hope to see you in 2020!
by Jessica | May 1, 2019 | Industry Trends
Many dealers were worried when new players entered the security market and the DIY industry expanded, but this may have been a benefit rather than a detriment. According to a study by SDM magazine, 2018 was a great year for sales for many security dealers. Growth in DIY has pushed the alarm manufactures to add new features and services that are available at your fingertips. These technology advancements increase the opportunities for both dealers and monitoring centers. These days, monitoring just about anything out there has become the reality for WHIRC and we will continue to grow and meet the needs of our dealers.
A rise in advertising for DIY products has increased the public’s awareness about the importance for security overall and has contributed to the economy’s growth. Security is everywhere you look these days, including on television shows and in the news.
An article in SDM magazine shared results of SDM’s own research, which showed positive results across the alarm industry in 2018 ¬- for both residential and business markets.
“More dealers and integrators – 73 percent – expected a growth in revenue in 2018, when polled in September 2018, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. And 85 percent of respondents reported 2018 was a good to excellent year for intrusion alarms, up from 81 percent the previous year, while a whopping 96 percent expected 2019 to be at least as good if not better than 2018.”
Recent advancements in interactive services have led the customer to interact with the alarm panel more and more often. This alone creates that “stickiness” that all dealers are looking for to decrease churn. At the same time, customers are starting to see security as a necessity in life. WHIRC is integrated with most interactive services providing the necessary solution to stay competitive in today’s market. (See our featured promotion from Alula below.)
Monitoring continues to be the driving factor of devices in a connected home solution. As technology continues to evolve, the monitoring market is where the affordable solutions will continue to reside. WHIRC offers many different solutions at an affordable rate that is customizable to the customer’s needs.
As our dealers are expanding their offerings, WHIRC is committed to providing the same excellent 24/7 monitoring service that dealers expect. If it can send a signal, we can monitor it!
by Jessica | Feb 1, 2019 | Industry Trends
Are you prepared for the next sunset? Companies across the United States are beginning to sunset their 2G and 3G networks in favor of 4G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technologies. Verizon has announced that it will cease to support 3G devices on its network after December 2019, T-Mobile one year later and Sprint a year after that. With the new sunset approaching, now is a great time to talk to your customers about a system upgrade and new features that are available.
WHIRC can help you take an old system and make it new again with interactive services through SecureNet, AlarmNet, Telguard, Uplink, or any third-party provider that we are integrated with. This will update the functionality of the system to be able to use apps and additional features without updating the whole system.
A study by Parks Associates noted that only 23 percent of current security subscribers have an integrated smart home device. By switching your customers to interactive services, you can maintain and grow your customer base. This happens because interactive products make the customer sticky to the dealer as customers will come to depend on this technology that they will use every day. These add-on products are also key to driving new recurring monthly revenue.
This year, one of WHIRC’s goals is to get our dealers ahead of the sunset and help them prepare. We are doing this by implementing new technology like SecureNet, which is a more universal platform to transition older systems into a more interactive system. WHIRC is fully integrated with most third-party communication vendors.
At WHIRC, we work with distributors and manufacturers to ensure pricing competitiveness. As a WHIRC partner, you receive discounts from distributors. If your customers do have to replace gear due to the sunset, you can take advantage of our partner pricing and get it at a discounted rate. You may choose to pass those savings along to your customers as a further incentive to move them to an interactive system.
by Jessica | Jan 7, 2019 | WHIRC News
NEWS RELEASE
Rockford, Minn. (January 7, 2019)
WH International Response Center (WHIRC) recently received its Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) listing as a Central Monitoring Station for the 24th straight year, dating back to 1994. This means WHIRC has met or exceeded quality, safety and training standards set by UL. WHIRC is committed to exceeding UL’s standards to ensure continuity of quality service to its customers.
Monitoring companies and standards and certifications companies such as UL are keeping a close eye on the rapid advances in technology. New requirements are in place for UL 827, which is the Standard for Central-Station Alarm Services, that take effect mid-2020. This UL standard update not only improves the security of all data and information, but also increases the dependability and redundancies to protect that data.
WHIRC continues to stay up-to-date with technology and embraces the changes to the new UL standards. The effective date for the requirements was pushed back earlier this year as some monitoring centers were unable to meet the new requirements in the original timeframe. However, WHIRC completed the necessary updates and is already compliant with all the new 2020 standards.
WHIRC also recently renewed the prestigious “TMA Five Diamond Monitoring Center” designation from The Monitoring Association (TMA). This designation is granted annually to monitoring centers that satisfy all of the requirements of the “five points of excellence.”
The TMA Five Diamond designation means that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to their businesses and their customers through the investment of time, money and commitment to quality operator training.
There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States. Fewer than 200 have achieved the Five Diamond designation, setting these companies apart.
To learn more, visit the WHIRC website at whirc.com or call (800) 858-7811.
by Jessica | Dec 28, 2018 | WHIRC News
NEWS RELEASE
Rockford, Minn. (December 28, 2018)
Ashley Raisanen, business manager of WH International Response Center (WHIRC) was recently recognized by Security Systems News as a “20-under-40” award winner in the Class of 2018.
Raisanen, age 31, started with the company as an overnight dispatcher in 2009 and has worked her way up in the company. Other previous roles include data entry specialist and day shift supervisor. In her current role, Raisanen works with forecasting for the future of the business as well as managing the everyday operations of the company.
Raisanen, who has been the business manager since 2015, said she likes to see how new technologies fit in with monitoring services. “I love the new technology, I like to understand how it works,” she said. “I’m a very technical person when it comes to the nitty-gritty of the business. I like that the business is changing every day, it keeps you on your toes.”
Paul Ragusa, editor of Security Systems News, said he was impressed with this year’s class. “Each of these professionals has shown innovation and dedication to advancing the industry—they have all earned this award,” he said.
Security Systems News will be honoring its “20 under 40” Class of 2018 award winners with a special reception at its TechSec Solutions conference in Delray Beach, Florida, on February 25 and 26, 2019.
To learn more about WHIRC, visit whirc.com or call (800) 858-7811.
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