KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Bold comments on central station operations and Morgan Hertel's comments on cloud operations
February 15, 2018
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Bold comments on central station operations and Morgan Hertel's comments on cloud operations
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Ken,
    I feel I should respond as Bold Technologies was mentioned directly by Morgan Hertel. Firstly, I would like to say that I respect Morgan greatly, our industry continues to get better because of his continuous contributions to it. As one of the few Automation providers that have invested in providing a true UL 827 cloud solution, let me point out a few of the benefits and why many of our customers and new customers are migrating to it. Indeed last quarter 70% of all sales were cloud sales.
    Firstly, they are able to remove all hardware from their central station. Including servers, receivers even PBX systems if they want and access it in the cloud. This reduces their capital costs and the IT or receiver specific knowledge required by their staff. Additionally, we keep them up to date on all software licensing. However, they still keep tight control over their accounts and can monitor as they did previously. Because they are in the cloud, they can access their system from anywhere, giving their business great mobility. If they want to open additional geographic monitoring centers, it is as simple just connecting to the cloud.
    The cloud requires very little capital costs, this is encouraging many new startups. Additionally, companies like national chains and retailers are expressing interest in opening their own cloud based monitoring centers because of the immediate ROI.
    Where it gets really interesting is the dealer market, dealers can move their accounts to the cloud and we can point them to anyone of our many great wholesale central stations running Manitou. This gives the dealer the ability to have full control over their accounts, and allows the wholesale central station to receive alarms without any data conversion, or adding of new resources, such as receiver or phone lines. That’s a win-win! We believe this will change the dynamics of the industry, so much so we have filed a patent on this process.
    As for the Internet going down, I think that’s a little bit like saying our traffic network might go down. Yes, there are always issues in certain areas but the network is vast and there are always alternative routes. After all,  it was built by the US department of defense and is designed to be self-healing.  That said, all of Bold’s cloud customers have two ISP providers, sometimes a third LTE based one. Another option is to get a dedicated circuit. The reality is, the cellular network has many outages and we are 100% into that network. But outside of simply connecting on the Internet, much of today’s phone traffic uses it, which would affect any business regardless of whether they were using the cloud. Finally, let’s not forget all the IP panels we are now using, I am sure all businesses would be in a world of hurt if the Internet did indeed ever go down.
    Bold’s ManitouNEO is a full Browser based monitoring package, the product has every feature you can think of, and with over 600 control centers using the Manitou platform, it is the leading platform for midsize and large central stations. Reliability and redundancy goes without saying, we all know the business and expect that. We can take that to whatever level your business needs. What’s special about ManitouNEO is you have the ability to take your expertise and intelligence and build it into the product – that’s exceptional. This allows many operator functions to be automated or controlled in the way that you want. We realize that our customers business is always unique, every business has its special challenges, so we provide our customers with the most comprehensive tool kit in the industry. We offer API’s to every part of the application and most modules, as well as tools that are just incredibly flexible. Because of these tools, we have more  integrations than any other package.  Manufacturers of video platforms, GPS platforms, access control platforms etc, have all connected their products to ManitouNEO because they know it’s going to reach a substantial audience.
    Kind Regards,
Rod Coles, Chief Executive Officer
Bold Technologies
800-255-BOLD
Direct: 719 358-4710
Colorado Springs, CO
www.boldgroup.com???????
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Response
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    The most important decision you will make as a dealer is what contract you use with your subscribers.  I've made it easy.  Use the Standard Form Agreements, the All in One agreements.
    The second most important decision you will make is selecting the central station you will use.  What operating system your central station uses should be an important consideration, probably more important that the pricing you agree to or the incentives you may get for selecting that central station.  Certainly many central stations use the Bold system.  
    I want to mention another issue that may interest you.  And that's who is participating on this forum and should you?  As you read the comments and articles I know that many of you have comments or ideas that you may be reluctant to share for one reason or another.  But you should know that your comments on this forum will be read by thousands of alarm industry professionals each day.  That's right, thousands.  And they are all waiting to hear your thoughts and comments.  Sure, sometimes you will read something that you think is irrelevant to your daily activities, and other times you will find pearls of wisdom that will enhance your business and more.  All are welcome to participate and have your voice, and thoughts, heard.  I encourage everyone to participate.
    Obviously, most of the readers on this forum are dealers; they out number the central station greatly.  And the central stations out number the manufacturers.  In a very real sense we are all in this together.  So my message is, participate.  It takes only a moment to send in your comment and share you advice, concerns, complaints and praises.      
    I want to thank Hank Goldberg for starting this thread of articles, Morgan Hertel and Rod Coles as well as all the other participants that make this forum worth reading.  
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THE ALARM EXCHANGE

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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com