Find news and information for the executive corporate security director, CSO, facility manager and assets protection manager on issues of policy, products, incidents, risk management, threat assessments and preparedness.
Issue link: http://sdi.epubxp.com/i/246277
TECHNOLOGY By Christi Johnson SPOTLIGHT Harness the Power of the App Mobile apps can empower your sales and installation teams, land you new customers and much more M obile apps have become popular in all industries — mostly by necessity. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project (www.pewinternet. org), 56 percent of American adults own a smartphone. The increasing popularity of mobile devices means that mobile app use is only going to continue its rise. As a security dealer or integrator, are you doing all that you can to cater to these potential customers? Your current and future customers are using their smartphones and the apps on them, and your business can also benefit from them. For security dealers and integrators, a mobile app can help employees on a sales call or troubleshooting visits, saving time and money. To harness the power of the app, you can use an existing one already on the market or create a proprietary app in-house. Apps to Consider A menu wheel is a clean way to make a menu more interesting and more fun to use. 44 Do your salespeople or technicians showcase products and solutions to potential customers while visiting them on site? If so, they could use an app to show the variety of solutions and technologies available — complete with images, videos and more details. Those sales and technical pros could also use an app that records customer details and documents installation sites. This simplifies many aspects of their work — from getting a quote to installing hardware — because you have already documented the floor plan and placed products virtually on a map, or at the very least have written, detailed instructions for the installation. This makes life easier for your sales and installation teams, and leads to a better service experience for new and existing customers. If your company monitors security systems that audit card reader swipes, you can create an app for your technicians. Many security systems provide an application programming interface (API) to monitor usage of certain doors or the status of other equipment. An app can take that Web service mobile, enabling support technicians to access necessary information through the app while they are on site. The app can also manage trouble tickets and provide historical issues with specific locations. In addition to apps that help your employees, security dealers can benefit from consumer-facing apps. Some apps allow consumers to access their security cameras or locks from their mobile device. My firm recently improved and optimized a digital lock app for Yale Real Living (www.control4.com/ products/apps) that enables homeowners to access and control their digital locks. The app also enables users to customize their experience, check the status and remaining battery life of the locks and receive pre-programmed www.SecurityInfoWatch.com | SD&I; | January 2014