SIA Member Profile: Security Information Systems

Security Industry Association (SIA) member Security Information Systems (SIS) is a global leader in alarm integration and monitoring software for the security industry. The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and serves customers in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, Asia and Europe.

SIA spoke with Alison Forsythe, president of SIS, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Alison Forsythe
Alison Forsythe

AF: SIS was founded in 1987 by Greg Gilbert and Mike Megler as a small computer consulting and software development company that began working with central monitoring and alarm companies that needed help aggregating their intrusion alarms. They developed the first generation of PC-based automation software systems for the security industry, known as the Alarm Center, a more intuitive yet simple-to-use system, and were one of the first to integrate this software with access control, computer aided dispatch, data and video technologies. At first, SIS focused on working with commercial markets, but then the company expanded to schools and eventually to government facilities, such as the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), that included numerous Army and Navy bases. Today, SIS is a global leader in hig- performance alarm monitoring and integration software for the security industry, with more than 5,000 installations in more than 120 countries.

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings/company unique?

AF: SIS provides high-performance alarm monitoring and interface solutions for the security industry that save lives and money. SIS software solutions are affordable and feature rich without exorbitant upgrade charges as users grow. Offering a migration path from a single-user system through an enterprise system on a standard Windows platform, the Alarm Center is extremely modular and scalable to accommodate all size dispatch centers. The flexibility in the Alarm Center’s solution also allows it to integrate with more disparate platforms and technologies (such as legacy and modern, video, CAD systems and temperature controls) than almost any other solution, allowing customers to truly customize an integrated security program that fits their needs and monitor an endless number of sensors.

What makes SIS’ Alarm Center product stand above the rest is the fact that it was developed and is continually nurtured by security experts working side by side with leading PC software engineers. The Alarm Center has received the “stamp of approval” by the watchdog agencies of the industry; it is UL and ULC classified, has passed the stringent testing requirements of the DOD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process and complies with Assured Compliance Assessment Solution and the Secure Configuration Compliance Validation , providing the required automated network vulnerability scanning, configuration assessment, application vulnerability scanning, device configuration assessment and network discovery required for government installations.

Finally, what really sets SIS apart from competitors is its individual, personal support for each and every customer, resulting in decades-long relationships with its customers and dedicated employees who have worked at SIS for decades as well. For example, after looking into larger, more complex and more expensive monitoring organizations, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) chose SIS to provide their monitoring platform which has been in place for more than 20 years. SIS worked with CFISD providing consulting services to help them understand what was already in place and what hardware, receivers and servers were needed to work with the SIS software platform. SIS partnered with CFISD and not only helped provide a solution to a monitoring platform, but also helped guide them on an overall solution that met their needs.

“When I need assistance or recommendations on equipment and monitoring to work with our systems and software, I call SIS to give me the most helpful, responsive and comprehensive advice that fits within my budget and provide insight into what I need to think about for the future,” said Andrew Bailey at CFISD.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

AF: SIS was one of the first companies to create a solution that could integrate with a wide variety of disparate legacy and new systems and technologies. SIS products can interface with more than 100 third-party systems while continuously monitoring and automating responses to millions of alarms all in one simplified output for users to review.

What is your company’s vision, and what are your goals for the security industry?

AF: SIS is on track to become the premier supplier of high-performance integrated alarm monitoring and interface solutions to the U.S. government and its agencies. SIS’ goal is to grow existing customer relationships and build new ones in the government and commercial markets through innovation and providing exceptional customer service.

What do you think are the biggest opportunities in the security industry right now?

AF: The need for a diverse set of security systems is going to continue to grow – especially with the likes of Ring and other DIY platforms growing in the market. We are already seeing multiple systems required to integrate, including intrusion, controlled access and physical, on the market, and we will continue to see more innovations using the likes of artificial intelligence and video. Newer, more modern innovations will expand the amount of security platforms that need monitoring. Legacy systems can be very expensive to replace. There will be a large opportunity for organizations to streamline, integrate and find efficiencies in monitoring their disparate security systems, especially with the need to do it all with a remote workforce.

What are your predictions for the security industry in the short and long term?

AF: End users are facing unprecedented times and have a real concern around security with the transition to a remote workforce. They will continue to look for more information, automation and convenience. The more commercially generated products are used for security, the more risk there is in transmission and sophistication, which will result in an increasingly challenging world. Companies and agencies will be looking for new and easier ways to manage their assets and workforce, potentially through new apps and new software platforms. That will raise the bar for the security industry to adapt more quickly than it previously has and provide the kinds of tools that end users expect (based on consumer products and solutions).

What are the biggest challenges facing your company and/or others in the security industry?

AF: Technology innovation continues to develop at a fast pace. We constantly challenge our team to test new platforms and devices and update our software so that it can continue to integrate with everything available for our customers and integrate the new technology into older legacy systems that clients may have.

What do you enjoy most about being at your company – and in the security industry?

AF: Working with a talented, highly experienced team of people to solve real issues for clients in 120 countries and knowing that we are keeping our clients safe is extremely fulfilling. Growing SIS as a leader in its space and believing in our product and the potential it has for security in the future are also rewarding. Many of our employees have been around for more than 20 years – providing our company with a strong culture of loyalty and expertise on which we can grow as a company and focus on developing deep customer relationships.

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

AF: We value SIA as a partner in the industry for its work in advocating and developing industry standards and advancing the industry’s professionalism through education and training. We are interested in learning from SIA’s trusted research and analysis to help us make smart business and market decisions based on industry trends and insight. We also hope to grow our business through participating in a variety of SIA’s valuable opportunities that will connect us with industry leaders and customers.

How does your organization engage with SIA? what are your plans for involvement in the next year?

AF: We are currently exploring all of SIA’s sponsored opportunities and events for 2021, with a particular interest in the Government Summit and government-focused webinars, and plan to incorporate several options into our marketing plans.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.