Rich Watts, VP of Information Securities at AG, talks about the importance of central station automation for operations, security and integrations. AG's central station automation is key in providing your customers with the best service possible.
You can watch the interview with Rich Watts or read the article below. For additional information on this topic, download our white paper on the effects of automation and alarm factor scores.
Transcription:
What Is Central Station Automation Software
Central Station automation is software that a central station uses to reliably and consistently process alarms for its customers. Plus a whole lot more.
What Are Some Core Features?
I think there are several things that make a really good central station automation software.
Action Plans
The first thing that comes to mind would be action plans, which are custom scripts that our operators use for every single type in situation. It makes it so we can create consistency in the way we deliver our service. Good action plans remove the guesswork for our operators and they enable operators to work quickly under stressful situations. With the right automation software in place, AvantGuard can even create customized scripts that work for our dealers' unique policies and procedures. The bottom line is that good action scripts will allow our operators to be guided through every decision, providing outstanding quality every time with predictable results.
Auto Processes
Another component of quality automation software is the existence of auto processes within that software. These processes would allow us to take an incoming signal or an operator action and configure those things to do a wide variety of communication methods, whether it's SMS, email, automated IVR calls or or even an interactive chat room.
With these auto processes we can create an excellent customer experience and, maybe even more importantly on the operation side, eliminate some of the clutter so that we can concentrate on doing what we really do best which is taking care of our customers when it matters most.
API Extensibility
Another thing that quality software needs to be able to do is provide API extensibility of the software. Every transaction that happens within our software is encapsulated in an API call that can be used to give access to alarm signals, contact information, event history, alarm status; information dealers can really use if they plug into those APIs.
What Makes AvantGuard Different?
The other thing that that really sets the automation software that we use at AvantGuard apart is our XML signal service that accepts all types of signals, whether it's geolocation information or any other event-driven information such as video or audio files.
We can receive those kinds of signals through that XML signal service. So this XML signal service positions us to be able to receive signals for a whole suite of technology that's out there in addition to the traditional signaling that we've always been able to receive.
Why Is It So Important?
A good automation software package plays a critical role in almost everything we do at AvantGuard. The right software provides all the tools that we need to make sure our customers get the service they expect and that we do what we do best ... save lives and protect people's property. And make sure that we do it the same way every time for consistent results.
Why Is It So Hard To Get?
The fact is, good automation software is incredibly complex. It takes a significant investment to produce, maintain, and keep it flexible enough to grow for future needs. So it's not inexpensive and the only way to really have software of that caliber would be to have a subscriber base big enough to be able to afford that kind of software.
How Does It Affect Subscribers?
I think a good automation software will definitely impact the subscriber because they will get the exact same experience every time, whether they're testing or they're in danger and in need. The automation software allows us to provide a very consistent experience every time, and again, even in the most stressful of situations.
What Features Should Dealers Look For?
It seems to me that every dealer wants to know that our automation software allows us to efficiently and effectively take care of the customer every time. They want to know that our action plans will provide a consistent experience. And that we will follow proper procedures and the best practices every time.
Other dealers may really appreciate that auto processes provide for the right information at the right time for customers, whether that's through those processes via text, e-mail, or interactive chat sessions. I think the other thing that they might be interested in would be the extensible APIs; the ability to integrate with our software easily. In the end I think the best automation software is the one that addresses all of those needs for our dealers and other integrated partners.
How Do Dealers Benefit?
A monitoring partner with the right automation software, from my perspective, really makes everything easier for the dealer. Our dealers can relax knowing that AvantGuard is taking care of their customers and that all of the best automation software features are available from AvantGuard.
