SPOTLIGHT MEMBER From Tiny to Tech “A lot of facility people and superin- tendents move to other districts,” he says. “They aren’t up to snuff on security, and I can give recommendations or do a pre- sentation to the board. Or I can provide a free consultation on the various buildings, what they’re lacking and what they might need. It’s a selling tool, and it helps us get more business.” DeMino says that a typical school district he works with is six buildings, although he has two districts that are 13-14 buildings. “There are a lot of doors opening, a lot of readers, a lot of cameras,” he says. “It’s just the evolution of how things are today, especially when it comes to schools and “Lots of business comes DeMino’s way these days, thanks in part to a business philosophy that is concentrated on educating his customers.” school districts.” Electronics, of course, are a big part of that evolution. “The industry’s moving that way,” De- Mino says. “There will always be a need for mechanical security, but it’s just comple- mented with the electronics and the access stuff you can do today.” Ask DeMino about the biggest challenge facing the industry, and he quickly replies about the reluctance of so many, perhaps surprisingly, to learn the new technologies. “All of our stuff is network-based,” he says. “We know it is important to keep up with network environments. So you have to keep up with technology, you have to keep up with networking, and you have to keep up with operating systems because it varies. We have a product right now we’re phasing out because it operates on a platform that is no longer around.” r his thoughts about why not ev- s embraced technology, DeMino ure. s a level of reluctance,” he says. “I DeMino credits his growth in part to specializing in electronic wide area access controls and CCTV, though Allegheny Safe & Lock still does a great deal of lock work. t it a lot with my competitors and , and really the fear of the unknown omes down to. But we’re fortunate e work so closely with a lot of these nd with a lot of their IT people. at I got involved with computers bases back in the late ‘80s, early me a little more naturally for me, t of this stuff I’ve learned through working with different IT departments and being observant to how they structure their network. Again, our stuff has to coexist with them and has to work with it, or we are of no use to the customer.” Evolution. Change. Technology. Edu- cation. They all have to be embraced, and DeMino is gladly welcoming them with open arms. R.V. Baugus is a freelance writer based in Grand Prairie, Texas. 24 KEYNOTES FEBRUARY 2015 WWW.ALOA.ORG
