2019 was a great success for security industry dealers and integrators, according to SDM Magazine’s industry report, which has been published annually since 1982. The companies that participated in SDM’s study reported strong growth, with an average 16% increase in total revenue and a 28% increase in recurring monthly revenue for the last year.
Will this growing trend continue in the next year? What are some challenges anticipated in 2020? Mike Mathes, Convergint’s Executive Vice President, shared his expert opinion in SDM’s annual security industry forecast article.
On Total Annual Revenue
“I would say that we’re expecting very similar results [in 2020], with growth between 20 percent and 25 percent at atop line from a revenue perspective.
We have two main avenues of growth — one is acquisitive and the other one is organic. The opportunities for us to continue to acquire companies in the market remains robust, so that will help our acquisition strategy.
On the organic front, a number of the strategies that we’ve put in place along with our ever-expanding footprint on a global basis continues to provide us with new opportunities and new customers who are looking for global coverage, advanced solutions or vertically focused security solutions.”
On Factors Affecting Sales
“With the strategies we put in place, particularly around our global footprint, our advanced solutions and our vertical market focus, we’re seeing a great deal of demand in the marketplace for our services.
Our top challenge is one of staffing. So our growth is going to be limited by how quickly we can resource people to address the demand that we’re seeing in the marketplace.”
On Recruiting Talent
“To me the logical follow-up to the challenges of finding and retaining employees is: So what are you doing about it? First and foremost it starts with the culture of the company, and Convergint Technologies has put a great deal of effort into our culture and our values and beliefs. We live by our values and beliefs every day and to those on the outside it may sound a little bit trite; but for those that work within the company, it very much resonates with them and drives them. It also resonates very strongly for our customers, and our culture and values and beliefs are a big part of us attracting and retaining colleagues.”
