Professional monitoring centers are responsible for monitoring everything from security and fire alarm systems and personal emergency response systems (PERS) to a variety of connected devices and apps.Monitoring is the heartbeat of the safety industry. The risks associated with a monitoring service provider’s systems going down, even for a moment, can spell disaster for a dealer’s valued subscribers. Having a monitoring center that implements appropriate redundancy practices is essential to mitigate this risk.
Unlike hundreds of central stations across North America, Becklar Monitoring has gone above and beyond to ensure the highest level of hot redundancy. By duplicating essential systems and components in multiple locations, Becklar maintains functionality in the event of failures, preventing downtime and maintaining uninterrupted protection.
What Does Redundancy Mean?
Redundancy in a monitoring center means having backup facilities, systems, processes, and people that can take over in case of a primary system failure in a given monitoring station. Redundant systems are designed to function seamlessly and automatically switch over to backup systems without a disruption in service.
Types of Redundancy
Cold Redundancy: Backup systems are available but not actively running. They require manual intervention to activate when needed.
Warm Redundancy: Backup systems are running and configured but require manual switching in the event of a failure.
Hot Redundancy: Backup systems are fully operational and automatically take over upon a primary system’s failure, ensuring seamless continuity.
The Risks of Low Redundancy
Low redundancy comes with the risk of a single point of failure (SPOF). This refers to any part of a system or infrastructure that, if it fails, will prevent the entire system from working.
SPOFs can be disastrous in the professional monitoring industry. These system failures can end up disrupting monitoring services, leaving organizations or individuals open to potential security breaches or safety threats. Prolonged downtime or recurring failures can also damage a company’s reputation and erode client trust.
Becklar Monitoring Has Achieved Hot Redundancy
With central stations that have multiple generators, phone lines, networks, locations, and a system that fails over to a secondary site without causing service interruptions, Becklar realizes that hot redundancy is the only acceptable redundancy measure.
Becklar Monitoring achieves hot redundancy through planned assessments, monthly system patches, and ongoing updates. The strategic combination of these specific planned tests and ongoing system maintenance allows Becklar to validate its redundancy in a controlled environment. By conducting regular mock failover tests, Becklar is able to identify and eliminate any possible gaps in redundancy plans.
Within a central station’s redundancy plan, automation is also something Becklar has addressed. Immediate failover ensures that if a central station goes down for any reason, systems will automatically and immediately switch over the signal path to another central station without a reduction in systems’ accuracy, speed, or efficiency.
Additionally, a significant investment is required to achieve true hot redundancy—time, money, and people. Becklar Monitoring has invested aggressively to ensure subscribers are able to get the help they need when they need it, without exception.
Becklar Monitoring Invests in Canada’s ULC Regulations
In the United States and Canada, simply having a redundant central station is not enough. Industry standards are established and certifications awarded by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in the United States, and in Canada they are set and regulated by Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC). These entities regulate a monitoring station’s automation software capabilities, building codes, network connectivity, and everything else that comes with operating an effective central station.
In Canada, ULC has announced new redundancy requirements that will go into effect in January 2025 for a monitoring station to earn or maintain their ULC Listing. The monitoring provider must have a second physical location/facility that can serve as a backup to perform all the essential functions of the primary monitoring station in the event of a systems failure. To do this, the second site must have its own servers, receivers, and operators. It has to have all the same capabilities as the primary site.
Becklar Monitoring has taken the initiative to meet and exceed these new ULC requirements. Becklar has invested in its central stations across Canada, going to great lengths to ensure that dealers and subscribers have peace of mind from their monitoring services. After all, Becklar’s main priority is safety for all.
Becklar’s Central Station Redundancy
Becklar strongly endorses the idea that a central station’s redundancy is not just an added feature—it is critical for people to know they can rely on uninterrupted monitoring services.
Becklar Monitoring’s advanced redundancy systems and practices ensure that organizations and individuals enjoy peace of mind knowing that their valuable subscribers and assets are being monitored around the clock without interruption.