Each October one of my favorite stories to write comes around: The systems integrator of the year. I love delving into a company’s history and culture and learning what has made them a success worthy of being chosen for this award.

They say a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. So perhaps it was fortuitous that the founding partners of Stone Security — all members of the Edmunds family in Salt Lake City — had no background in security integration when they formed the company in 2006. Steve Edmunds, a retired Air Force captain and Delta Airlines pilot, started the business with his sons and son-in-law after a brief foray into residential security, which they quickly discovered wasn’t for them.

Enterprise-level access control systems have been slowly reinventing themselves over the past several years. Once solidly the sphere of the large, proprietary, on-site systems, more security and IT directors had begun exploring what else they could do with access control.

In the last six months many of us have endured changes to our daily lives that would have been unthinkable a few months earlier. The term social distancing has entered our lexicon; many of us now routinely wear masks to go about errands.

If there is one good thing that has come out of this forced “down time” due to the coronavirus, it has been the opportunity to spend some time learning new skills.

Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, “Out of adversity comes opportunity.” The security industry, like many businesses in the U.S. and the world, has certainly seen some adversity this year. In the video monitoring part of the security industry, however, a situation that started as chaos quickly shifted to unique opportunities to help both existing and new customers.

It’s June, the start of summer — the season of backyard BBQs, gatherings with friends and family, and summer vacations. But for most of us, this summer season may look different than usual.

Now more than ever, people are conscious of the surfaces they touch. When it comes to entering a door, any time you don’t have to touch a handle, it’s a relief. In the access control industry, the word “frictionless” has been a growing trend for a while; now it has even more benefit for end users.

“May you live in interesting times.” I’ve been hearing this phrase a lot lately related to the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting shutdowns of schools and businesses. Curious where this phrase comes from, I Googled it.