The CE Pro 100 is out!
http://www.cepro.com/article/ce_pro_100_reports_9_revenue_jump/

The list always seems to be controversial for some reason or another. What do you really think?

Speaking frankly, I think people who are bitter and think they should be on the list should either pony up, open a dialogue with EH Publishing about the suitability of the requirements to qualify, or simply labour away in modest silence.  Outrage and negativity without a constructive contribution doesn’t really benfit anyone.

Obviously, we care about what people have to say and how they’d like to see the list improved.

But it seems like the same complaints come up year after year, despite the list getting cleaner and cleaner each year. Maybe we’re not doing a good enough job letting people know how things are determined.

A company that does 32,000 installs per year at an average revenue of <$1,200 is not an integration company.  They may install speakers OCCASIONALLY, but primarily they are doing security installations.  Even going to their website, you cannot find any mention of any AV product, it is security only.  Get the Security companies off the list

Pelz is right, security companies should not be allowed on the list.  Further- how can you support 1500 employees, COG, overhead, and cost of warranty service on an avg rev/employee of $24,729?  the math just doesnt work.

CE Pro has done an amazing job of cleaning up the list in the last several years, it just gets better, and more believable every year, thanks for the hard work.

The list is my favoirte part of the publication.  To those who are unhappy with it, they probably should just not use it.  To suggest that the security companies be removed I ask, why?  We are all aware of the diverse segments of this market.  I find it VERY helpful to include ALL low voltage contractors in the top 100 list.  In fact, I wish more companies from more segments submitted themselves for consideration.  I would love to see a broader cross section of the industry.

It motivates me to fine tune the areas I want my business involved in.  It helps me compare what other companies appear to be doing.

And when it comes to ANY statistical analysis - it isn’t ever complete OR exact.

The previous post questions Guardian Protection Services, Inc.  To Pelz and DeAnn I would say this: the company is an integration company.  Just because they are integrating security systems doesn’t exclude them.  When I first saw the list it intrigued me to find this particular company on top.  But here is what I would suggest you consider:

Security integration companies do NOT make their money on installs.  In fact, many will give away the install just to get the recurring revenue from the monthly monitoring.  So I am pleased to see this fact reflected in the data on the list.  Also, the article mentions that the company actually has $120 million in revenue.  Guess what?  That’s $83 million in revenue NOT from installs.  That’s probably mostly from monitoring.  Do the math and you’ll see that at $35/month that’s over 2.3 milliion customers.  That’s an incredible business.  They make more monthly than most of the rest of the list makes annually.

I think there is value in keeping them on the list.  If you have a custom installation business, you should seriously consider sources for recurring revenue.

Thank you for the research and continued diligence to providing it.

Morgan Harman
The Tech Source

TheTechSource - 16 July 2008 05:18 PM

… I find it VERY helpful to include ALL low voltage contractors in the top 100 list.

I disagree with your comment. CE Pro has and is an a/v centric community with integration overtones pertaining to home automation. Where security comes in for the integrator is merely an extension of its home automation system. The security industry has it’s own associations and magazines with its own top performer lists. The low voltage industry is made up of irrigation companies, landscape lighting companies, commercial (70volt) audio distribution companies its very diverse, each has its own association and magazines that support it.

TheTechSource - 16 July 2008 05:18 PM

...The previous post questions Guardian Protection Services, Inc.  To Pelz and DeAnn I would say this: the company is an integration company.  Just because they are integrating security systems doesn’t exclude them.

I disagree. The company is a security company and the mere act of installation an integrator does not make. Integrating means bringing multiple sub-systems together with a common interface. I would concede to your point if 25% or better of their installations included a security keypad that had a audio source selector in it with a cat5 output that ran to a distribution hub which then had six cat5 outputs to six different rooms with ABUS security/audio keypads.

TheTechSource - 16 July 2008 05:18 PM

Security integration companies do NOT make their money on installs.  In fact, many will give away the install just to get the recurring revenue from the monthly monitoring.  So I am pleased to see this fact reflected in the data on the list. 

More to the point that companies deriving their revenue from primarily one sub-system should not be on the list. To me that’s a mulligan, given to the security industry by CE Pro acknowledging marketing tactics of yesteryear that have transformed into standard operating procedure by programming the consumer to expect a free or reduced cost system in exchange for a monitoring contract. Integration companies don’t even consider participating in those tactics, and that’s more to my point. An integrator is concerned about the integration, the proper design of distribution, making it all work with the interface. This is not a commodity like a single sub-system. Why isn’t Geek Squad on the list, what about Firedog. No their not there because they don’t have a license in most states for which they do business and that primarily eliminates them as ‘contractors’ and keeps them off new home construction sites doing installations. Perhaps a percentage of multi-discipline work is necessary to qualify as an integrator on the list.

I see your point.  And suppose this is where we agree to disagree.  We are talking about two different sets of criteria then, and that is fine.  Either list would prove interesting and helpful to me.

-Morgan

I agree with KEN 110%. While I believe that security companies are legitimate business and do very well, I do not think they belong on this list. or make a supplement with them stripped out. what does the “CE” in “CE pro” stand for? I thought it was Consumer Electronics. I interpret at as a product that can be purchased at a variety of retail stores. I can’t find a single place here that sells alarm systems...(aside from radio shack).
I also have issue with these companies that do a majority of thier work in the pre-wire field. anyone can run wires in a house. it takes skill to take all of those wires and connect the equipment to a complete CE system. I have a hard time believeing these numbers do not include some carry-out traffic.

I think a majority of the problems people have is that they expect to see folks that install Audio/Video related products as thier primary business.

at the end of the day, its just bragging rights - it does not really tell me anything of value. A lot of people sell a lot of equipment but that does not mean that it is done well.