Founded in 2006, KDS Fire & Security provides alarm monitoring and installation services to businesses around Dublin. Founder of KDS, Kerry Duddy, has over 20 years' experience in the security industry and has worked for some of the leading security firms in the country. He now applies the knowledge and skills he has accumulated over the years to supply, install and maintain a broad range of security and fire alarm systems for commercial, industrial and domestic clients. Kerry has a long-term relationship with G4S Monitoring Ireland; in his experience as an alarm installer he has always used G4S alarms, connecting into the G4S monitoring centre. "I've built up a strong rapport with G4S people over the years; they even gave me advice when I was applying for my NSAI licensing certificate," says Kerry.

Supportive partnership drives competitive advantage

Having a company such as G4S behind it has been a real benefit to KDS Fire & Security, according to Kerry. "G4S are such a large company, both in Ireland and worldwide. It's great to know you have that backup and technical expertise working for you. Their tech support is second to none. That's important to me and my clients.  We're a relatively small business, operating in a competitive market. Working with a global company like G4S gives my company access to cutting edge technology which is tried and tested in a global market. With their well-manned and well-equipped monitoring centre I know that I'm putting my customers into a safe pair of hands and I gain real competitive advantage being able to offer such a range of products," says Kerry.

Access to advanced technology an advantage to business

Working with G4S means KDS Fire & Security can provide its clients with a broad range of alarms, from mesh radio, medical alarms and fire alarms to access control and remote CCTV monitoring. KDS has been connecting a wide selection of alarms into the G4S Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) for almost 10 years. High on KDS Fire & Security's list is the G4S mesh radio, which has proven popular with the company's customers. "The G4S mesh radio is extremely reliable, which means my customers feel more secure. It's an intelligent system that can only get better as G4S activates more units and expands its coverage," explains Kerry. "The installation process of the mesh system is seamless, and underpinning all that is the real-time reactions from the G4S monitoring team to transmissions from the mesh that come into the ARC."

Proactive support and expertise gives KDS confidence

It's this level of service that appeals to Kerry. Twice daily he receives a detailed email report from G4S outlining all the activity on his customers' alarms. "Having this information at my fingertips is of great benefit to me. I'm better informed and can pre-empt customer queries and deal with any issues more efficiently," he says.

For KDS, providing a high level of service to their customers is very important. Having the support and backup from G4S means Kerry is confident that he can serve his customers to a high standard. "We've been working with G4S for so long now that they know me, they know my business and they know my customers. They understand what we need and the level of customer service we want to provide and they help us to do that with their technical expertise and 24/7 support."

Complementing that technical expertise, 24/7 support and advanced products is the fact that Kerry can pick up the phone at any stage and call his G4S account manager directly. "I know I can always speak to exactly who I want to speak to at G4S. This gives me that added reassurance that my business is important to G4S," he concludes.