When I started in the low voltage world, I was always confused when people said "low voltage integrator" and "low voltage contractor". Supposedly both mean different things and you were either one or the other. But when I asked people, they could not give me a straight answer and it was usually "contractors do contracted work" and "Integrators Integrate" or answers that conflicted with the last persons definition. To me, they all seemed like they did the same thing. They both have RCDD's. Most good Low Voltage integrators/contractors have at least 1 RCDD on staff. They both go after the same jobs.
When I moved into the security world, I also found that different terms were being thrown around that made little sense as many did the same thing. Am I the only confused person with these terms? The main ones are Integrator versus Contractor. I will also add a few more terms that get muddied a little. Feel free to add more terms. (Maybe John should create a survey to see if people share the same descriptions.)
Security Integrator:
Security Contractor:
Security Dealer (Not meaning Distribution):
Security Consultant (Muddied):
Security A&E (Easy):
Trunk Slammer (We all know when we see one... but is there a gray area?):
Security Alarm Company (Res Alarm but many do commercial security work now):
What is a security company called if they do not hang cameras or any low voltage work… including plugging in Patch Cables? Their job is to "program" the system.
Do manufactures have different meanings for Integrator and Contractor? How about Distribution?