We took an in-depth look at the AFAM Property Portfolio Portal and how it benefits property owners and managers. If you missed it, you can catch up here AFAM Property Portfolio Portal.

We’re taking a short break from our usual product focus to share some exciting news and updates we’ve been eager to tell you about.

We’ve been planning to open an Auckland office for some time — and with the new BDM role, the timing is right.

The new office will host our Auckland-based team and hold a small amount of monitoring equipment and spares for the region. We’ll start small, likely in a shared office while we establish operations. We’re currently looking at locations in Penrose or Mount Wellington and have a couple of possible options.

If your business has space available to sublet in that area or close by, we’d love to hear from you. We’ll share more details once the location is confirmed.

Our new installation videos are ready! There’s one covering in-panel CTU installations and another for in-box installs. You can watch them via the links below or in the Resources section on our website.

Earlier this year, we quietly began a ground-up redesign of our CTU monitoring hardware.

Our current CTU has served the industry well for a decade, evolving through multiple improvements — but we’re now building a platform that can support new features and capabilities the current one can’t.

It’s a complex process, and you’ll start seeing the new hardware next year. In an upcoming article, we’ll share more about what’s coming — but if you have suggestions or feature requests, we’d love to hear them.

Let’s just say… this new CTU will be unlike anything currently available in New Zealand (and beyond).

For our service agents — the wait is over! The IoT detector-level floorplan information previously available only in the AFAM Property Portfolio Portal is now being rolled out within Solomon to beta users and will be available to everyone in the next two weeks.

This feature lets you view live detector-level data on floorplans, query individual detector history, and much more.

We’ll cover this in more detail in an upcoming newsletter focused on Solomon’s new features.

Next week, we’re diving into backup power sources — batteries vs. super capacitors. We’ll explore how they differ, what AFAM supports, and when (and why) to use each.

We explored AFAM’s Reports & Analytics — what’s available and how you can access it. If you missed it, you can catch up here Reporting & Analytics.

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the AFAM Property Portfolio Portal, which we introduced briefly a few weeks ago.

The AFAM Property Portfolio Portal is designed for property owners and managers with multi-property portfolios.

​Traditionally, visibility into the state of fire alarm systems relies on updates from service agents. The Portfolio Portal changes that — giving owners and managers direct, independent access to live system information across all their properties.

At a glance, you can see the overall state of your portfolio, then drill down to granular, real-time data — even individual IoT detector-level information where available.

When you first log in, you’ll see a comprehensive dashboard summarising key details across your portfolio, including:

• Total number of properties
• Properties where a service agent is currently or was recently on site
• Properties providing IoT detector-level information
• Percentage of properties tested last month and so far this month
• The current overall system state across all sites

From the dashboard, you can move into a map view (with a familiar maps style interface) or switch to a table view if you prefer structured data. As you would expect with the map view, the level of detail changes as you zoom in revealing street data, buildings, and features such as parks and trees.

Both views allow you to filter by:

• All properties
• Properties in an ‘off-normal’ state (e.g., isolated or in defect)
• Properties not tested last month
• Properties not yet tested this month
• Properties with IoT detector-level data available

For properties with IoT connectivity, the portal offers deep, detector-level visibility — showing detector types, zones, states, and recent changes.

Where available, floorplans can be uploaded, allowing detectors to be placed visually on each level. Their icons update in real time to reflect live status and individual detector history can be accessed. For multi-storey, or larger single storey properties, multiple floorplans can be uploaded to best represent the property.

(The example shown here displays live data from a seven-storey building in Wellington.)

Access to the portal is completely free. We actively encourage property owners and managers to take advantage of it. Please contact our support team who can enable access to it for you.

If you manage multiple properties, or have clients who could benefit from the portal, you can download our overview brochure by clicking on the image below.

Next week, we’ll take a short break from our usual product and service deep-dives to share some exciting news about AFAM. We’ll also be announcing a major new feature launch and providing updates on a few developments we’ve mentioned in recent weeks.

We explored Messaging Options and Features — covering strategies, limits (spoiler: there aren’t any), and a few new tools to make messaging even more powerful. If you missed it, you can catch up here: Messaging Options and Features.

​This week we’re taking a closer look at what’s available to you from a reporting and analytics perspective — including the range of reports, delivery options, and how to request custom reports.

Our reports are powered by Microsoft’s enterprise-level reporting platform, giving you access to real-time monitoring data that’s always current and reliable.

Reports can be generated on demand or automatically scheduled at specific times — daily, weekly, or multiple times per day.
They’re delivered conveniently by email and can be formatted as:

• Direct email content
• PDF attachments
• Excel spreadsheets

Most service agents receive a tailored selection of reports relevant to the systems they maintain, ensuring they always have the latest insights at their fingertips.

We currently offer over 80 reports in our library (including a few variations). Commonly used reports include:

• Recent PFA state changes
• Enhanced / IoT Detector level messages and state changes
• PFAs pending monthly tests
• Off-Normal events for PFAs and CTUs
• CTUs awaiting connection or return
• Battery test failures

If you’re not receiving these yet and would like to, simply contact our Support Team — they’ll get them set up for you.

Need something specific? Just ask! We’re usually able to develop custom reports at no charge, and if it’s something others might find useful too, we’ll add it to our standard library for everyone’s benefit.

Reporting and Analytics is a major focus area on our roadmap for next year. We’re already working on enhancements and new functionality that will make insights even more powerful and accessible.

We can’t share too much just yet — but expect some exciting announcements in upcoming newsletters early next year.

Next week we’ll explore the AFAM Property Portfolio Portal, including:

• Interactive dashboards
• Mapping and table views
• IoT Detector-level floorplans with live data
• 3D building views with live system information