 Last WeekWe 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. This Week: News & UpdatesWe’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. Auckland based Business Development ManagerYou may have seen on Seek that we’re hiring an Auckland-based Business Development Manager — if not, you can view the listing here: Business Development Manager. This role will strengthen our presence across Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga, helping us build new relationships and support existing ones. The BDM will manage key accounts, work closely with service agents and property managers, and act as the voice of the customer to help shape our products and services. If you know someone who might be interested, please share the link with them. Auckland OfficeWe’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. Installatiton VideosOur 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.
We’d love your feedback — and if there are other topics you’d like us to cover, let us know. New CTU in DevelopmentEarlier 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). New Service Agent Features in SolomonFor 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. Coming Next WeekNext 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.
 Last WeekWe explored CTU Additional Inputs — what they can do and how our customers are using them. If you missed it, you can catch up here: CTU Additional Inputs. This Week: Messaging Options and FeaturesThis week we’re diving into how AFAM messaging works — and highlighting a few powerful features you might not know about. Messaging is something everyone in our industry relies on, but few stop to think about. Our goal is to make sure your alerts are delivered the way you need them, every time. Message DeliveryWe send messages to keep you informed about changes or events on the systems you manage or monitor. You can receive them via any combination of:
Messages fall into three main categories:
Message Delivery Limits & RecipientsUnlike some of our competitors, we don’t cap the number of:
We also have no plans to restrict particular messages only to one delivery method, we want your messaging to work for you. If you want to get every message via SMS, Email, and the AlarmTech App — that’s fine by us. We also don’t restrict who can receive notifications. Service agents, property owners, managers, and tenants can all stay in the loop if needed. Message Delivery StrategiesBehind the scenes, our system uses a sophisticated rules-based engine to control how and when messages are sent. It considers factors such as:
We call these Messaging Strategies, and a refined default set is applied across all properties. Custom StrategiesWhile the default strategies work well for most users, we know some situations call for more flexibility. That’s why we can create custom messaging strategies for:
If you’d like to explore a custom setup, contact our support team — we can usually accommodate most requests. Solomon Dashboard LinkEvery SMS and Email we send includes a link to the Summary screen in Solomon, our service agent website. You’ll also find the same link under the PFA Details screen in the AFAM AlarmTech App. From the Summary screen, you can view details of the PFA or CTU, check recent messages, see keyholders, and access a range of useful functions — including the two below. Putting Messages On TestWhen you’re carrying out work on site, it can be handy to temporarily pause messaging to avoid unnecessary alerts. From the Summary screen in Solomon, you can easily put messaging “on test” for a PFA or CTU for a chosen period. You can select from several options:
There’s also a Cancel All On Test option to return everything to normal messaging. Note: This feature only affects agent messaging. All state changes are still sent to FENZ as usual. Temporarily Subscribe to All Messages for a Site(New Feature — Available from Monday 20 October) When carrying out maintenance, inspections, or surveys, you may want to see every message from a site for a limited time — even if you’re not normally set to receive them. This new feature makes that possible. To temporarily subscribe:
Coming Next WeekNext week we’ll explore AFAM Automated Reports, including:
 Last WeekWe shared some handy tips to make CTU installations smoother — plus how to avoid and fix the top five issues our support team encounters. If you missed it, you can catch up here: CTU Installation Tips and Tricks. This Week: CTU Additional InputsWe’d planned to look at messaging options this week — but after last week’s article, we had so many requests about CTU Additional Inputs that we’ve bumped it up the list. Messaging will now feature next week. Additional Inputs OverviewEach CTU supports up to four additional inputs (depending on installation type) that can monitor a wide range of devices. If it can drive a relay, it can be monitored. We’ve seen these inputs used for:
Cost to Monitor Additional InputsHow much does it cost to monitor additional inputs? Practically nothing. Actually, it’s completely free. If you already have a CTU installed, you can use the additional inputs — and all related messaging — at no extra charge. We actively encourage you to take advantage of this feature. Messaging for Additional InputsYou can set up custom messaging to alert specific people when a monitored device:
Message text is fully customisable and can be sent by SMS, email, or via the AFAM AlarmTech App. These alerts follow your normal messaging strategies — which we’ll explore in detail next week. Isolating Additional InputsNeed to work on a monitored device without triggering alerts? You can easily isolate an input for a set period. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your setup — just contact our support team, and they’ll walk you through it. Can I Monitor This Device?If you’re unsure whether a specific device or system can be monitored, get in touch with our support team. Chances are, we’ve seen it (or something very close to it) before — penguin enclosures aside. Penguin PictureEnjoyed the penguin photo above? Check out the animated version on our LinkedIn page — or simply click the image to head there. While you’re at it, follow us for more updates and behind-the-scenes insights. Coming Next WeekNext week, we’ll really dive into CTU messaging options, including:
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