Those not already familiar with Comporium SMA (News - Alert) Solutions will likely have a very good chance to do so in 2013, as Comporium projects that they'll have cast agreements with as many as 12 different cable operators to provide their line of security, monitoring and automation (SMA) services for those companies by next year.

Comporium SMA Solutions is actually a part of the larger Comporium Communications, which by itself has a roster of 1,000 employees strong, and claims that the technology behind its line of SMA systems is comparable to those currently being offered by major cable providers, like Time Warner (News - Alert) Cable and even Comcast.

But Comporium looks to offer their lineup as part of a Managed Service solution, which in turn will bring even more options to the table, including data storage fit for the enterprise-level user, not to mention backup and recovery services and both tech support and marketing support.

Further, each system will offer touchscreen controls for an all-in-one system that includes significant boosts to overall processing power, RAM (News - Alert) and storage, giving not only access to security functions, but also information like weather, news, traffic reports and even energy management tools to help users keep costs down.

Thanks to a combination of Wi-Fi and ZigBee-enabled systems, other features include the option for e-mail or text-based alerts when something has gone wrong that security systems can detect, wireless software upgrades, improvements to range and battery life, and something of a philosophical improvement in the use of an open standard for the Connected Home ecosystem, thus making new apps for the system easier to develop by third-party providers.

The director / general manager of Comporium SMA Systems, Dan Lehman, expressed his belief in the reason behind not only the rapid growth of SMA systems, but why Comporium's line of SMA systems will make a major splash in the marketplace; "A recent survey conducted by ‘Security Systems News’ found that industry experts believe a 40-percent residential penetration rate could be achieved within the next five years,” he said. “Comporium SMA provides a highly affordable, easy way for cable operators to take advantage of this significant new revenue source, not only for residential subscribers, but for Business Services customers as well.”

“We expect 2013 to be the year of SMA in the cable industry."

Cable operators could certainly stand having more services available to offer. With the practice of cable-cutting rapidly gaining ground among those who are getting sick of paying a monthly bill for more commercials, cable companies are finding that they need to offer more – and not for a whole lot more money – to keep their current customers from jumping ship. Offering tied-in security systems, as well as the home automation and other "smart home" services that many users have been interested in, is a great way to provide those services without a whole lot of extra infrastructure.

Many cable systems are already wired in when the user subscribes, and thus without a lot of added costs.

Cable companies will require a little extra creativity to keep their positions afloat in the face of customers jumping ship, and bringing in features that Netflix and Hulu (News - Alert) Plus can't easily offer is a great way to do that.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.