As was stated a few posts down, I'm integrating a lot with Crestron and AMX via the 232, so the asthetics aren't as important for a touchscreen or keypad, however a lot of these installs contain remote keypads and arming stations at outbuildings, wine cellars, safes, etc. where touchscreens are not installed or budgeted for Crestron or AMX, so Elk's devices end up being used. I also end up tying a lot of wiegand readers to the elk for prox usage, primarily using the Indala units and I've even had a couple where the big "easy pass" units were installed. Of course, Indala is looking at a 50 bit credential vs. the elk's more common 26 bit, but inside a property, tying a 26 bit prox reader onto the bus for those secure locations in conjunction with a code is. These are also places that are engineered from the ground up, so the bulk of the automation is chosen to be done with other hardware, but for security and mid level automation, that's where I'm at. As was stated a couple of posts above, the Elk is a well engineered security panel, which is why it's chosen in my cases over HAI, which is not as attractive in the integration projects I work on, or specifically, the retro's with connections to existing hardware or infrastructure.
Both are good panels, and I'm sure most people would be happy with either and still have little gripes about either, I'm only stating what I've dealt with on the projects I've installed them, and neither is the silver bullet panel or ideal for all circumstances.
As I stated, it's a local thing that I've only experienced with 4 municipalities in 1 county in my state, which I don't believe that most people would experience, but while the listings are similar, the AHJ's were citing specific listing numbers in my specific cases.
