Archive: March 2016
Monitronics partners with WAVE Electronics
March 31, 2016SSN Staff
DALLAS—Monitronics partnered with WAVE to bring new distribution services for its dealers.
“One of the great benefits of the Monitronics Dealer Program is our dealers' freedom to choose from quality products from the best manufacturers and distributors out there,” Bruce Mungiguerra, SVP of Operations for Monitronics, said in a prepared statement.
WAVE Electronics offers more than 8500 SKUs from more than 120 manufacturers in the audio, video and custom installation categories. WAVE...
Konica Minolta to buy Mobotix
March 30, 2016Martha Entwistle
TOKYO—Meet the newest outsider to enter the security industry: Konica Minolta, a $9 billion provider of office equipment and optical systems, has signed an agreement to acquire video surveillance provider Mobotix.Konica Minolta today announced an agreement to purchase 65 percent of Mobotix shares from company founder Ralf Hinkel. Konica and Mobotix plan to collaborate and use their proprietary technology to develop “next-generation network security solutions,” Konica said in an...
Alarm.com opens new global HQ facility
March 30, 2016Paul Ragusa
WASHINGTON—Alarm.com officially opened its new global headquarters here in March, bringing the entire company under one roof and expanding its dealer-training capability.“The new facility allows us to create high-quality innovative technology, and offers the capacity for our engineers to design and create great products,” Jay Kenny, senior vice president of marketing for Alarm.com, told Security Systems News. “That is both in the amount of space and the way the space was designed,...
Freeus more than doubles customers in post-acquisition year
March 30, 2016Spencer Ives
OGDEN, Utah—Since Freeus' acquisition of Securus' PERS assets in early March 2015, the company has doubled its customer base and now has more than 100 dealers.“In the last year, Freeus has grown from a subscriber base of 30,000 active users to over 75,000 active users,” Brock Winzeler, GM at Freeus, told Security Systems News.Winzeler said that the company's unique Orion platform and competitive pricing led to this growth. “Some partners that are activating large quantities...
Qolsys to debut IQ Panel 2 at ISC West
March 30, 2016Martha Entwistle
SAN JOSE, Calif.—Qolsys introduced itself and its “all in one” IQ Panel to the security industry at ISC West 2013. This year, Qolsys plans to introduce its new IQ Panel 2, a slim, white, 7-inch high-res capacitive touch screen with edge-to-edge glass.“The beauty of the product matters,” Qolysys CEO Dave Pulling told Security Systems News. “But there's a rock concert going on behind that 7-inch screen,” he said.Designed for higher levels of security, IoT connectivity,...
Nortek Security & Control brings 2GIG video solutions to resi market
March 30, 2016Paul Ragusa
CARLSBAD, Calif.—Nortek Security & Control, a security and home control company located here, recently announced its full line of new 2GIG IP video solutions for the residential and small business markets, where the company sees a growing demand for these products and services.
“We offer video cameras in our commercial market, and part of the road map was to bring more cameras to the residential market,” Greg Stone, video product line manager for Nortek Security & Control, told...
Eidola, created for integrators to ensure cybersecurity
March 30, 2016Martha Entwistle
YARMOUTH, Maine—Have you heard enough about cybersecurity dangers for physical security integrators and manufacturers?
Here's a new, and perhaps more welcome, angle of the cybersecurity story.
At the Interoperarability Fest on Wednesday night, April 6 at ISC West, you'll be able to see "Eidola." Click here for time and location.
What's Eidola? It's a technical automation and security system lifecycle management platform that's designed to help integrators and installers secure their installations...
News with Securus' buyers
March 30, 2016Spencer Ives
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Securus and the two companies that acquired its assets.
Securus, a company focused on GPS tracking and PERS, was divided and sold in two parts in the first quarter of 2015. The PERS side of the business was sold to Freeus, a newly founded sister company to AvantGuard, formed for the purpose of acquiring this part of Securus. BrickHouse Security acquired the GPS business.
I find this interesting lately because BrickHouse yesterday started a Kickstarter to fund...
Hey Siri ...
March 30, 2016Paul Ragusa
The other night while activating my new phone, my son overheard me setting up the voice-recognition feature, dutifully repeating the set-up phrase, “Hey Siri,” which prompted sarcastic questions from him like, “Hey Dad, are you sure you know how to do that?” and “You want me to help you set that up?”
And while his ribbing was good-natured, he got me thinking about how his post-Millennial generation is growing up in a world where automation and voice activation—in...
PasWord Protection acquires in its footprint
March 29, 2016Spencer Ives
HAMILTON, Ontario—PasWord Protection Services, a full service security company, has acquired ISC Security, both based here. The deal adds 500 accounts, bringing PasWord's total monitored account base to more than 9,000.While the PasWord has completed some acquisitions in the past, its focus is on organic growth, Paul Lloyd, president and owner of PasWord Protection's parent company, The PasWord Group, told Security Systems News. “If acquisitions come along, and if they're strategic, then...