Johnson Controls acquires cloud provider

MILWAUKEE—Johnson Controls announced this week that it has acquired Smartvue, an IoT and video provider that empowers cloud video surveillance and IoT video services. The addition of the Smartvue cloud-based video platform enhances Johnson Controls' offering of an end-to-end, cloud-based solution that can provide business data and intelligence to customers and added value to partners.

“The addition of Smartvue's open API cloud architecture to the Johnson Controls portfolio bolsters our ability to provide scalable video as a service in a highly cost effective, fast and secure way,” David Grinstead, vice president and general manager, Security Products, Building Technologies & Solutions, Johnson Controls, said in the announcement. “This acquisition will only strengthen our potential to more fully harness the power of cloud-based video and provide opportunities for our partners to derive new revenue streams as the industry's adoption of cloud increases.”

Nashville-based Smartvue's global video surveillance and IoT video cloud platform is supported today in 140 countries and serves customers such as telcos, cable companies, security firms, storage providers, device manufacturers, and other organizations. The platform supports IoT technologies that enable secure video in almost any device to connect with a global cloud, which can be accessed through an intuitive interface. Smartvue intellectual property portfolio includes more than 800 granted utility patent claims from its nearly 20-year history.

"Smartvue is a trusted name that has made buildings and homes secure, infrastructure more effective, and cities smarter for more than 20 years," Martin Renkis, founder and CEO of Smartvue Corporation, said in the announcement. "Integrating our technology and innovation with Johnson Control's leadership and global reach will deliver exponential new value to the IoT and security industries."

Grinstead told Security Systems News that the addition of the scalable Smartvue platform “is an ideal complement to our already robust video surveillance portfolio that includes our American Dynamics, Exacq and Illustra offerings,” he explained. “[The Smartvue platform] will enable us to more quickly implement our strategy for an end to end video management solution that can serve our diverse but demanding customer base.”

With more than 120,000 employees, Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi-industrial leader serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries.

Johnson Controls Building Technologies & Solutions technology portfolio integrates every aspect of a building, including security systems, energy management, fire protection or HVACR. Its brands include Tyco, YORK, Metasys, Ruskin, Titus, Frick, PENN, Sabroe, Simplex and Grinnell.