Next Level Security Systems growing

CARLSBAD, Calif.—Next Level Security Systems executives say their sales revenue more than doubled in 2012 over 2011, and they're projecting more of the same for 2013. The privately held business does not reveal revenue figures, but increases in its employee count, office locations, customer base and trade show presence certainly seem to back up those claims of rapid growth.

Three years ago Next Level could be found sharing space with other vendors at trade shows, but last fall it had one of the larger booths at the ASIS show, which it was sharing with its partners.

“We'll have a 30-by-20-foot booth at ISC West. It'll be bigger than at ASIS,” said Jumbi Edulbehram, Next Level VP, Business Development.

Next Level develops unified, networked security solutions. Its flagship product, the NLSS Gateway, is an IP-based security management platform that integrates video management, IP access control, video analytics and remote management into a single appliance.

At ISC West, Next Level will introduce new versions of its Gateway product. “Now that technology has really matured on the IT side, the applications get much richer,” Edulbehram said. “We're committed to investing in technology on the IT side and making it available to the security [industry]. To do that, you've got to move pretty fast.”

Newer versions of Gateway include enhancements in two main areas, pre-emptive security and mobility, Edulbehram said.

Pre-emptive security means the ability for security to take action before something happens, using tools such as license plate recognition and facial recognition.

Edulbehram said the company's focus on mobility enhancements “is very much driven by customer demand. ... They want to be able to access [video] and take action remotely. Given that we have a robust cloud-services program, building it out and adding mobility is easy for us and can provide much richer functionality [for customers].”

Next Level showed the basic functionality of some audio analytics at ASIS, and will be introducing those analytics at ISC West. The audio analytics include gunshot detection, glass break, car alarm and aggression. The “aggression” analytic detects voices speaking at a level louder than normal for a particular location.

Also at ISC West, Next Level will formally announce its partnership with access control provider Matrix Systems. “We've worked with Matrix to embed the NLSS solution into their product line,” said Bill Jacobs, Next Level VP, Access Control. Matrix has more than 30 years in the business and “an impressive list of pretty large customers,” he said.

Currently, Next Level is working with systems integrator Dallmann Systems on a major project at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. “They have a minimum of 40,000 cardholders. That's big,” Jacobs said.

In addition to providing its products in this project, Next Level is also assisting with the network design. And the project is on “a schedule that's extremely accelerated,” he said.

Next Level now has 35 employees and recently opened an office in Florida and one in Washington, D.C. It opened the D.C. office because of increased interest from government end users. Its Florida office serves as a general sales office for the region, as well as support for a five-year project in Orange County, Fla.

There, Next Level is involved with the “installation of a unified physical security system across the entire county. The overall project will take years to complete because it involves about 300 different facilities,” Jacobs said.