Securite Kolossal spins off consulting, integration, monitoring arm

MONTREAL--Securite Kolossal, a 3,200-employee security services firm founded here in 1980, has spun off Kolossal Technologies, a new division that will focus on security consulting, integration and advanced monitoring solutions. As part of the spin-off, Kolossal Technologies has signed an agreement with a global leader in the digital management and analytics space. Following the ASIS show, KT will open its first U.S. office in San Diego, and by the end of October its brand-new data center and monitoring facility will be fully operational. Dean Theriault, director of sales for the new firm, said the company expects to have 15 data center operators by the end of 2007 and to open a second monitoring center in the United States, on the West coast, by the third quarter of 2008. "Kolossal always did some installation," Theriault said, "but never had a dedicated division for security integration. Now they've hired the right people and have packaged it into a separate division." Leading the new division are brothers Claude and Robert Fisette, vice presidents of technology and strategic development, respectively. Theriault said to look for focuses on video monitoring, emergency and crisis planning, building management, GPS services, and the offering of redundant security operations for airports, municipalities and other government entities. "The video monitoring, a lot of people have tried to do it, but not many have succeeded," said Theriault. KT will use proven analytic capabilities to trigger alarms that call up video for operators who are trained security guards or former law-enforcement officers. "The video comes up automatically," Theriault said, "with a layout of the location, and the operator will send an audio warning to the perpetrator, and from there we'll treat it as an incident, and then report it, and then it's stored in the server for the customer for future reference." In the case of building controls, a certified engineer will monitor and maintain HVAC and lighting systems, for example. With GPS, "companies are sending people to a Web site and telling them to manage their fleet. But the owner of the company doesn't feel like doing that," he said. "We manage the fleet and if there are any exceptions, we report them to the proper people." While Kolossal Technologies will target enterprise-class companies and municipalities, Theriault said, "it's volume we're looking for."