Tyco invests in Qolsys

CORK, Ireland—Tyco International on Nov. 21 announced that it is making a strategic investment in Silicon Valley-based home automation solution provider Qolsys.

Launched at ISC West in 2013, Qolsys is a relative newcomer to the security industry.

“Qolsys has done some very interesting things,” David Grinstead, VP global sales for Tyco Security Products, told Security Systems News. He added that Tyco was drawn to Qolsys' “fresh, innovative approach to development.”

Grinstead declined to reveal the amount of the investment, which he characterized as “additive [to current Tyco Security Products' product development efforts] rather replacement.”

While Qolsys will continue to be based in San Jose, Calif., and will retain its management, brand and independence, Grinstead said there will be opportunities for R&D collaboration between the Qolsys team and Tyco.

The investment will be a “catalyst to drive significant product development capability in this space,” Grinstead said, adding that he expects to see product development “expansion across the board.” Grinstead declined to elaborate on any specific plans, but said to expect announcements around ISC West.

Calling the investment “a validation of our vision and commitment to innovation,” Qolsys CEO Dave Pulling said the funds will “allow us to accelerate hiring and product development across all areas of the company: software, operations, sales, marketing. � This investment is very meaningful to us.”

Qolsys currently has 90 employees. He expects the company to double in size in the next year.

Qolsys' flagship product is called the IQ Panel. It is a 7-inch touchscreen that uses an Android operating system. It comes with a camera, six wireless radios, Z-Wave, multiple languages, two-way voice, siren, an SD Card slot, 24-hour lithium-ion battery and interactive services powered by Alarm.com. It can communicate over cellular and broadband WiFi channels.

The Qolsys investment is one of three announcements Tyco made about investing in its technology capabilities. Tyco also announced the appointment of Daryll Fogal as CTO and a new "integrated data and smart services platform called "Tyco On."

Fogal comes to Tyco from Eaton, where he served as CTO and VP of engineering for Eaton's electrical business. He was also with Honeywell for 15 years.

Tyco is calling its new "Tyco On" platform "the core of its Internet of Things strategy," saying it will enable "more complex smart solutions that leverage data from varied devices and systems and apply advanced analytics to reveal insights that lead to better decisions, faster execution and transformational business outcomes for customers."