Insider News &amp; Business: June 2012

Table of Contents with Links:

NEW SECURITY PROVIDER: AT&T Reveals Its Strategy for Digital Life

New Fire Alarm Council Addresses Code & Education

Byerly Steps Down; Stanley CSS Appoints New President

Integrator Red Hawk Is Back, Will Focus on Organic Growth

Video Priority Response Has New Champions

Mission 500 Holds Third Security 5/2K Race at ISC West

ASG Security & CapitalSource Close $250 Million Loan Facility

New Report Ranks Axis No. 1 Camera Provider

Crestron Opens New California Customer Experience Center

SDM 100 Ohio Dealer Acquires Again

Security-Net Joins the Security Industry Association

Napco Combines Divisions, Provides Integrated Solution

Axis Opens North American Headquarters and Axis Experience Center

ZK Technology Launches Access Control Division

Business Development Appointment

Vendors Recognized by PSA Members

L.A. Sheriffs See the Arrest Numbers, Embrace Video Alarms

Siemens Building Technologies Names President

Hile Appointed CEO of Integrated Fire and Security Solutions

Customer Appreciation Event Goes Courtside

NEW SECURITY PROVIDER: AT&T Reveals Its Strategy for Digital Life

AT&T recently announced it will begin trials for a new home security and automation offering later this summer. The trials will be conducted in Atlanta and Dallas, though AT&T will not disclose the number of customers to participate.

“We’re testing a host of things,” said Kevin Petersen, president of AT&T Digital Life. “But paramount for us is testing the experience — making sure we will have the marquee experience in the industry.”

Digital Life’s approach to these security and home control offerings is very much centered on the customer experience in getting and interacting with the system, according to Petersen. “We bring a unique set of assets to the table that will enable a game-changing experience for the customer and new way of thinking about the industry,” Petersen commented. “Obviously, our goal is to take traditional home security penetration well past the mark it’s at today — in the low 20s — as well as grow the home automation market at the same time. We knew that to do that we needed to own this set of assets, control the ecosystem, and from there enable that experience we’re talking about.”

Joe Nuccio, who was vice president and general manager of SecurityLink, a security company that Ameritech (now owned by SBC, along with AT&T) acquired in 1994 and sold off a few years later, commented that “times were different and products were different,” when Ameritech tried to enter the security space. Today, AT&T is “a very large company and along with Comcast and Verizon they feel they need to cling to their customers as much as they can and through that process security becomes a good fit for them. What they believe is that they’re going to be able to make up some lost revenue and keep stickiness because when you’re that large it’s difficult to grow. And they think they’re going to lose internet and cable opportunities to their competitors. Today, coupled with the way the products are and the advancements in home automation, I think they’re going to come out very strong, very smart, educated to be able to grow their base and get as many customers as they can and hang on to the rest of them.

“On the positive side, I think it’s wonderful to be able to advertise security and home automation in a big way through a lot of marketing dollars that these companies are going to spend. If they can increase market penetration from say 20 percent to 30 percent residentially, that’s a lot of customers for the rest of the industry. The negative side of it is they will be aggressive with their pricing initially, which will not sustain. In the short term after their pilots, they’ll have some real impact. In the long term, I don’t think it’s going to be any different than when Ameritech was in it or how ADT is in it,” Nuccio said.

The assets Petersen refers to include an IP-based platform the company acquired in 2010 (Xanboo) and has invested in expanding, two digital monitoring centers: one in Dallas and one in Atlanta, a proprietary automated home controller product and wireless network integration.

Petersen added that owning and controlling proprietary monitoring stations will, “give us a leg up on anybody that’s wholesaling these services in the industry.”

Going back to the customer experience, owning these assets is crucial for AT&T to manage servicing these systems. “On the service side, I control network, the platform and the monitoring center. So I have an end-to-end look at how this system is performing,” Petersen commented. “If you call with a question, I can go down to the device in the home that you have a question about. And zones don’t apply to our solution. I can go from device by device in the home.”

Petersen continued, “We’re bringing an automated home controller to the market. [Its key capability is] it links the devices to experience more than security on its own or automation on its own. Meaning, if someone triggers an alarm while trying to break into my home, I can easily write a program for all the lights to come on, which would help deter the potential thief.”

The products that AT&T will offer will include security and automation products available in the market today as well as proprietary ones. AT&T will “bring a solid group of [manufacturer] partners to market with us,” Petersen said, but adding that, “The controller is very much a custom product. We’ll bring in a wireless-based integrated controller that does both security and automation. It’ll be integrated with our wireless network but it’ll also have the ability to link in with any wireless broadband regardless of the provider.”

Pricing was a subject of extensive research in preparation for the pilot program, Petersen said, but he added they will not release pricing information, for competitive reasons, until Digital Life is closer to its commercial launch.

Another advantage Petersen noted is being able to sell Digital Life through AT&T’s established distribution channels. The company will use a ‘try before you buy’ model at its retail stores, where customers will be able to interact with the products, ask questions, and build the solution in terms of how it fits in their home.

The core marketing message Digital Life will present is “Smart, simple, secure,” Petersen shared. Smart is all about integration that allows automation to enhance the security proposition in a home, Petersen explained. Simple refers to a sale and installation model coordinated by AT&T. “We’ll professionally coordinate the install, making it hassle-free,” Petersen noted. “If it requires multiple trades in order to install that service, we will handle it behind the scenes.” Finally, secure is a core proposition for this offering. “We’ve invested a lot of time and money in ensuring that in the end this is bar none the most secure service of its kind in the industry, from video to alarm signaling, to the ability to monitor,” Petersen stressed.

While AT&T will not develop an internal installer base, the systems will be installed by “a group of dedicated relationships to us that are licensed to install security as well as a set of relationships that can do plumbing, electrical work or just general handyman work, etc,” Petersen said. “We have outside relationships but they are dedicated to us and integrated within our system for scheduling and dispatching.”

The solutions-oriented approach the company developed offers predefined packages as well as the option to customize a package. Petersen believes the flexibility to meet a wide range of customer needs in the low- to high-end spectrum is key to sustainability of the offering.

“The industry is ripe,” Petersen said, “meaning that it’s fragmented and we saw a burgeoning group of customers that haven’t bought but would buy if we made fundamental changes in the experience.

Petersen concluded, “We feel there’s a significant opportunity for us in this market. We feel like we can come in and change the game, expand the market and compete effectively while changing the experience and perceptions of how consumers think about home security and automation, as well as home security plus automation.” — By Sabrina Gasulla, Associate Editor

New Fire Alarm Council Addresses Code & Education

The Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) introduced its new Partners Council. This program aims to support AFAA’s involvement in the code development process and delivery of high-quality training and educational programs.

The program will address threats by engaging in proactive code participation in ICC and NFPA, protection of the level of current Life Safety requirements in the codes and networking to build support through IAFC, SFPE and ICC. The group will explore quality of reputation and value, technology and application advancements into the codes, training programs, research, and more.

For information, visit www.afaa.org.

Byerly Steps Down; Stanley CSS Appoints New President

Tony Byerly stepped down from his position as president of Stanley CSS, Naperville, Ill. Byerly had held the position since January 2011. He was with Stanley CSS since January 2007, serving as president, chief operating officer and senior vice president of sales at various points in his tenure.

Before moving to Stanley CSS, Byerly worked at HSM Electronic Protection Services, ADT Security Services and SecurityLink from Ameritech.

The company named Marty Schnurr as Byerly’s replacement.

Brett Bontrager, senior vice president and group executive, Stanley CSS, issued the following statement regarding Schnurr’s appointment to president, Stanley CSS. “I would like to thank Tony Byerly, who has truly been a consummate industry professional. Tony has been instrumental in building CSS into what it is today, a North American leader in commercial security systems integration and monitoring,” Bontrager said. “We are pleased to welcome Marty, who has been with the company for more than 16 years as a business development and integration leader at Emhart and a business president at Hydraulic Tools, to the CSS business. I’ve personally seen what Marty can do at two different business units within Stanley Black & Decker, and we’re excited that he can begin making contributions to the growth of CSS immediately,” Bontrager said.

Stanley Security Solutions recently purchased security integrator Niscayah for $1.2 billion. In March 2012, during ISC West in Las Vegas, the company announced other changes to its executive team.

Integrator Red Hawk Is Back, Will Focus on Organic Growth

Last month, UTC Climate, Controls & Security announced the sale of its security integration business to private equity firm, Comvest Investment Partners. According to UTC, the business employs 1,350 people in 40 locations with approximately $250 million in sales and was made up of nearly a dozen small, U.S.-based integrators. Red Hawk Industries, one of the largest of those acquisitions, was bought by UTC in 2006. At the time, UTC reported Red Hawk employed about 800 people in the U.S. and had 2005 sales of $142 million.

The new business owned by Comvest will bring back the Red Hawk name and will be led by Mike Snyder, past president of ADT, as chief executive officer and Dean Seavers, previous president of GE Security and SimplexGrinnell, as president.

SDM spoke with Snyder to learn more about this new integrator with a long history.

Q: What’s the makeup of this business?

A: This business was made up of nine acquisitions UTC made. The two largest were Red Hawk and Detection Logic. And there were a bunch of smaller companies including Borden, NNSI, MPA, Counterforce, and New England Security. These were all acquired between 2004 or 2005 and 2010, approximately.

Q: Are you focusing on a regional, national, international footprint?

A: [Red Hawk] will be a U.S. company. We don’t have plans for international expansion at this point. It will be operated through around 45 offices around the country.

Q: What big changes will we see from this business?

A: Around 60 percent of the revenues were from fire alarm and services and about 40 percent were security services and that will continue. UTC was very focused on the roll-up of companies they acquired. We’re going to be focused on now starting to build those out: adding market channels, distribution channels, more products, certainly grow and extend our sales force. We’re going to take a hard run at organic growth.

Q: Which products do you represent in the marketplace?

A: In various areas we’re authorized Notifier dealers and EST dealers. We [work with] a variety of closed circuit television products — we’re one of the leaders in CCTV. We’re one of the largest suppliers of NCR ATM products and services. We have a full suite of technology.

Q: Are you interested in specific vertical markets?

A: We’re going to operate across the board. We’ll take a look at where we’re able to compete and focus there. It’s still really early to get a sense of where our advantages are. We’re trying to learn as much as we can about the company and its history, where we’re strong, and build around that.

Q: What kind of impact does this company aim to have in the industry?

A: We have great expertise in fire alarm and detection systems technology. We own a company called Counterforce in Houston, which is now a great operating monitoring station, but also want to offer cutting edge remote monitored video applications. What we want to do is take advantage of all our capabilities and craft the company to be more suited to the 21st century as opposed to the older, less current capabilities and the older, more established part of the marketplace. We really want to be number one in technology and the application of software and technology. We want to be able to use that breadth of expertise to really provide full business solutions.

Q: We’re seeing an increasing number of integrators report a focus on RMR; is that an approach Red Hawk will take?

A: The model for this industry has always been RMR-based. We want our pricing models and strategies to drive that. So it’s absolutely important to us. A couple of our smaller companies provide suites of managed services. We have great RMR opportunities there. The ATM business that we do is fabulous and again it’s an RMR opportunity. The managed central station services model based on video, whether it’s surveillance or guard tours or verified alarms, will be very important to us. We’ll take a fresh look at all opportunities to test and see if there is customer need and build around those with the highest value to the customer. — By Sabrina Gasulla, Associate Editor

Video Priority Response Has New Champions

A new organization is bringing security manufacturers, central stations and dealers together with law enforcement officials and insurance companies to reduce property losses resulting from burglaries and increase arrests that get criminals off the streets. The Partnership for Priority Video Alarm Response (PPVAR) counts members such as Acadian Monitoring, United Central Control, EMERgency24, Rapid Response Monitoring, Stanley Convergent Security Solutions (Stanley CSS), Protection 1, I-View Now and RSI Videofied on the security industry side, as well as chiefs of police, sheriffs and insurance underwriters.

Keith Jentoft, president of Videofied and founder of the PPVAR, told SDM, “The main reason for [creating this group] is there is no voice from a separate organization that brings all these stakeholders together — law enforcement, insurers, alarm companies.”

“The initiative requires the collaboration of the key stakeholders,” said Frederick Lohmann, director of field operations, National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). “Declining budgets and personnel require law enforcement agencies to work with the stakeholder industries towards the goal of reducing property crime and its impact in our communities.”

Budget cuts to police departments made across the board in response to the lingering economic crisis left many departments understaffed and unable to respond to alarm calls in a timely fashion, if at all. In recent cases such as the cities of Detroit and San Jose, Calif., police departments reacted — not by giving priority to video- or human-verified alarms, but by refusing to respond to anything else.

Priority response policies seek to take a more moderate stance by providing response to all alarms, but creating a triage-like process to determine at-risk situations.

Lt. John Gannon from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), a member of the PPVAR, said that from a law enforcement perspective, education is key in order to make a priority response policy beneficial for all involved. “There are tremendous advantages to video verification to subscriber, the [security] industry, and law enforcement,” Gannon said. “By getting the word out among the alarm subscriber community that video verified alarms are treated as a priority response by the police/sheriff’s departments, it should not only generate interest among subscribers to add that feature, but also it should exponentially help reduce false alarm responses and increase likelihood of arrests for offenders — both beneficial outcomes to law enforcement agencies who adopt policies for special handling of video verified alarms.”

Jentoft clarified, “It’s not a false alarm reduction issue. This is about combating property crime with arrests and reducing property losses.”

Steve Walker, vice president at Stanley CSS and newly appointed board member for PPVAR, noted that input from law enforcement and insurers as well as from the security industry will help ensure the practices are accepted and applied successfully. “We expect to develop best practices for an end-to-end solution that best meets the goals of these stakeholders,” Walker explained.

Gannon believes the bottom line is that when law enforcement can verify a crime in progress, it has a better chance to make arrests at the scene — which helps keep criminals in jail longer — and lower losses are incurred by alarm owners and insurance underwriters.

Lohmann added, “The NICB sees obvious value to our member insurers with implementation of a priority response from law enforcement for verified in-progress burglary thefts. Increased arrests of career offenders that commit multiple offenses, coupled with the potential deterrent impact should reduce claims and property losses for our insurers and their policy holders who ultimately foot the bill for the cost of crime.”

The PPVAR will establish “stakeholder committees that will collaborate both by phone and face-to-face meetings in conjunction with normally attended trade shows,” Walker said.

“Each committee will document best practices from their own perspective and will present their findings to the board for final approval before submitting them to the CSAA — who will draft an official standard,” Walker explained.

Interested parties can attend the first PPVAR informational meeting at ESX on Tuesday, June 26. — By Sabrina Gasulla, Associate Editor

Mission 500 Holds Third Security 5/2K Race at ISC West

The third Security 5/2K Mission 500 Charity Run in Las Vegas at ISC West raised more than $95,000 to benefit Mission 500, a charitable organization engaging security professionals to sponsor children in need through the World Vision organization. Proceeds from the March 29th event will sponsor 260 children for a full year — providing food, water, education and healthcare.

Event proceeds increased the number of sponsored children to more than 500 in total.

The Security 5/2K event also featured a 2K walk for the first time and more than 80 people signed up to participate.

At a Reception and Awards Ceremony for Security 5K runners, Mission 500 awarded its third “Mission 500 Humanitarian Award” to Mary Jensby, director of central station and data entry of Monitronics Security. The award honors individuals in the security industry who make important contributions to those in need. Vivint was the second recipient of Mission 500’s Corporate Social Responsibility Award, as well.

ASG Security & CapitalSource Close $250 Million Loan Facility

CapitalSource, Los Angeles, a commercial lender to small and mid-sized businesses, closed a $20 million increase to its revolving credit facility with ASG Security, ranked No. 9 in the SDM 100.

Based in Beltsville, Md., ASG offers commercial and residential security solutions and services throughout New England, the Mid-Atlantic region, Texas and Oklahoma. The company has more than 150,000 customers.

ASG now has a $250 million line of credit with CapitalSource and other investors in this facility, which include Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Goldman Sachs, Madison Capital and The PrivateBank. ASG will use the proceeds from the loan extension to continue its growth strategy, the company said.

ASG chief financial officer Ralph Masino added, “The $20 million increase of our loan facility by CapitalSource provides us with the capital we need to continue building our business over the next several years. We appreciate the ongoing support from CapitalSource and other debt partners.”

The CapitalSource Security Lending Group works with middle-market companies across multiple verticals. It specializes in providing innovative debt facilities to companies who protect life, property, information and the U.S. homeland.

SIA Board Elects New Member

Quantum Secure, a provider of enterprise software to centralize physical identity and access management across disparate physical security systems, announces that Laurie Aaron, Quantum Secure’s vice president of business development and marketing, was elected to the board of directors of the Security Industry Association (SIA).

“SIA is honored to welcome Laurie as a new member of our board of directors,” said Don Erickson, chief executive officer, SIA. “Her extensive knowledge of the electronic physical security industry, her interest in facilitating collaboration among industry stakeholders and her forward thinking will help guide SIA’s efforts to be a stronger resource to our members and help grow our industry.”

Aaron participates on behalf of Quantum Secure in several SIA working groups and standards initiatives.

New Report Ranks Axis No. 1 Camera Provider

Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass., may be an all-IP company, but that hasn’t stopped the company from taking the number one global manufacturer position for all surveillance cameras — including IP-based and analog providers — according to the 2012 edition of the annual IMS Research report, “The World Market for CCTV & Video Surveillance Equipment.”

The report is based on reported data for 2011 and contains information on vendors providing analog and digital video surveillance equipment.

Since inventing the world’s first IP-based video camera in 1996, Axis has been ranked number one in the category of network cameras — however, in last year’s report citing 2010, Axis was ranked third overall for surveillance camera manufacturers when including providers of both analog and digital cameras. The most recent IMS report indicated that Axis is now the leading provider in the overall surveillance cameras category, even though the company only sells IP-based video products.

According to IMS Research, network camera sales are forecast to account for approximately 60 percent of total worldwide surveillance camera sales by 2016.

Crestron Opens New California Customer Experience Center

Crestron, Rockleigh, N.J., commemorated the opening of its new Experience Center in Cypress, Calif., with more than 400 guests that included Crestron dealers, consultants, architects, lighting designers and specifiers, electrical contractors, vendor partners, media, and local government officials.

The southern California location adds another showcase facility to Crestron’s lineup of nationwide Experience Centers and Design Showrooms. Crestron Experience Centers are designed for customers, dealers, designers, and architects to experience cutting-edge Crestron integrated technology in a fully-immersive environment.

The new Experience Center offers guests an up-close and personal behind-the-scenes look at control technology. The all-day open house event featured educational seminars, group tours of the 5,000 square foot facility, product demonstrations, and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

SDM 100 Ohio Dealer Acquires Again

Gillmore Security Systems Inc., Oakwood Village, Ohio, a family-owned security provider ranked No. 84 in the SDM 100, expanded with the acquisition of ABLE Security & Automation Corp.

“As a family business we are committed to creating growth and local employment opportunities in the Northeast Ohio region,” said Alan Gillmore IV, chief operating officer of the company. “ABLE Security is a very high quality acquisition for us and we are excited to welcome the ABLE customers and employees to our organization.”

Ray Laino, previous owner of ABLE Security, commented, “We are thrilled about joining the Gillmore team. It’s a natural fit as we are both high quality local companies with customer service as our first priority. It’s a winner for all of us. We have always admired Gillmore Security as a first class competitor. Now we look forward to joining this winning team of folks. We foresee great things for all of us and our customers. There is no security company in northeast Ohio with a better reputation than Gillmore. It’s an honor to join this group of people, and continue to serve our customers.”

Laino will be joining the Gillmore sales team as part of the acquisition to further assist in a smooth transition and to further expand the company’s Geauga County presence.

Security-Net Joins the Security Industry Association

Security-Net, a global provider of security integration services, announced that it joined the Security Industry Association (SIA), a trade group for businesses in the physical and electronic security industry.

Security-Net joined SIA as an integrator member. The association has more than 400 members, a list that includes security product manufacturers, distributors, service providers, members of the media and non-profits.

SIA chief executive officer Don Erickson said, “By contributing to the development of industry standards, integrators help ensure that all the components of security systems will work together, allowing them to offer more choices to their customers. The wealth and diversity of integrator experience that Security-Net offers to SIA brings value to all of our members.”

Security-Net focuses on the integration of end-to-end security. Individual member companies, which make up the company’s regional locations, regularly share design solutions, troubleshooting tips, technology updates and marketing ideas to provide the most effective, up to date security management system for customers.

Napco Combines Divisions, Provides Integrated Solution

Napco Security Technologies introduced the new Napco Fusion™ total security solution, including some of the industry’s best-known brands: Napco Gemini, Continental CardAccess®, Alarm Lock Trilogy® and Marks USA. Together in one flexible customizable platform called Napco Fusion™, all Napco’s technologies combine in one sophisticated, simplified “total integrated security solution,” providing seamless, near interoperability of intrusion and fire protection, video, access control and locking, Napco said.

Continental’s CardAccess ® 2.8 enterprise class platform provides a Napco Fusion™ Integrated Solution integrating with Napco Gemini Intrusion & Fire Systems & Alarm Lock’s Trilogy Networx™ Locks and Wireless Keypads. It provides real time event reporting of the locks amidst the reports of campus’ door and alarm activity, while incorporating access privileges for lock users within the singular robust Continental database. Continental’s scalable 1 to over 16,000 door systems team their own software and hardware and support all reader technologies from Prox to Biometrics and full reader support including biometrics, FIPS201, TWIC, FRAC, CAC-NG 26 to 256 bit cards. A new CI Retrofit Rebate Program is also available benefitting facility directors and integrators with cost offsets and savings.

Napco offered an introductory video presented by Scott Schramme, vice president of Napco’s Continental Access Division; he discusses the new Napco Fusion™ Solution on the Continental enterprise-class CardAccess® v.2.8 software platform, which can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/napcosecuritygroup.

Companies You Should Know

Nationwide Digital Monitoring, a full-service wholesale monitoring central station located in Freeport, N.Y., has been in business since 1977. The wholesale side of the business has a 50-50 split between residential and commercial systems, ranging from small residential to huge commercial fire systems. “We’re one of 14 companies listed to monitor fire alarms in the city of New York. And we support all different manufacturer formats, radios and IP communicators,” said Aaron Wahrsager, president of Nationwide Digital Monitoring.

The company launched a new dealer program called Security Doctors in June, 2011 to offer flexibility and some different solutions to dealers. The Security Doctors program is focused on residential and commercial burglar alarms. It also highlights PERS systems with a primary focus on the Honeywell product line and the ancillary products that go along with it.

“The Security Doctors program is new,” Wahrsager said. “But our wholesale central station company has been in the monitoring business since 1977. We’re not new to the industry by any means. We developed the Security Doctors program to be a more focused branded program. We wanted to develop a program that catered to a wide variety of dealers but also focused on the ones looking to grow their RMR in central station-focused business.

The Security Doctors brand is designed for small to medium security companies looking to grow. While on the wholesale “Nationwide side” dealers retain their name on all communications, Security Doctors is all about capitalizing on a new brand and providing new options.

“A lot of programs are completely focused on the funding aspect — we’re much more flexible — we’re giving dealers the opportunity to keep accounts in house and not fund anything, or they can do 50-50, 30-70 — whatever they want to do,” Wahrsager stated. “We’ll also finance installations. Over the long term, they may need to fund cash flow, but if they keep a percentage of the accounts in house, they’re building their own internal RMR.”

Nationwide counts more than 80,000 accounts overall. The Security Doctors program, Wahrsager said, has about 10,000 accounts and is made up of strong dealers that performed nicely from the get-go. “A couple of dealers we were monitoring on the wholesale side were eager to join the program,” Wahrsager related.

“Anyone can say I want to have 1,000 dealers in a year. But our goal is to find good strong dealers that will be in the business five years from now and grow with us,” he said By letting the dealers use our brand, any of the dealers’ actions with the end users will reflect on Security Doctors as a brand. We’re looking for growth in controlled manner to make sure the quality is there. As part of an incentive to these dealers, which people were concerned with, when we make a commitment to a dealer, we will commit to not putting 12 dealers in the same city. We’re not 100 percent exclusive, but the plan is not to have more than two or three in an area so they’re not stepping on each others’ toes.”

Security Doctors has a strong partner in Honeywell as its technology provider; the program strongly drives the company’s new Total Connect offering. “Our goal is to stay on the forefront with new technology and educate dealers along with Honeywell, which has done a great job in helping us train dealers on new technology and communication options,” Wahrsager added.

In addition to growing the new Security Doctors program, Wahrsager is looking forward to deploying some new technologies in the central station. “Our automation system is Mastermind and they released updates that will allow dealers to access account information on mobile devices. It allows technicians to put accounts on test, helps dealers with flow of information and accessing that information quickly on mobile devices, and helps them streamline the service installation process.

“Also, we’re working on launching GPS services.” — By Sabrina Gasulla, Associate Editor

Axis Opens North American Headquarters and Axis Experience Center

Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass., a provider of network video, held an official grand opening celebration on April 12 for its new North American headquarters with a private cocktail event for local partners in the state-of-the-art Axis Experience Center.

Axis’ new 60,000 square foot office is located at 300 Apollo Drive in Chelmsford, Mass., about 30 minutes from Boston and on the same campus as its previous facility. Of Axis’ 150-plus North American employees, nearly 90 from business development, sales, marketing, technical services, finance and human resources work in the horseshoe-shaped space on the third floor, while the first floor is home to Axis’ twist on the typical executive briefing center: the Axis Experience Center.

The Axis Experience Center features an Axis product museum, executive board rooms, a 50-person auditorium for large meetings and training sessions and a mock command center to showcase the latest Axis products and complementary partner technologies in a real world setting. The company also opened an updated training facility for Axis Communications’ Academy classroom-based courses.

“This entire space was completely empty before we moved in, so we were able to design the workspace upstairs and the Axis Experience Center completely from the ground up with our employees and partners in mind,” said Axis general manager Fredrik Nilsson. “This is the third year in a row that we’ve opened a new office in our region, and our office upstairs is only half filled — so with our joint partnerships and all these great resources at hand, there’s a tremendous growth opportunity in front of us.”

The company tripled the size of its IP camera demo network, including outdoor models installed on the building’s rooftop for the first time. Additionally, the secure network was built to scale so that the entire Axis product line can be featured as new IP cameras are launched.

Axis also built three separate labs on the third floor for product testing and troubleshooting.

In 2010, Axis opened the doors to its new Canadian office in Ontario, followed by the grand opening of its Mexico, Central America and Caribbean office in the heart of Mexico City in 2011.

ZK Technology Launches Access Control Division

ZK Technology, Piscataway, N.J., a designer and manufacturer of advanced security and time management solutions, launched ZK Access, as a new access control solution division.

ZK Access will offer its new inBio and C3 series of IP-based Biometric and RFID control panels that incorporate fingerprint matching on the panel. Along with the new panels, ZK will also offer its latest line of waterproof and durable fingerprint and RFID card readers. Both the C3 and inBio panels are offered in 1, 2, and 4 door models that can operate standalone or networked together for LAN or WAN-based configuration. Included with all panels is free, feature rich and easy to use access control software.

Business Development Appointment

Bold Technologies, Colorado Springs, Colo., appointed Tristan Adams as the company’s new business development executive. Adams joins the sales team where he will leverage his contacts and experience in the retail market. As business development executive, Adams will report to Chuck Speck, vice president of Bold Technologies.

Vendors Recognized by PSA Members

PSA Security Network held its Vendor Awards Luncheon on May 15 during its PSA-TEC training and trade show event, held at the Westin Westminster in Westminster, Colo. Voting for the awards is done by PSA owner integrators.

The companies and individuals awarded were:

Customer Service (Individual)

• Jan Fluchere, HID

• Amanda Schultz, Middle Atlantic Products

• Callie Nelson, Pelco

• Becky Prince, Bosch

Customer Service (Team)

• Amag

• Altronix

• CSC

• Clinton Electronics

• Security Lock Distributors

Premier Partners

• Amag

• Arecont Vision

• ASSA ABLOY

• CSC

• Exacq Technologies

• HID Global

• March Networks

• NVT

• OpenEye

• Pelco

• VideoIQ

Outstanding Vendor Partners

• Arecont Vision

• Bosch

• Pelco

Rising Star

• OpenEye

Stars

• Aiphone

• Altronix

• Amag

• Clinton Electronics

• HID Global

• Milestone Systems

Super Stars

• CSC

• Exacq Technologies

L.A. Sheriffs See the Arrest Numbers, Embrace Video Alarms

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department put a policy into effect last summer that assigns priority to alarms where video can confirm a crime in progress. The number of calls represents the alarms LASD responded to, showing a significantly lower number where video could confirm a false alarm —avoiding dispatch — or confirm a perpetrator in the premises — causing LASD to respond faster as their chances for completing arrests rose.

*The number of calls and arrests for video verified alarms belong only to the second half of 2011. Other categories represent the entire calendar year.

Source: Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department

Siemens Building Technologies Names President

Siemens, Buffalo Grove, Ill., appointed Matthias Rebellius to lead the company’s Building Technologies (BT) Division of the Infrastructure & Cities Sector in the United States. As president, Rebellius will be responsible for the financial, operational and competitive success of Siemens’ U.S.-based building automation, fire safety, security and energy efficiency systems and solutions provider. Rebellius will succeed Andreas Schierenbeck who chose to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.

Having held executive and leadership positions at major global BT business units and at other Siemens companies, Rebellius brings to his new post 24 years of progressive experience guiding Siemens to market success, the company stated. Most recently, he served as global chief executive officer for the Fire Safety and Security business unit in Zug, Switzerland. Prior to joining BT in 2003, Rebellius was head of marketing and product management for the Industry Sector’s Simatic Human Machine Interface product line.

Hile Appointed CEO of Integrated Fire and Security Solutions

Integrated Fire and Security Solutions Inc., Fort Myers, Fla., a systems integration firm focused on the delivery of customized, integrated security solutions, announced that Robert Hile was named the company’s new chief executive officer, effective immediately. Hile is responsible for leading and driving the company’s next phase of expansion and growth in southeastern and central U.S. markets, as well as existing markets.

Hile has more than 20 years of security industry experience and an executive career that has involved working for both private and public entities, including Fortune 500 Global companies such as Siemens.

New IQ Board Member Appointed

Lynn Comer, president of Shenandoah Valley Security (SVS), was appointed to the IQ board. Comer also serves as president of ESA Virginia, is chairperson of the Government Relations Committee for ESA, a member of the Alarm Management Committee for ESA Virginia and a member of the Virginia Chiefs of Police Association Alarm Management Committee. She has also worked with SIAC on alarm management and ordinances. Comer was recently chosen as ESA-VA Member of the Year for 2012 and previously received the honor in 2010.

IQ Certification, an installation quality certification program, gives consumers a way to identify alarm companies that are committed to providing them with high-quality security and life safety systems and aims to reduce the burden and risks false alarms place on police.

Customer Appreciation Event Goes Courtside

Tri-Ed / Northern Video’s Sacramento branch hosted its 2nd Annual Customer Appreciation Basketball Event March 14th at the Power Balance Pavilion. More than 50 customers came out to watch the Sacramento Kings take on the Detroit Pistons, and were treated to pre-game court access to meet the players and receive commemorative t-shirts.

News Briefs

Tri-Ed / Northern Video Distribution, Woodbury, N.Y. welcomed industry veteran Darrell Suitt as new business development manager covering Los Angeles and Orange County. Darrell served the security sector for more than 22 years and has significant experience working for several major CCTV manufacturers. He will be covering Tri-Ed / Northern Video’s Garden Grove, Burbank and the North Hills branches.

***

Micro Key Solutions, Kissimmee, Fla., named Luis Ortega as its new chief technology officer. Ortega has been a member of Micro Key’s staff for 12 years, leading up to this promotion. Ortega joined Micro Key in January 2000 as a software engineer and was promoted in 2004 to director of programming, overseeing and implementing all new software enhancements.

The company’s president, Victoria Ferro, noted that though former president, Wayne Torrens, remains active in a consultative role with the company, he is no longer a part of the daily technological research the company undertakes. She added, “He was able to do so because we have been grooming our new technology leader for years — or maybe he’s been grooming us. I’m not sure which came first.”

The announcement was webcast and is available for viewing at http://webcast.microkey.com/microkey/webcast/.

***

Protection 1, Romeoville, Ill., named Tim Wess its Minneapolis area general manager. Wess has been with Protection 1 for more than 11 years, and has an impressive track record of performance, winning both Club 1 and President Circle trips — incentive programs designed for top performing employees. In his new role, Wess will be responsible for all branch operations including budget, recruiting, hiring, training and compensation, as well as all community outreach and networking.

***

Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass., announced that 23-year network hardware and software industry veteran Vincent Ricco joined the company as North American business development manager for the Technology Partner Program. Ricco will report directly to Rob Muehlbauer — who was recently promoted to business development programs manager. Vincent Ricco has been a contributor to various IT standards organizations, such as the TIA/EIA Fiber Optic LAN Section and the HIMSS Infrastructure Standards Committee.

***

e-DATA Corp., Coppell, Texas, added Michael Brown as national accounts manager. Brown brings 15 years sales and marketing experience in the electronic security and technology industry (IP security, IT and telecommunications). Brown has experience in IP-based access systems, video and alarm management.

***

Honeywell, Melville, N.Y., appointed Keith Baird as senior sales director for its security products business in the Americas. Baird has been with Honeywell since 1985 and has deep experience in sales management. He reports directly to Scott Harkins, president of Honeywell Security Products Americas. Baird held various positions within Honeywell, including vice president of the company’s sales operations in the western and southeastern regions of United States. He also served as outside sales leader at the company’s ADI distribution branch. Most recently, Baird served as Honeywell’s national account director.

Corrections and Omission

In the article, “SureView Integrates With Digimerge” (May 2012, page 147), SDM incorrectly identified SureView as being located in Toronto. In fact, SureView’s U.S. office is located in Tampa, Fla.

In the article, “PERS: A Science & an Art” (May 2012, page 124), SDM incorrectly cited Linear LLC as Linear Medical Solutions, Jacksonville, Fla. The correct company name and headquarters location is Linear LLC, Carlsbad, Calif. In addition, Duane Paulson’s name was spelled incorrectly in the article. The correct spelling is Paulson.

In the article, “SDM 100 Breaking Through,” SDM inadvertently omitted Gainesville, Fla.-based Crime Prevention Security Systems LLC, from the SDM 100 Report. Based on its SDM 100 application, Crime Prevention Security Systems’ RMR on Dec. 31, 2011, was $261,103, which would have placed it between No. 81 and No. 82 had it been ranked.

SDM regrets these errors and omission.

SIA Board Elects New Member