Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31490
SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS JANUARY 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com SUPPLIERS 31 BRIEFS XceedID partners with Gemalto GOLDEN, Colo.–XceedID, a manufac- turer of contactless credentials and readers, announced in December they will partner with Gemalto to provide advanced identification solutions to XceedID’s customers. The agreement allows XceedID to deliver a secure, converged badge that will let users take advantage of contactless access con- trol technology and advanced, secure contact technology from Gemalto for logical security. “This partnership with Gemalto assures that XceedID customers can take advantage of Gemalto’s advanced line of technologies,” said John Menzel, director of business development for XceedID in a statement. “Our custom- ers now have access to converged access solutions that will provide them with open, secure physical and logical access control solutions.” “Gemalto is excited to offer our solutions to XceedID customers,” said Thomas Flynn, Gemalto director of sales and marketing, in a statement. Matrix donates to reality show family MIAMISBURG, Ohio—Matrix Systems, a Miamisburg, Ohio-based turnkey access control and security solutions provider, has donated access control equipment and installation services for the Jan. 2 episode of the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, scheduled for 8 p.m. on ABC. The hour-long episode features a new two-story house built by hun- dreds of volunteers and vendors for the Grommesh family of Moorhead, Minn. Matrix Systems donated and installed some of the same high-technology security equipment it provides custom- ers such as Miami International Airport; The Cleveland Clinic; and international steel producer ArcelorMittal Steel Co., East Chicago, Ind., only on a much smaller scale, Matrix announced. “Our security business is solely in commercial markets such as govern- ment, transportation, healthcare, edu- cation, commercial and industrial facili- ties, but we were honored to provide this needy family a residential adaptation of our services,” said James Young, presi- dent, Matrix Systems, in a statement. Infinova tech training MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J.— Infinova in November announced that the company’s new Technical Product Certification training, which constitutes 75-percent hands-on training and 25- percent lecture, will provide BICSI mem- bers with 7 CEC credits and NBFAA members with 0.5 CEU credits. Participants will learn to configure IP cameras using both browser con- nections and Infinova’s V2240 Video Management Software. Tri-Ed/Northern buys SDC Purchase builds out footprint, more in store By Martha Entwistle HOUSTON—Tri-Ed/Northern president Pat Comunale told Security Systems News that the acquisition, announced Nov. 23, of Security D a t a & Cable HQ, is a strategical- ly important purchase that brings a well-known business and security Pat Comunale executive into the fold. Danny Cranford, the former owner of SDC, “opened up the original Houston branch for ADI in 1990,” Comunale said. “I’ve known him for the better part of 20 years.” Cranford “spun out his own operation [from ADI] several years ago,” Comunale explained. Tri-Ed/Northern’s senior man- agement team—Comunale, James Rothstein, and Steve Roth—are all also veterans of ADI. Financial terms of the SDC deal were not announced, but Comunale said that Cranford and “the entire team he put together at SDC are joining Tri-Ed.” The team includes Jay Piper, Erin Green and David Wilson. SDC has two locations, one here and one in Austin, Texas. Comunale called the acquisition a good fit geographically and noted that SDC’s “portfolio of products really mirrors what Tri-Ed has right now.” The integration of SDC is underway this week and the new branches will be “live on our system next week,” Comunale said. “We have made several small acquisitions and our finance and IT departments know exactly what to do,” he said. Comunale said there are some cities in the Southeast, particularly in the Atlanta mar- ket, where Tri-Ed is looking to expand. “We hope to fill that out in the first quarter next year,” he said. Tri-Ed/Northern now has 43 branches. SSN Ready to take on ‘giants’; says new technology launch is key Visonic revamps in North Am. By Martha Entwistle TEL-AVIV, Israel—Over the past several months, Visonic, a wireless home security com- ponent manufactur- er, has made some changes in its North American operation. It has hired a new president , Mark Ingram, hired three new sales managers, and it has worked to deepen its relation- ships with major distribu- tors, says Avi Barir, Visonic president and CEO. In November, the Israel- its products to a new technol- ogy called PowerG. Barir told Security Systems Avi Barir News that the technology change combined with the revamp- ing of its North American opera- tion will “give us a superb opportunity to expand our posi- tion in the North American market ... to compete with the giants [manufactures like Honeywell and UTCFS].” In fact, he said, Visonic had based company announced that it’s changing the wireless technology that powers all of the North American market in mind as a “major target for this launch.” In 2009, Visonic did $85.5 million in business world- wide. North American rev- enues accounted for about 13 percent ($11.1 million) of that, he said. Barir said he was not able to release more recent revenue fig- ures. He did say, however, that during the past two quarters, coinciding with its renewed efforts in North America, Visonic America’s dollar growth and share of worldwide sales have increased “significantly.” So what are the benefits of PowerG, Visonic’s new technol- ogy? Barir said it’s a network that uses “two-way, low-power Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum” (FHSS) technology. VISONIC see page 32 Axis touts a new TCO study By Martha Entwistle CHELMSFORD, Mass.—At what point is it cheaper to install an IP camera system versus an analog camera system? Three years ago, network camera maker Axis Communications commissioned a “Total Cost of Ownership” study that found the magic number to be 32 cameras. A new study, which Axis touted in a Dec. 8 announcement, says that the break-even point in 2010 is lower: It’s now 14 cameras. “This study looked at 14, 25 and 40 cameras,” said Fredrik Nilsson, Axis GM. “I thought the answer would be 25 today. I was amazed it was 14.” Changes in technology and lower cost of the IT components of the systems are some of the main reasons for the lower cost, Nilsson said. While this study is an update of the 2007 study conducted by Axis, it was conducted by a different independent group of researchers, he said. The 2010 study was done by Lusax, a research group at Lund University in Sweden. Lusax was founded five years ago, by Axis PARTNERSHIP FST21 partners with HID By Daniel Gelinas FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—FST21, a provider of intelligent con- trolled access and automation solutions and services, in early November announced a new technology partnership with access control provider HID for integration of its RFID technol- ogy into FST21’s intelligent building solution SafeRise. When FST21 first expanded beyond its Israeli roots into the U.S., it billed itself as “the future of intelligent building safety and security solutions based on a fusion of second-genera- tion video/voice biometrics and analytics.” Rather than using an access control card or old- fashioned key, SafeRise uses advanced facial recognition combined with voice recogni- tion, for access control. According to FST21 GM Avi For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n Study says ‘break even’ point for IP vs. analog is 14 cameras Communications, Securitas (now Niscayah) and Assa Abloy, all of which provided money to fund Ph.D. positions at the university. Funding ended in March of 2010, Nilsson said. Lusax subsequently decided to update the 2007 TCO. he explained. The study and its findings have been criticized by some, including Ari Erenthal of B& H Photo and Video. “These requirements are clearly chosen to maximize the attractiveness of an IP solution,” he told Security Systems News. SSN Lupo, the HID partnership, which grew out of customer requests, increases the cover- age footprint—and therefore security—of an FST21-secured installation. “We got the request from customers: ‘We’ve got 20 doors in the building that have most of the traffic, but we need to use other doors as well.’ Now we offer the capability to manage all the traffic in and out of the building,” Lupo said. “I believe that we’re creating here a new segment within the security industry. We’re providing new markets. It’s a new type of ser- vice the industry can provide to its customers that expands the capabilities of each partner to offer a complete solution.” Brenton Scott, HID Global executive director of business development for Networked Access Solutions, felt the pair- ing was a good fit. “It’s a good fit because the partnership enables control of those areas where they need access control, but maybe the biometrics deployment for which FST21 is so well known is not a perfect fit,” Scott said. SSN