Security Systems News

FEB 2014

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24 Monitoring www.securitysystemsnews.com February 2014 World Wide debuts mPERS offering Tailored for hotels, the product gives an added layer of security to staff By Leif Kothe GARDEN CITY, N.Y.—Having recently expanded its presence in the hotel vertical, World Wide Security Group, a full-service security company here, has become an authorized dealer of a PERS device tailored specifically to the hospitality industry. "We have a number of hotels under our belt already as clients," Kenneth Mara, president and CEO, told Security Systems News. "They had a need for a product and we already had them as clients, so it's a likely alliance. In July 2013, World Wide acquired CCTV Security, a purchase that reinforced the company's standing in the hospitality vertical, while opening up new avenues of RMR. "We probably picked up 20-plus hotels with that acquisition, so they knew who we were, and we had a lot of great contacts," Mara said. Joseph Cestra, director of technical services for World Wide, noted another factor behind the initiative: A mandate by the hotel workers' union requiring hotels to provide all employees with panic buttons that can signal duress. The mandate was precipitated in part by a 2011 incident at the Softel New York Hotel in which a maid alleged she was sexually assaulted by Kenneth Mara Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund. The unit, developed by Brookfield, Wis.-based RF Technologies, is called the Help Alert Wireless Staff Duress Solution, a Wi-Fi-based panic system connected to a pendant. When an employee pushes the button on the unit, a silent alarm alerts the security team at the hotel. While the Help Alert offering is a targeted, vertical-specific approach to PERS, World Wide has long been a provider of basic PERS units as well. After conducting extensive research on an array of pinpoint products, World Wide determined that RF Technologies' experience in the vertical, coupled with the product's ease of use, made it the optimal solution. "In the vetting process we were more impressed with their technology than the others," Cestra said. SSn SecurTek acquires Scott Security Systems I-View Now adds Axis hosted video By Leif Kothe By Leif Kothe YORKTON, Saskatchewan—Powered by a revolving line of credit from its parent company, SecurTek Monitoring Solutions, a provider of monitoring services for commercial and residential customers across Canada, has acquired 9,000 customer accounts from Burnaby, British Columbia-based Scott Security Systems, a company with a 30-year history in the region. The deal was attractive, in part, because of Scott Security's longstanding presence in the region, which Darrell Jones, SecurTek president and CEO, described as a "strong market to be engaged in." "Certainly one of the things we're Darrell Jones looking for in establishing dealers throughout Canada is companies with a strong history and strong community ties," Jones said. "[Scott Security] has that reputation in the community, along with a strong customer base, so that bodes well for us." The deal was financed by a revolving line of credit of up to $10 million provided by SecurTek's parent corporation, SaskTel, a Saskatchewan-based telecom company. The financing was made available for customer account purchases, and the investment in Scott's accounts is the SECuRtEk see page 25 of business development LAS VEGAS a n d at Axis Communications, CHELMSFORD, Mass.—The believes the time is ripe for belief that video verifica- this kind of offering. With tion and hosted video are both municipalities and cenready for broader adop- tral stations incurring finantion is behind a cial hits for unverinew cloud-based fied responses, and service crewith written video a t e d b y I - Vi e w verification stanNow and Axis dards in the offing, Communications. he says 2014 may The offering, be the year video called the I-View verification makes Cloud service, major mainstream brings cloud-host- Larry Folsom headway. ed video powered by Axis "It's been a hot topic for Communications' network some time in the central cameras into I-View Now's station world, and it's always central station interface. been a question of getting The service blends video the right technology at verification technology with the right price point at the several other functional- right time," Dunn said. "We ities, including VSaaS, vir- believe this is that year tual guard tours and device where all those things come monitoring. together." I-VIEw see page 25 S c o t t D u n n , d i re c t o r Alarm.com puts its stamp on PERS offering By Leif Kothe VIENNA, Va.—Alarm.com, an interactive services provider based here, unveiled an offering at the Consumer Electronics Show in January that blends traditional PERS elements with the sensors and home automation features the company has built its brand around. The Wellness solution, which combines sensors, mobile notif- cations, panic buttons and home an anomaly or aberration," said automation, is the latest exten- Alison Slavin, vice president of sion of Alarm.com's product management connected home platat Alarm.com. "Some form. "We're defnitepeople would call it ly leveraging things artifcial intelligence, we've done before, but there's a lot of but a lot of new stuff computing that goes is around algorithms on behind the scenes." we're using to decide Slavin said now is what looks like normal the time to make the behavior and what is Alison Slavin leap into PERS. And, by virtue of the company's longstanding emphasis on gathering data to help shape the functionality of its offerings, she believes it's well equipped to do so. "Because we've had the ability to collect that kind of information over time, I think we're in a good position to be able to deliver a service like this," she said. SSn SeCurity SySteMS neWS briefs COPS Monitoring offers Paradox panels WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—COPS Monitoring now offers IP, SGM and GPRS monitoring for the entire line of security and access control products it offers from Paradox, the company announced Jan. 7. "We continually look for ways to support our dealer base by offering leading edge technology and we are pleased to add the Paradox IP receivers to our portfolio of services," Jim McMullen, COPS Monitoring president and COO, said in a prepared statement. The Paradox panel, combining security and access control, is supported by the Control4 automation platform, and allows online access and remote administration. COPS Monitoring is now using Paradox IPR512 receivers in its New Jersey and Texas central stations, on different IP addresses, according to the release. MobileHelp launches cellular-based PERS BOCA RATON, Fla.—MobileHelp's new Cellular DUO mobile PERS unit, launched Jan. 2, features an in-home cellular base station and a mobile device. It also comes with an optional fall detector, which senses falls and automatically calls for help. The Cellular DUO System uses AT&T;'s nationwide network. Users may press a button to send an alarm to the staffed emergency call center, according to the release. The unit's base can be set to deliver medication reminders, in the first of a series of interactive applications due to be released in the first quarter of the year, according to the statement. Lanvac now monitors Bosch systems MONTREAL—Lanvac, a Montrealbased company offering third-party wholesale contract monitoring, now monitors Bosch intrusion detection systems, Bosch announced Jan. 8. Bosch is now offering control panels and communication transport solutions, according to the statement. Lanvac has installed a CONETTIX D6100IPV6 communications receiver/gateway that supports as many as 3,200 accounts of LAN or WAN communications, according to the news release. "We believe if you can send a signal, Lanvac should be able to receive it, which is why we've added the Bosch receiver," said Bill Georgoudes, Lanvac's copresident and COO, in a prepared statement. "Bosch control panels offer some unique features that dealers in Canada want to sell, and we're now able to extend our monitoring services to support these systems."

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