Reliance Protectron teams with Blackline GPS for vehicle monitoring, recovery

CALGARY, Alberta—Reliance Protectron Security Services, the second largest security provider in Canada, teamed this week with Blackline GPS Corp., a technology manufacturer of security, tracking, and monitoring devices for automotive, commercial and industry safety, and family use. Through the partnership, retailers—and eventually Reliance Protectron dealers—will be able to offer a full suite of vehicle monitoring, tracking and theft-recovery services to end users in Canada and the United States, to be monitored by Reliance. The first Blackline/Reliance Protectron solution is called the Escort Entourage CIS and is due from Blackline through retail outlets in July.

According to Reliance Protectron vice president of marketing and business development Patrice De Luca the partnership broadens the borders of the traditional security channel and shifts the focus of protection to the end user wherever that end user goes. “We've always considered that monitoring assets—whether they were mobile or fixed assets—if emergency dispatch was concerned, that was core business to us,” De Luca said. “From a monitoring standpoint, we've always thought that mobile assets were as much in our core business as fixed assets—houses and buildings—were.”

Blackline president and CEO Clark Swanson agreed the time was right to expand the reach of monitored security and provide a total solution. “There's a convergence that's happening for sure. This exists whether you're in the telecommunications business, whether you're in the security business, whether you're in the consumer products business. Industries that are saturated are looking for creative growth,” Swanson said. “They're all saying, 'I can attach other services. I'm going to sell you the same thing, which is data, but how do I sell you more data?' Security companies are doing the same thing … so now you can have total peace of mind.”

The appeal of the Blackline/Reliance Protectron solution does not stop at stolen vehicle recovery, according to Swanson. The solution offers everyday, practical applications as value-adds for residential and commercial end users. For example, the Escort Entourage CIS is designed to enhance the driving experience through the interactive use of the device. The customer can monitor the vehicle in real time using their web browser or Blackline's BlipPlus mobile application for smartphones. The end user can review six months worth of cached vehicle history, including location, time, heading and speed, providing value for the driver wanting to review trip logs, and peace of mind for the concerned parent wanting to monitor a young driver.