Smartvue sets sights on smart surveillance

NASHVILLE- A new company is entering the surveillance market, but the business is not a complete newcomer to the security industry. The company is Smartvue Corp., which is launching a wireless digital video recorder and camera system based on IT technology at ISC East in New York. Unlike the earlier version of Smartvue Corp., formed in 1998 to focus on offering remote monitoring of a home or business, the relaunched company has set its sights on providing a smart surveillance system with IT technology as its backbone. The result is a self-configuring wireless network, according to Martin Renkis, chief executive officer and president of Smartvue Corp. Renkis said by using IT standards, such as 802.11n, and MIMO smart antenna technology, the closed network system can configure, optimize and secure a video signal on its own. “What we’ve developed from the IT perspective is a very high-end, self configuring system,” he said. Although Smartvue has just launched its product, the company has already set high expectations. In 2005, the company has set its target revenue at $30 million, with a significant increase projected for 2006 with 100,000 camera sales, or $102 million. Renkis agreed the numbers are aggressive, but said Smartvue will achieve that growth by marketing its product not just to systems integrators but to the IT market, as well. Craig Scott, vice president business development for Smartvue, expects that Smartvue’s systems will appeal to systems integrators who have not entered the IP space. Smartvue’s approach comes as more complex surveillance systems, such as IP-based cameras that require extensive know-how to configure with a network, proliferate the market. To develop its surveillance system, Smartvue brought onboard executives with an IT background. For example, Charles Leahy, vice president of sales for Smartvue, was the former director of operations at ServerWorks, a company that produced server hardware. That company was sold to Broadcom for $1 billion. Renkis, the company’s founder, also has experience in the IT field, with more than 20 years in the software industry.