Archive: May 2015
Five Questions: Jeff Auman
May 28, 2015Amy Canfield
Jeff Auman is vice president of residential sales for ADT. Before joining the company last November he held a number of leadership positions at Sprint, most recently as vice president, product operations.You're relatively new on the job. What are some things your coworkers might not know about you?My favorite job was as a beach lifeguard in Pompano Beach, Fla.—that's what I want to retire back to. I got to run the 1996 Olympic torch in Coconut Grove, Fla., on July 4. And, I raced [NASCAR's]...
Prime time for Alarm.com IPO
May 27, 2015Martha Entwistle
VIENNA, Va.—It has been a year since reports surfaced that Alarm.com owner ABS wanted to exit its investment. The wait may have been worthwhile, according to experts who spoke to Security Systems News. Now is a good time for Alarm.com, a fast-growing, market-leading provider of interactive services, to go public, they say.“There's a lot of excitement and energy around the smart home right now, and to a certain degree the timing of this IPO may reflect that,” Tom Kerber, director...
Alarm Capital Alliance receives $9.5 million
May 27, 2015Spencer Ives
NEWTON SQUARE, Pa.—Alarm Capital Alliance, a security and alarm monitoring company based here, received a $9.5 million investment from Alcentra Capital Corporation.Ellida McMillan, Alcentra's chief accounting officer, called it an expansion of ACA's current facility; Alcentra is investing alongside others. “We know the other partners in the deal, we've worked with them before. So, we felt comfortable with the group that we were working with,” McMillan told Security Systems News.Alcentra...
AlarmForce ordered to pay Matlin court fees
May 27, 2015Amy Canfield
TORONTO—AlarmForce Industries must pay $45,000 in court costs to company founder Joel Matlin and others after AlarmForce dropped a lawsuit that sought to bar two employees from working for Matlin's new company, ThinkProtection.A Superior Court of Justice here ruled May 25, a month after AlarmForce dropped its suit, that Matlin, his son, Adam Matlin, and former AlarmForce employees David Costantini and Maciej Gerwel should be compensated for legal fees they incurred to fight it, according to...
Biometrics access control: not perfect, but possibly inevitable
May 27, 2015Kenneth Z. Chutchian
YARMOUTH, Maine—Biometrics is the present and the future of access control. Some integrators and manufacturers of facial, iris and fingerprint recognition systems talk as if the markets are growing so fast that cards and keys may seem as old-school as paper checks. Others, however, caution that end users still need time to digest what is happening and what's ahead.
John Aksoy, president and CEO of Plugout, a technology integration-solutions firm based in New York City, said, “It's...
Former Vivint CFO on the Alarm.com IPO
May 27, 2015Martha Entwistle
Alarm.com's announcement that it will go public has a lot of people talking inside and outside of the security industry. Many of the insiders, however, will not talk on the record, at least not right now.
I was interested in talking to someone who knows IPOs, understands the security industry and is familiar with Alarm.com, and I came up with Chris Black. Black is the former CFO of Vivint who helped Vivint prepare for the sale to Blackstone. He's also helped other companies go public. Today he works...
Hikvision partners for STEM ed in low-income schools
May 26, 2015SSN Staff
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.—Video surveillance provider Hikvision USA has teamed up with Citizen Schools, a nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools in low-income communities, to provide STEM education.
Volunteers from Hikvision recently provided hands-on classroom opportunities for middle school students at Chase Elementary in Chicago, where the students learned about engineering design and built alternative energy vehicles. After the 10-week semester, the students taught back...
Who are your brightest end users?
May 26, 2015Amy Canfield
The alumni list for Security Systems News' “20 under 40” awards for end users is outstanding. Past winners work for hospitals, public school districts, utilities, Google, retail chains big and small, Facebook, universities and major corporations.
We're seeking nominations now for more of these young, intelligent and dedicated end users for our upcoming awards.
Please take a few moments and think of your customers: Who is the most up-to-date on the latest technology and knows what they...
Hebert departs HID
May 23, 2015Martha Entwistle
AUSTIN, Texas—Denis Hebert has resigned his position as president and CEO of HID Global. Ulf Södergren, CTO of parent company ASSA ABLOY, has been appointed as interim CEO for HID, Ann Holmberg, ASSA ABLOY manager of corporate communications told Security Systems News.Holmberg declined to comment on the replacement search process. Hebert confirmed to SSN that he has left HID, but declined comment at this time on his plans.Hebert has been CEO and president of HID Global, a provider of secure...
B Safe buys backyard competitor
May 22, 2015Amy Canfield
MANTUA, N.J.—B Safe, a regional provider of security and fire alarms in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has acquired Security Connection of Gibbstown, N.J.The purchase of Security Connection, in B Safe's own New Jersey backyard, contributes to the “hometown feel” that is the backbone of B Safe's focus on customer service, general manager Len Simoni told Security Systems News.B Safe already has a storefront here, where customers regularly stop by to request a new...