Alarm.com filed for arbitration per the agreement and continued to evaluate additional legal remedies prior to the announced settlement.

The two companies have been embattled in patent disputes dating back to 2015 when Vivint sued Alarm.com in Utah federal court, alleging its security, automation and energy management products infringed four of its patents related to an electronic message delivery system.

In 2018, Alarm.com prevailed in a patent dispute following a federal appeals court decision that invalidated claims by Vivint on technology for remotely controlling home appliances using a smartphone.

During a Nov. 8, 2022, earnings call, Alarm.com CEO Steve Trundle said revenue under licenses from Vivint represented more than 90 percent of total revenue generated from Alarm.com’s global patent portfolio of over 600 issued patents and additional patents pending.

Although financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the settlement eliminates a potential drag on Alarm.com’s stock, Raymond James Analyst Adam Tindle said in a client note.

“While difficult to quantify without disclosures, we do note that Vivint’s prior refusal to pay created a $6 million-per-quarter headwind to SaaS (software-as-a-service) revenue beginning in fourth quarter 2022,” Tindle said via investor.com. “Additionally, this came with very little cost given the licensing nature of the agreement, meaning EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was also impacted by about $6 million per quarter.” — By Rodney Bosch, SDM Senior Editor //

50%

“With its powerful sensor capabilities, HALO extends our end-to-end physical security offering by integrating a non-video threat detection product into our safety and security ecosystem,” said Mahesh Saptharishi, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Motorola Solutions. “We see this as an opportunity to introduce additional detection solutions that help our customers protect people, property and places.”

Motorola Solutions said the acquisition reinforces its commitment to improving safety and security by offering a cost-effective sensor that is easy to deploy and operate for enterprises of all sizes. Motorola Solutions and IPVideo will continue to deliver security solutions that help create safer schools, safer hospitals, safer hotels and safer businesses.

“We are excited to join Motorola Solutions and look forward to strengthening the innovative solutions we deliver to our customers,” said David Antar, president, IPVideo, Bay Shore, N.Y. “Together, we will continue investing in and building upon Motorola Solutions’ leading safety and security ecosystem, equipping customers with advanced ways to protect their people and enhance their operational insights.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. //

“We’re looking forward to welcoming Portland Safe’s employees to Everon and adding their wide-ranging knowledge and expertise to our deep bench of talent,” said Dan Bresingham, CEO. “We’re excited to have them on this journey with us, setting our sights on a future formed by outstanding service, a commitment to excellence, and identifying opportunities to grow our services and capabilities in the Northeast.”

A locally-owned and operated business for over 35 years, Portland Safe specializes in providing security solutions for banking and financial institutions, including community banks, credit unions, and related businesses across Maine and New Hampshire. The company’s teams are experienced in the delivery, installation, service of the latest technologies in access control, alarm systems, video surveillance, physical security, drive-up equipment, cash handling equipment, NCR Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs), ATMs and more.

“At Portland Safe, we pride ourselves on being an organization that is completely dedicated to anticipating and meeting the needs of our customers, and being that local partner they can rely on,” said Brian Sevit, Owner, Portland Safe. “We’re thrilled at the opportunity to grow our breadth of capabilities and flexibilities to serve our customers at an even higher standard of quality with Everon — still maintaining that local touch and focus.”

Everon was built over the past decade by some of the most trusted names in commercial security. The company supports more than 300,000 customer locations and staffs over 5,000 employees, including 2,300 technicians, across more than 100 branches. //

Founded in 1989 by James and Rhonda Lee, Alarmguard Security provides integrated security and fire detection systems including burglar and fire alarms, access control and video surveillance. To propel Alarmguard’s success, innovator and former Electronic Security Association (ESA) board member James Lee focused on employee training and empowering customers with the latest technology.

“As a family-operated business for over 30 years, our community in North Carolina has come to know us for our commitment to protecting our neighbors,” he said. “Pye-Barker has a fantastic reputation in the industry, and I'm confident in their team to uphold our high standards for customer care.”

Bart Proctor, CEO at Pye-Barker, said, “Alarmguard is a great addition to the Pye-Barker family as we continue high-velocity growth while staying true to our roots as an organization built on family. I am proud of the incredible businesses we've partnered with in 2023 that enhance our full-service offerings and align with our values.”

Sentry Watch, which provides integrated life safety systems, has expanded its service areas to Charlotte, Raleigh and Roxboro, N.C.

The teams at Alarmguard and Sentry Watch will continue to serve customers in North Carolina.

Pye-Barker has made numerous acquisitions in the Carolinas recently, complementing its Southeast footprint, and building upon its position as the largest fully integrated and full-service fire protection, life safety and security services provider in the United States. //

Prudential Alarm is one of Michigan's largest privately owned electronic companies in the Midwest, according to an announcement. It provides safety solutions, consulting and systems integration of enterprise security solutions. These include video surveillance, electronic access control, turnstiles, biometrics, visitor management, alarm monitoring and other solutions throughout the Midwest.

“We are very excited to welcome the Concealed team to the Prudential family,” said Sean Ryan, vice president of acquisitions at Prudential. “Our organizations are very complementary. We share values, culture, and a focus on providing a high level of service to our clients and team members. Together, we are better positioned to be a leading regional provider of high-end electronic services.”

Prudential’s acquisition of Concealed has added nearly 1,000 new accounts to the Prudential portfolio and teams them up with several large area home builders.

“This is an exciting collaboration,” Ryan said. “Our acquisition strategy is to identify like-minded companies, such as Concealed, applying our combined talent and resources will lead to new opportunities for our valuable clients and team members.” //

A well-established security and fire protection business with more than 100 years rooted in Dayton, Copp has extensive experience in providing full-service security solutions along with fire protection services for fire alarms and monitoring. Copp’s solid reputation in the region will allow the company to grow its customer base and expand into new markets, according to an announcement.

With the close of the acquisition, all Copp employees are joining the CertaSite family. DeFries will remain with the company in a new role to expand the access control and video surveillance business to new markets across CertaSite. This product expansion will bring a new area of technology to CertaSite’s customers, according to the announcement.

Copp Systems will manage the cloud-based platforms that CertaSite will install across the company from Copp’s Dayton technology management center. In the future, CertaSite will be able to optimize life safety and security programs with interactive remote support for fire alarms, integrated video and access control solutions and custom-designed monitoring applications.

“We are grateful to Bill and the entire Copp Systems family for their continued partnership throughout this process,” said Jeff Wyatt, CEO of CertaSite. “We are committed to preserve the legacy that these dedicated professionals built and recognize and respect their strong local presence. We look forward to building on that foundation by offering employees development and career advancement along with expanded services and support to customers. We are proud to be a part of what these folks have spent a lifetime building.”

With the addition of Allied Safety Services, CertaSite has acquired 24 fire protection and life safety companies throughout the Midwest. //

Samuel Levine, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement that “Rite Aid’s reckless use of facial surveillance systems left its customers facing humiliation and other harms.”

Rite Aid’s actions disproportionately affected people of color, especially Black people, Asians and Latinos, all in the name of keeping “persons of interest” out of hundreds of Rite Aid stores in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Sacramento, the F.T.C. said.

The complaint states that Rite Aid used the surveillance systems in urban areas and along public transportation routes, leading to a disproportionate effect on people of color. Also, Rite Aid is said to have trained security workers in its stores to feed images into an “enrollment database” of people it considered “persons of interest,” and employees were told to “push for as many enrollments as possible.” The databases were filled with low-quality images, many of which were obtained from video surveillance cameras, mobile phone cameras and media reports, the F.T.C. said.

That faulty system, officials said, caused thousands of “false-positive matches,” or alerts that incorrectly indicated that a customer was a “match” for a person in Rite Aid’s database. Worse, Rite Aid had no way of tracking false positives, the complaint said.

“Rite Aid’s failure to appropriately train or oversee employees who operated facial recognition technology further increased the likelihood of harm to consumers,” the F.T.C. said.

Rite Aid released a statement denying the allegations that it misused the technology.

“We respect the FTC’s inquiry and are aligned with the agency’s mission to protect consumer privacy. However, we fundamentally disagree with the facial recognition allegations in the agency’s complaint,” the company said. “The allegations relate to a facial recognition technology pilot program the company deployed in a limited number of stores. Rite Aid stopped using the technology in this small group of stores more than three years ago, before the FTC’s investigation regarding the Company’s use of the technology began.”

The settlement with Rite Aid comes about two months after the company filed for bankruptcy protection and announced plans to close 154 stores in more than 10 states. //

According to the announcement, Cobalt buys market-leading businesses across the following access solutions categories: overhead doors and docks, commercial doors, security gates, access control systems and video surveillance systems.

Piedmont Door Solutions was founded in 2001 by Pat Keane and has been led by industry veteran Chris Mitchell since he invested in the business in 2016. The company provides design, installation and maintenance services across a variety of commercial door products.

Under Cobalt’s ownership, Mitchell will continue as CEO of the business, while Tarrell Graham has been promoted to COO, and Keith Mehltretter and Jim Adams have been promoted to regional vice presidents.

“I couldn’t be more excited for Piedmont’s future,” Mitchell said. “We’ve achieved so much as a team, and this partnership with Cobalt enables us to go faster and bigger than we ever imagined would be possible. It also secures Piedmont’s future for generations to come. On behalf of the entire Piedmont team, we’re thrilled for what lies ahead.”

Keane said, “I feel tremendous pride in what we’ve accomplished over the past 22 years and gratitude that Piedmont’s legacy will live on under Cobalt. I couldn’t be more excited about the possibility of Piedmont’s model and mission expanding nationwide.”

Tyler Hoffman and Anthony Gonzalez will lead Cobalt as co-CEOs, with Hoffman overseeing M&A and Gonzalez overseeing organic growth. Hoffman was previously CEO of Radicle Health, an Alpine software business that completed eight acquisitions during his tenure. Gonzalez served in Congress from 2019 to 2023, where he represented his hometown district of Cleveland. He previously worked as COO at InformedK12, an EdTech startup, and led sales at Beneco, an Alpine portfolio company. Gonzalez was also a first round-draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. //

The November-December edition of the Index asked how respondents are expecting their businesses to perform next year. Nearly half (46 percent) said they are projecting growth of at least 7.5 percent, and more than three out of five (61 percent) anticipate growth of 5 percent or more.

When asked about current conditions at their company, 85 percent of respondents described them positively, with 29 percent saying they are “excellent” and 56 percent saying they are “good.”

While the security sector is healthy, some survey participants did note concerns about the overall economy and the potential impact of geopolitical crises and budget clashes in Washington, D.C.

The survey was conducted in early November, 2023, a few days before ISC East. The expo and conference in New York provided additional signs of robustness in the industry, with attendance increasing 25 percent over the 2022 level.

“Data from the Security Market Index and from ISC East show that the security industry is ending 2023 the same way it started it — with strong upward momentum,” SIA Board of Directors Chair James Rothstein said. “We are excited to work with our members to continue to advance the industry in the coming year.” //

Kamcheff began his career at Aiphone in the shipping department before moving onto the technical support department where he developed QuikSpec, Aiphone’s online design tool.

He later moved into the marketing department, first as a web analyst and senior marketing analyst, where he had an integral role in the development of Aiphone’s website. In 2019 Kamcheff was promoted to the marketing manager position. For the past four years he has been responsible for developing the company’s corporate marketing and communications strategy.

Last year, when Aiphone decided to launch an access control line, the AC Series, Kamcheff was credited for playing an instrumental role in researching the industry and how Aiphone could best bring the product line to market.

The full article can be read here.

Born on Nov. 7, 1954, to Ronald and Beverly Murphy in Arlington Heights, Ill., and raised in Sycamore, Ill., Lynda attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned her degree in journalism and was an effervescent cheerleader for the Drake Bulldogs football team. Lynda’s journey was marked by her magnetic spirit and exceptional resoluteness, and took her from Arlington Heights, to Sycamore, through Des Moines, to New York City, to her true home in Chicago, then on to live in Chesterton, Ind., and Sydney, Australia, back up to Winnetka, Ill., and finally back to Chicago where she lived the majority of her life and where she most thrived.

Throughout her 20s, Lynda learned the ropes of her industry and the machinery of the professional world. In 1984, at the age of 30, she founded Murphy Knott Public Relations, which she lead for nearly four decades until her death, helping to craft the corporate messaging of major local, national and international brands like Miller Brewing Company, IBM, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, Vienna Beef, Ferrara Candy Company, Stanley Black & Decker, Securitas, Konami, The Merchandise Mart, The Chicago Marathon, and The Winter Olympics, among many others.

The full article can be read here. //