“Since its founding in 2016, Verkada has grown rapidly and continues to gain and grow its share of the enterprise physical security market,” the Verkada complaint states. “Indeed, more than 6,000 organizations, including over 30 Fortune 500 companies, use Verkada to protect people and assets, secure facilities, and gain new insights that improve the efficiency of their operations. Verkada’s vision is to be the operating system that runs every building in the world. Competitors, such as Avigilon, have taken note.”

Additionally, the Verkada complaint states the company is not infringing on Avigilon patents, as Motorola Solutions alleges in the ITC complaint, filed on Aug. 9.

In Motorola Solution’s complaint, the company alleged that Verkada has relied on and incorporated intellectual property owned by Avigilon since its founding in 2016. Verkada refutes this claim, saying it has not infringed on any Avigilon patents.

“Verkada was founded to reimagine our industry and deliver to customers cutting edge, integrated hardware and software that is easy to use and highly scalable,” the company said in a past statement. “This fresh take on a traditional space disrupted established players who have not been able to match the same type of seamless experience that has helped us grow.”

In response to the countersuit, Motorola Solutions believes that Verkada’s complaint is “entirely without merit.”

“In fact, the U.S. International Trade Commission decided on September 8 to investigate Verkada’s infringement of these patents, and that investigation is proceeding,” Motorola Solutions added. “We intend to vigorously pursue our infringement claims at the U.S. International Trade Commission and will respond to Verkada’s complaint in due course. We look forward to the opportunity to present our case.”

Verkada did not respond for a request for comment at the time of publication. — By Amanda Reed, SDM Associate Editor //

Headquartered in Chantilly, Va., CTSI designs, engineers, installs, and maintains highly engineered nurse call, audiovisual, conferencing, collaboration, sound, fire, security, and communication systems. CTSI serves thousands of private, public, and institutional clients.

“We are extremely excited to have AFA join the CTSI family,” said Joe Oliveri, CTSI president and CEO. “AFA’s team has established a world-class business with a renowned reputation that has flourished over a half century under the ownership of the Kleinman family. We look forward to further supporting AFA’s best-in-class service offerings using our increased scale to provide opportunities for both customers and employees alike.”

Robert Kleinman, AFA’s chairman and CEO, added, “This transaction is a win for all parties. CTSI’s added resources and similar services, combined with the geographical fit and customer relationships of both companies, should open new opportunities to deliver AFA’s capabilities to an even broader audience of customers. In turn, CTSI will be able to provide enhanced offerings to AFA’s existing account base, as well as new opportunities for many individuals across AFA’s team. Finally, we are confident that we have maximized the return to our shareholders, most of whom have been with and supported us for many decades.”

AFA represents the fourth acquisition for CTSI since partnering with Wind Point in June 2020.

CTSI ranked No. 32 and AFA ranked No. 17 on the 2021 SDM 100. //

88%

“HHI is an excellent addition to the ASSA ABLOY Group and constitutes an important strategic step in developing our residential business in North America,” said Nico Delvaux, president and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. “This acquisition advances our strategy to strengthen our position by adding complementary products to the core business, and it will further accelerate the transformation from mechanical to digital solutions. I look forward to welcoming HHI and all of its employees into the ASSA ABLOY Group.”

HHI is headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., with 7,500 employees worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, China and the Philippines.

“After stewarding this asset for the past decade, the board of directors and I are confident that ASSA ABLOY is uniquely positioned to take our HHI business and team members to the next level of performance and achievement,” said David M. Maura, executive chairman and CEO of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. “I am personally excited to see the innovation and exciting new products that this transaction will unlock for future generations.” //

Since its market introduction in 2018, Azena has grown to more than 120 employees spread across its headquarters in Munich, Germany, its technology innovation accelerator facility in Pittsburgh, and another development hub in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, all supporting the Azena open platform for smart cameras. The Azena platform is comprised of an open operating system for cameras and an application store with nearly 100 artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled video analytics apps. It enables smart cameras to simultaneously run multiple apps directly on the device. Integrators can flexibly add or change apps on one or multiple cameras as needed for their customers and use any of the 15 cameras from six different manufacturer partners in a variety of form factors.

“Systems integrators play a crucial role in connecting the video analytic edge devices on our platform into the larger system landscape for a truly data-driven approach to security, operational intelligence and automation,” said Hartmut Schaper, CEO, Azena. “Our new identity as Azena positions us for improved name recognition and market presence as we continue to add functionality and the potential for expansion into new markets for our systems integrator partners.” //

“The annual Women in Biometrics Awards recognize the female leaders leading the way in the biometric identity and security industry, and this year’s winners have made impressive contributions to cutting-edge technologies like embedded voice biometrics and helped to detect fraud, enhance military readiness and homeland defense and promote safety and convenience in our daily lives,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “SIA applauds Marta García Gomar and Amy Turluck for their outstanding drive, innovation and leadership in this essential field and is proud to honor them.”

Marta García Gomar is a manager and biometrics-related innovation strategy consultant who serves as CTO for IDENTY Touchless ID. She advises biometrics startups on defining the road map to achieve business objectives and identifying resources, skills and gaps after assessing client resources and capabilities.

Amy Turluck is a senior leader with executive experience directing the work of large, diverse, geographically separated subordinate staffs, including foreign nationals, military, government employees and contractors globally. //

As a result of this new focus, the global smart home market — worth an estimated $60.8 billion in 2020 — is projected to exceed $178.5 billion in 2025, representing a compound-annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.1 percent from 2020 to 2025. In terms of penetration, Omdia estimates 19 percent of broadband households globally had a smart home device in 2020, up from 10 percent in 2017.

“Only a couple of years ago, the smart home market seemed to have reached peak adoption due to complexity, cost and ‘walled gardens’ that discouraged broader market penetration,” said Blake Kozak, senior principal analyst, Omdia. “But by embracing opportunities outside proprietary solutions and use cases, the industry has fostered growth in new channels that are helping to postpone the inevitable slowdown in the industry.

“Once suffering from tunnel vision, brands are embracing a purpose-driven approach based on innovation, collaboration, and focus, which has led to the development of new channels such as homebuilders and apartments. From a technology perspective, Matter, while delayed until mid-2022, remains the cornerstone for the new smart-home paradigm that will facilitate the dissemination of devices and services to a new customer base.”

Smart apartments and single-family home builders will have the greatest impact on the smart home over the next few years, especially in the U.S. In 2020, 2.4 million smart devices were shipped for smart apartments globally, which is forecast to increase to 64.7 million annual device shipments in 2025, at a CAGR of 59.5 percent. In terms of the installed base, Omdia estimated there were about 5.07 million smart-apartment devices installed globally, increasing to 149.8 million installed base in 2025.

For homebuilders in the U.S, Omdia estimates there were about 1.08 million new single-family homes built in 2020, of which about 49,000 had smart home features installed during construction. Omdia estimates this equated to more than 600,000 smart home devices installed during the construction of homes in the U.S. in 2020. In 2025, there will be about 13 million devices installed annually with new home construction in the U.S.

Although homebuilders and multifamily have been on the radar for smart homes for many years, these two channels were not highly pursued by smart home brands or service providers until mid-2020. Now, globally, these two channels are predicted to combine for more than 75 million smart home device shipments in 2025, or about 15 percent of total smart home shipments for that year. //

“The acquisition of BrokerBay delivers on Carrier’s long-standing commitment to growth and innovation,” said Jurgen Timperman, president, Carrier Fire & Security. “Our Supra real estate lockbox management and mobile credentialing business paired with BrokerBay’s capabilities to deliver advanced digital solutions will improve efficiencies for North American real estate agents, while also driving our strategy of increasing recurring revenue through enhanced services.”

Supra, part of Fire & Security’s Access Solutions business, has been serving the real estate industry for over 60 years, with key mobile credentialing technology deployed across an installed base of 4 million locking devices in multiple industries. Supra is a market leader in supporting real estate showings and enabled 45 million property showings in 2020.

Following closing, which is expected in October, BrokerBay and Supra will provide a one-stop shop for realtors that combines scheduling and mobile lockbox access in an intuitive, user-friendly showing experience to empower agents, reduce workload and provide actionable analytics.

“With increasingly high volumes in real estate showings, there is a need for agents to act with speed and efficiency,” said Jeffrey Stanek, managing director, global access solutions, Carrier Fire & Security. “This acquisition will further ensure they have the best solutions available to succeed.” //

“While the decision to cancel our face-to-face meeting was a difficult one to make for several reasons, the increasing cases of COVID-19 and the impact of the Delta variant coupled with a reduction in the potential number of available hospital beds and emerging international travel restrictions, left us with little-to-no alternatives,” said TMA President Don Young. “We could not consciously place our members, guests, or their families in a position that may potentially compromise their health.”

TMA Education Committee Co-Chair John Brady added, “We have an outstanding program set to deliver and a slate of interesting and compelling speakers who are prepared to address this year’s meeting attendees virtually. We are also fortunate to have a platform that provides for a high level of interaction between speakers and attendees. We’re anticipating a great meeting!”

Visit TMA’s website to view event information. //

“The acquisition of MSA Security will not only expand our K9 program on a local and national level but will also increase our security resources around the world,” said Steve Jones, global chairman and CEO of Allied Universal. “For more than 30 years, MSA Security has achieved success through its strong customer relationships, expertise and reliable service. This acquisition aligns perfectly with our strategic goals for identifying strong and high-performing companies that offer vast services and are continuing to grow.”

Founded in 1987, MSA Security mitigates threats with solutions and expertise to protect personnel and property. With revenue approaching $200 million, MSA currently has around 700 explosive detection canine teams deployed around the world. MSA’s services includes specialized armed and unarmed security operatives, 24/7 strategic threat monitoring, specialized investigations, security training and security consulting.

“MSA Security has experienced incredible growth in the last five years,” said Glen Kucera, MSA Security’s CEO. “During our partnership with GreyLion, we nearly quadrupled our revenue. We are excited to further recognize our full potential by combining with another industry leader and I look forward to partnering with Steve Jones and his team. Becoming part of an organization with the resources, technology focus, and depth of service that Allied Universal offers will allow MSA to expand on its success as the preeminent explosive detection canine business worldwide.” //