As we get ready to close the door on another year, the time has come to reflect on the news and events that shaped our industry in 2016. While most people will remember 2016 for the unprecedented and vitriolic campaign that saw Donald Trump elected as the 45th president of the United States, for the security market, it will likely go down as the year as the year of the mega-merger as some of the industry’s biggest players joined forces. Of course, industry M&A transactions were not the only stories that grabbed headlines in 2016, as various technology and business trends also garnered significant attention throughout the year.
In what has become an annual tradition at SecurityInfoWatch.com, here’s a look a back at the 10 most read stories of 2016 and their impact on the industry.
1. The ADT-Protection 1 merger and its impact: With the advent of smart home technology and re-entry of big cable and telcos into the alarm industry in recent years, analysts have speculated about how an acquisition of ADT might alter the landscape of the market. Now they will have an opportunity to see if the prognostications are correct, as the residential security giant was acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Global Management in February and is in the process of being combined with what was its main competitor at one time, Protection 1. In addition to the residential market, the merger could also have a substantial impact on the commercial side of the business, which SecurityInfoWatch examined in a story posted during the ASIS conference in September.
2. The AlliedBarton-Universal merger and its impact: While much of the consolidation within the security industry has centered on equipment manufacturers and service providers, the guard services market also seen its fair share of market upheaval – culminating in May when AlliedBarton and Universal Services of America announced they would be merging. AlliedUniversal is now the largest security company in North America and is expected to generate approximately $4.5 billion in total annual revenues. Analysts said the impact of the merger is not only about bringing the firms’ respective guard services divisions together, but also being able to provide customers with a complete solution that includes both services and equipment.
3. Nuvico closes its doors: In late July, SecurityInfoWatch and Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine broke the news that video surveillance products supplier Nuvico was ceasing operations. In an exclusive interview, Matt Bischof, who spent more than seven years with the company, attributed the company’s decline with a cost-cutting decision made several years back to use an OEM product that failed to deliver the level of quality its customers were used to.
4. JCI-Tyco merger a defining moment: Continuing with the mega-merger theme, Johnson Controls and Tyco kicked off 2016 with a bang – announcing that the two companies would be combined and headquartered in Ireland, a move that would save the company an estimated $150 million in taxes annually. The so-called corporate inversion even caught the attention of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders who both criticized the move. In terms of its industry impact, analysts say the merger significantly enhances the global market share of Johnson Controls, which was ranked as the 10th largest security systems integrator in the world prior to the deal.
5. Major changes forecasted for video surveillance manufacturers: In November, UK-based market research firm Memoori released a new report which predicted significant changes in years ahead for the makers of video surveillance equipment. In an exclusive column, Jim McHale, director of Memoori, discusses three major issues that will shape the industry moving forward, including the influence of Chinese suppliers, the “Siliconization” of surveillance cameras and the evolution of data processing.
6. Applications you should blacklist: As expected, cybersecurity issues certainly did not take a backseat this year, with malware infections and botnets affecting organizations of all shapes and sizes. In an exclusive article, cybersecurity expert Joseph Carson, who serves as head of global strategic alliances at Thycotic, examines some of the web’s most vulnerable applications and the steps companies should take to protect themselves and their employees.
7. Executive protection pros dispel misconceptions: Executive protection is a topic that is not covered with the frequency that it perhaps deserves in our industry, but it is one of vital importance to a certain segment of the market. That’s why AS Solution’s Christian West and Brian Jantzen recently authored a book on the subject to help shed some light on the profession and provide people with in-depth look at what is really required to run a successful executive protection program. In an exclusive article, West and Jantzen discuss their respective backgrounds and separate industry fact from fiction.
8. SD&I’s 2016 Fast50: Now in its sixth year, the SD&I Fast50 rankings have brought well-deserved recognition to the industry’s fastest growing systems integrators. In addition to the annual rankings, SD&I Editor-in-Chief Paul Rothman sat down with this year’s honorees to discuss the trends and technologies that are impacting their businesses in this feature.
9. Honeywell moves raise more questions than answers: Not to be done outdone by their brethren on the services side of the business, manufacturers were also busy on the M&A front in 2016, and Honeywell perhaps generated the greatest amount of buzz. In addition to acquiring RSI Video Technology and Xtralis, it was also widely reported that Honeywell was engaged in merger talks with industry giant UTC. The deal never came to fruition, however, and there was a bit of back and forth between the two companies as to why their talks stalled.
10. Waiting for H.265: With the proliferation of high-definition surveillance cameras has also come increased demand for improved bandwidth savings technology to help end-users make the most of the video data their gathering on a daily basis. While there has been a lot excitement around H.265 compression, the technology must still overcome several hurdles to become more widely adopted throughout the industry as explained by Axis Communications’ James Marcella.
