Eagle Eye Networks Acquires Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe

The acquisition includes Panasonic’s Cameramanager cloud video service and the Nubo wireless security camera, greatly expanding Eagle Eye’s European presence.

AUSTIN, Texas — Eagle Eye Networks has acquired Panasonic Cloud Management Service Europe B.V. (PCMSEU), a leading provider of professional cloud video surveillance services and products based in the Netherlands.

Terms of the transaction, which Eagle Eye Networks says will create the first global cloud surveillance video company, were not disclosed. Eagle Eye will retain all employees and the management team of PCMSEU, which will be renamed Eagle Eye Networks BV.

Panasonic Europe formed PCMSEU in 2013 following its purchase of Cameramanager.com, a leading European Video Surveillance as-a-Service (VSaaS) provider. In 2015, the business unit expanded its portfolio with the launch of Nubo, which was billed as the world’s first 4G-enabled wireless security camera to allow consumers to monitor property and belongings without needing WiFi connectivity.

The acquisition includes a pair of Cameramanager data centers located in Amsterdam; Eagle Eye also operates data centers in California, Texas, Canada, the United Kingdom and two in Japan. Both Cameramanager, which will be renamed Eagle Eye CameraManager, and Nubo will become key components to Eagle Eye Networks’ now global reach, Ken Francis, president, Eagle Eye Networks, tells SSI.

“We got very lucky. This is both a geographic play and a product play,” Francis says. “When you think about the funnel, if you will, of the marketplace — SME [Small and Medium Enterprises] being at the bottom, enterprise being at the top and the light commercial and mid-market commercial being in between — the Cameramanager product plays in the lower half of that funnel, and the Eagle Eye VMS plays in the light commercial, mid-market commercial and a little bit of the enterprise.”

Cameramanager was founded in 2005 by Rishi Lodhia and Tijmen Vos to provide Cloud video services to end customers with 1 to 3 security cameras on the premise, especially small retail.

The company has experienced rapid growth throughout Europe, particularly in the last couple of years, Lodhia tells SSI. Among its channel partners is Prosegur, the multinational security company headquartered in Madrid, and Turkey’s Pronet, which is said to provide nearly 200,000 subscribers and more than 1 million users with security solutions.

Although Francis and Lodhia would not divulge the total number of acquired accounts and recurring revenue involved in the deal, they both are quick to emphasize the scale of the combined companies.

“What I can tell you is we are the biggest cloud surveillance provider in Europe. Eagle Eye Networks is the biggest in the U.S., so combined we are the biggest player in the world,” says Lodhia, who will stay on as managing director of Eagle Eye Networks BV.

Unlike Eagle Eye’s flagship video management system (VMS), which provides secure encrypted access to cloud storage via an onsite bridge appliance, security cameras operated via Cameramanager stream directly to Cloud architecture via a software agent.

The solution includes optional storage methods, motion detection, push notifications and cloud-based video analytics. Eagle Eye will broaden Cameramanager’s support from only Panasonic cameras to include devices from other manufacturers.

The Eagle Eye Cloud Security VMS will continue to be sold in Europe for customers that require a large selection of camera interoperability or need more than a few cameras per location. The Eagle Eye VMS supports thousands of different IP and analog cameras, up to 10 years of video retention and can handle vast numbers of cameras.

The Nubo camera — designed for both indoor and outdoor use — will be renamed Eagle Eye NuboCam and will continue to be promoted, integrated and enhanced, according to the company. In Europe, the device is sold through several channel partners as well as via a direct e-commerce site.

“Nubo is a mobile video monitoring product specifically for any customer who wants to have video monitoring on WiFi-less locations,” Lodhia says. “Think of unmanned sites or outdoor locations where there is no WiFi at all, mobile businesses, temporary construction.”

NuboCam Cometh … But When?

The NuboCam is destined for North America, although a time frame for its arrival remains elusive.

“We are talking about what we want to do with NuboCam in North America and in Asia. We are really excited about it from a technology standpoint, but we do not yet have a channel strategy lined up,” Francis says.

Meantime, the company will move forward with its expansion plans in Europe where prior to the acquisition it had struggled to gain a strong foothold, despite a few successes such as signing up Stanley U.K. as a channel partner.

“Eagle Eye, while investing and focusing on North America and [the Asia-Pacific region], just did not have the bandwidth to equally invest the attention in Europe,” Francis explains. “And so we were getting some spotty coverage — a couple of resellers here and there — but we just didn’t get the penetration. This [acquisition] will really accelerate things in Europe.”

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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