UCC Says Multisite Redundancy a Post-Acquisition Priority

Lydia Security Monitoring says it is committed to providing a hot redundant back-up site for newly acquired United Central Control, which it sorely needs to successfully execute growth initiatives.

Consolidation doesn’t always entail the acquired company will be “streamlined” because cost-savings can be achieved through “synergies” and other such corporate euphemisms for downsizing. Take Lydia Security Monitoring’s acquisition of United Central Control (UCC), for example.

Terms of the deal are not being discussed, nor is the time frame it took to consummate the transaction from start to finish, UCC President Teresa Gonzalez explained during a phone interview that included the company’s Senior Vice President Mark Matlock.

What Lydia Security has emphasized is their intent to not just maintain the UCC brand, but grow the entity as part of an overall corporate strategy to build out a nationwide footprint.

“Lydia wants to create a more national presence into the South and West and they want to use our branch as that platform. It just makes sense to continue on with that same branding,” Gonzalez said. “Dealers are comfortable with it. There is a lot of trust involved when you build relationships and that’s what is really important.”

Of course, looking after and preserving those relationships entailed that each dealer client received a phone call from a UCC representative, who revealed the transaction and explained the road map going forward.

Was there much trepidation about the transition voiced by the dealer base?

“You expect to get some apprehension and maybe a naysayer here or there, but overall the reception we got was very positive,” Matlock said. “The main issue that needed to be communicated was the commitment from Lydia Security Monitoring not to make sweeping changes. To leave the team in place. To leave the facility in place, and to leave the [Stages] software platform in place.”

Also key to the deal for UCC is Lydia’s assurance to provide its newly acquired San Antonio-based operations with sorely-needed redundancy capabilities. What form such a facility will actually take is yet to be determined or at least not yet announced.

David Smith, director of marketing and communications at COPS, told me the company has a lot of expertise and experience in bringing online multisite redundant communications. What could have been an arduous undertaking for UCC will be mitigated by COPS’ knowledge gained from operating six facilities, including the New Jersey headquarters and monitoring centers in Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Maryland.

“There is a long learning curve over being able to do seamless, multisite load-sharing monitoring. There are a lot of nuances. You can’t just open another facility and have seamless redundancy. We have experience with that,” Smith said. 

The lack of redundancy has proven to be a stumbling block for UCC in the past. Potential larger clients who wanted to do business with the wholesale monitoring provider simply were not able to given the lack of resources.

“When it came down to the logistics it just wasn’t feasible without a hot redundant, back-up site out of state, especially,” Matlock said. “That alone is going to result in more sales for us. We definitely foresee stronger growth going forward more than ever.”

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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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