Just six months after buying Israeli-based video surveillance firm DVTEL for $92 million in cash, FLIR Systems announced this week that it has acquired Innovative Security Designs (ISD) from rival Digital Watchdog for an undisclosed amount.
According to John Distelzweig, general manager of FLIR’s security segment, ISD’s experience in embedded firmware development and advanced camera platforms made the company an ideal acquisition target for FLIR. “We have a fairly deep knowledge base with respect to thermal cameras but when it comes to visible [imaging] cameras, we’ve been looking to expand our expertise there,” he explained.
ISD, which was initially acquired by Digital Watchdog in 2014, generated a lot of industry buzz several years back when its Windows-compatible Lynx surveillance camera took home the top prize in SIA’s New Product Showcase at ISC West. Distelzweig believes that ISD and FLIR are currently a better fit for one another given the company’s product development plans.
“I think that FLIR’s roadmap matches more closely with the skills that ISD brings versus what Digital Watchdog is doing. I think it just made sense for all parties,” he added.
FLIR first entered the visible imaging surveillance camera market in late 2012 following their acquisition of Canada-based Lorex Technology, which brought both consumer and commercial-grade cameras into the company’s product portfolio under the Lorex and Digimerge brands. Since that time the company has worked on developing cameras that can meet the needs of applications across the security spectrum and that would complement their position as one of the leaders in thermal imaging.
That goal was given a significant boost last December when the company acquired DVTEL, which already had a global footprint in the mid- and high-end surveillance market. Distelzweig said DVTEL’s integration into FLIR is going well and that all of their products are “playing well” together.
“We had a fairly extensive relaunch of all of those integrations at ISC West and all of those products are now on general availability release for all of our integrators and VARs on both sides,” he said.
According to Distelzweig, the acquisition of ISD will not only include the company’s portfolio of intellectual property but key personnel as well.
“They’re pretty much what you would call a bolt-on. They’re bringing skills that weren’t entirely lacking [at FLIR] but they bring a strength and an IP portfolio that will be immediately useful, so it’s very complementary and there’s not much overlap really,” he said.
With these acquisitions under their belt, Distelzwieg said they feel their product range is getting “fairly complete” and that the focus in the near future will be on growing their sales channel.
“Really our desire now is to grow our distributor, integrator, and VAR base going forward to expand more organically than through acquisition,” he said.
