Brian Kelly

The owners of Innovative Business Software A/S (Innovative), Montreal-based Valsoft Corporation (Valsoft Corp.) have acquired UK-based security firm, Bold Communications, in a move to drive expansion of its presence in the United Kingdom. The acquisition will strengthen Innovative’s product offering, with the inclusion of Bold Communications’ CCTV alarm event handling and lone worker protection services. Innovative Business Software A/S is a global provider of security technology in the Nordic region and a member of MIT Group, an operating portfolio within Valsoft Corporation. Valsoft Corporation is based in Montreal, Canada and specializes in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses. Bold Communications acquisition Bold Communications is one of the United Kingdom’s renowned alarm monitoring platform providers and for over 30 years, the company has developed alarm communications and management systems for the alarm central station and ARC market. The company supports more UK alarm and CCTV monitoring control rooms than any other supplier and is globally recognized for security monitoring solutions, with its Gemini software platform. Major vendor of alarm solutions in EMEA region We’re excited to build on Bold’s distinguished reputation, established over 30 years in the UK security industry" Dennis Bang Andersen, the Vice President (VP) of Innovative, said “We’re excited to build on Bold’s distinguished reputation, established over 30 years in the UK security industry. This acquisition marks another milestone in our ambition to establish Innovative as the leading vendor of alarm receiving and handling solutions in EMEA.” Dennis adds, “We’re delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the team, together we can look forward to supporting our customers in the UK and Nordics into the future, with best-in-class solutions and services.” Supporting Innovative’s EMEA expansion roadmap Bold Communications’ Managing Director, Brian Kelly, commented “The synergies between Bold and Innovative were clear to both businesses and I look forward to helping build on the fantastic brand and products we’ve developed here at Bold, over the least 30 years.” Brian adds, “We will, of course, continue our tradition of best-in-class customer service in the UK, while supporting Innovative’s roadmap for continued expansion in EMEA.”

Bold Communications, a developer of alarm communications and management systems, has announced a new technology partnership with Openview Security Solutions, the UK’S largest privately-owned independent security company and provider of integrated control room systems. The two companies already have a proven track record of working together on a number of high-profile public sector projects including Loughborough University, Stockport Homes and the City of Cardiff. This new partnership will enable clients, particularly in the public sector, to take advantage of the significant expertise and capabilities accumulated by both companies over many years in the deployment of innovative alarm and CCTV-based security systems that deliver best value. Ensuring Highest Level Of Service The monitoring platform is the central receiving and processing point for a wide range of security products and applications including fire and intruder alarmsBold Communications Managing Director, Brian Kelly, commented: “Working with the right partners is essential to the successful delivery of important public sector projects. This new partnership between Openview and Bold builds on the unique strengths of both companies. Combining OpenView’s project delivery expertise with Bold’s specialized development and support skills will help to de-risk installations and ensure that control rooms deliver the highest level of service.”  The monitoring sector has evolved significantly in recent years away from just simple alarm receiving and toward complete remote management solutions. The monitoring platform is now the central receiving and processing point for a wide range of security products and applications including fire and intruder alarms, public address systems and CCTV networks.   Providing Clients With Robust Security Systems The increasingly complex nature of such integrated systems demands the highest level of technical skills and resources making the relationship between software suppliers and systems integrators more important than ever. Andy Ward, Sales Director of OpenView Security Solutions, added: “This partnership is a natural fit as both Openview and Bold are engineering-based companies with outstanding reputations in the security industry because of the quality of their work and longstanding client relationships. Together, we will be providing public sector clients with robust, reliable systems that provide the highest level functionality without the complexity or project risk associated with other solutions.”

The RISCO Agility™ 3 wireless alarm panel is targeted at the residential and commercial market with a comprehensive feature and accessory set. To prevent false alarms and provide maximum useful information in the event of a genuine activation, the Agility panel delivers visual verification by transmission of site images to the user’s smart phone or web client. It is now also possible for those images to be received and responded to in an alarm receiving center with Bold’s integrated monitoring platform, Gemini.   Bold Gemini provides the total control room solution for fire, intruder, panic, CCTV, lone worker and other security systems into a single monitoring platform. Popular in private control rooms as well as in commercial monitoring centers, Gemini is most widely deployed where there is a requirement to monitor diverse security products across dispersed sites. The Bold software automates, filters and prioritises incoming alarms and events before presenting them to the operator in an easy to use workstation interface. Alarms can be verified in Gemini with audio, visual and sequential confirmation and, with all the security products popularly used in alarm monitoring control rooms being supported in the software, it provides a very slick solution for false alarm filtering within a single user interface.  The integration work for Agility™, connecting to the RISCO Cloud, allows the user not only to interact much more closely with the site, but also the reassurance that any visually verified alarms will be actioned in a timely manner and in accordance with agreed service levels by their monitoring center. Bold Communications MD, Brian Kelly, commented, “Co-operation and collaboration between manufacturers and software management developers is becoming more important than ever as security products become ever smarter and more functional. However, the overall objective remains the same - providing the right tools for an efficient response when required, and filtering out false and low priority activations. The work completed for this integration satisfies both objectives in a seamless and effective way.”