Pro-Vision Distribution Ltd - Experts & Thought Leaders

EET Europarts is pleased to announce the acquisition of a distributor of CCTV and access control equipment in the UK, Pro-Vision Distribution Ltd. The company is an authorised distributor for over 60 brands from manufacturers that are highly respected throughout the industry. “I am very excited to announce the acquisition of Pro-Vision, the company has an excellent reputation in the CCTV and security market place with vendors such as Bosch, Pelco, Panasonic, Idis and Hanwha Samsung” said Simon Smith, Managing Director at EET Europarts in the UK, and continues; “This acquisition brings a very strong sales and support team, giving the customers the specialist knowledge and support needed in order to supply them the correct solution." "The acquisition of Pro-Vision will also strengthen the product offering and sales expertise to existing EET customers of CCTV and Security products. Pro-Vision customers will also now have a much broader range of products in both CCTV and Security and in all our other product categories.”We have endeavoured to grow the business with a level of service that complemented the world-class manufacturers we represent" Business growth Pro-Vision has a well-earned reputation for getting things right, on time, every time – in terms of product knowledge, delivery and support. With the acquisition, EET Europarts will take over a team of over 20 dedicated and experienced employees from Pro-Vision. Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Ford, Managing Director at Pro-Vision said: “Since 2005 when Brian Munday and I started the company, we have endeavoured to grow the business in a professional manner with a level of service that complemented the world-class manufacturers we represent." Enhanced product portfolio "We look forward to bringing to EET Europarts our market knowledge, experience and sales skills. We will, of course, keep the same partnership relationships with our suppliers and I feel confident that jointly, we are ready to gain significant market share going forward as an integral part of an ambitious and successful company.” “With the acquisition of Pro-Vision we strengthen our position within the Surveillance & Security area significantly. We will now be able to provide our customers with an even better product portfolio and achieve our ambition of being the preferred distribution partner in Europe,” says Bo Ørbjerg, Business Line Director, Surveillance & Security at EET Group.

Shrewsbury Town Football Club have defied the odds at the start of the 2017-18 football campaign by being well and truly amongst the pace setters with a quarter of the season already gone. No doubt there many reasons for the turnaround in fortunes from what was a dramatic end to last season with the Town finishing near the bottom to being on the crest of a wave this season. One of them could be down to the complete refurbishment of the Club’s Sundorne training facility on the outskirts of the town. The Football Club have invested heavily in ensuring that the quality of the training pitches is equal to the match day playing surface at the Montgomery Waters Meadow stadium. The players, coaching and fitness staff are also benefiting from the computer-based analysing equipment and on-site catering facilities within the complex. Security system installation Needless to say the new training complex required a security system to protect the Club’s investment. One level of security was to install a CCTV system to monitor the site. Shrewsbury Town’s chief executive Brian Caldwell approached one of the Club’s main sponsors Pro-Vision Distribution for assistance. Being a national distributor of CCTV, Access Control and Public Address equipment, Pro-Vision were ideally placed to advise the Club. Following a site visit from local installation company K.J Electronics Systems Ltd, who specialise in CCTV, perimeter protection and intruder alarms the new surveillance equipment was installed. Based on the Samsung Wisenet brand, the agreed specification included 4 x vandal-resistant, true day/night dome cameras, a high definition external bullet camera and a pan/tilt/zoom camera with all recorded data stored on a network video recorder. New training facility secured The true day/night specification ensures that all cameras are able to view images 24/7 irrespective of the amount of natural daylight present and the recorder can accommodate any additional cameras that may be required in due course. Any alarm activation event is sent to a central monitoring station via a secured connection. The Town’s latest asset – their new training facility - now has awarding-winning security equipment to protect the Club’s investment.

Integrated security manufacturer TDSi has expanded its distribution partnerships to reach new and growing vertical sector markets. The recent addition of Anixter grows the number of associated distribution partnerships to six, which also include Norbain, ADI, Pro-Vision, Advanced Access and Midwich. TDSi’s Distribution Channel Manager, Andy Cross, who joined the company late last year with a remit to enhance and grow these partnerships commented, “Although some customers may be surprised by how many different suppliers provide our products, we only sell indirectly, so TDSi completely relies upon its channel partnerships to grow our market share and drive our success. This is even more evident as physical security systems become further integrated with all other parts of the IT and business systems networks.” Specialising in different vertical markets Each one of TDSi distribution partners specialises in specific business systems or technology and has its own geographical outreach, across many different vertical market sectors. Andy added, “It would be impossible for TDSi alone to reach this many different customers, let alone offer the infrastructure to supply the many types of end user that benefit from using our systems.” This demand for fully integrated IT and business systems has seen the traditionally narrow market for physical security systems broaden to a much wider audience in recent years. It is rare for businesses to now view security systems in isolation from other technology purchases, so it is important that suppliers address these market needs. Andy concluded, “Naturally integrated security systems such as access control, CCTV and intruder alarms combine well to offer powerful and complete protection solutions. At the same time, increasingly this technology is becoming closely associated with other IT and business systems purchases. Buyers are looking to improve their ROI by ensuring all their purchases can be sourced together, with the assurance they can be fully integrated easily.”

I speculated earlier about an anticipated spike in demand for body worn cameras in response to the highly publicised shooting incident in Ferguson, Mo., last August. An analysis of a database of procurement activity and spending plans from more than 80,000 government entities in the United States confirms the continuing impact the shooting is having on the demand for body worn cameras. Reflecting what might be called the “Ferguson effect,” government data firm Onvia reports there were almost six times as many purchase orders issued for body worn cameras and related services in 2014 compared to 2013 – 3,400 purchase orders in 2014 compared to only 533 the year before. Three manufacturers – Taser International, Digital Ally and VIEVU Inc. – are dominating the market, while vendors like Pro-Vision Video, Wolfcom and Safety Vision are also making strides. There are many examples of local governments and police departments embracing body worn cameras. From Livermore and Pasadena, Calif., to Cleveland, Ohio, to Milton, Ga., and hundreds of other localities, local governments are buying body worn cameras to equip their police forces. Body worn cameras are still in their early days, relatively speaking, and many local governments have concerns about the cameras’ effectiveness, privacy implications, poor battery life, video storage and even whether officers will remember to turn them own. Onvia says agencies address such concerns in their requests for proposals (RFPs), and many expect samples and/or demonstrations of the body worn cameras during the bidding process. “When working properly, wearing cameras is associated with a dramatic reduction in use of force and complaints against officers,” Kelsey Voss, Onvia senior marketing manager, writes in a blog. “The increasing importance to have full transparency of police interactions with citizens aims to mitigate the enormous problem of questionable accountability on both sides,” Voss adds. In December, President Obama proposed allocation of more than $75 million in federal funds for body worn cameras. Voss says the first full scientific study conducted by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology concluded that body worn cameras decrease police use of force. They are also reported to reduce false accusations and reduce litigation costs. It’s a growing opportunity that seems likely to attract the attention of the camera manufacturers that already supply equipment to our market. Also, body worn cameras represent a fast-growing new source of video and a concomitant challenge to manage that video optimally in the context of an integrated system useful for investigations. The impact of the “Ferguson effect” on our market is just getting started.