Brivo Bought Out by Drako for $50 Million

JH
John Honovich
•Published Jun 11, 2015 04:00 AM

One man is betting $50 million on hosted access control.

Dean Drako [link no longer available], who has been investing millions into building a cloud video startup, Eagle Eye, is now doubling down his commitment to the physical security industry.

In this note, we share details from an interview with Drako and Brivo's CEO about how Drako bought Brivo and what this means for the future of both Brivo and Eagle Eye.

Key ********* *******

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***** ***** *** ********* ******** *** cloud **********, *****'* **** ****** ***** shows **** *** ********** ********** ***** hold *** ******* ****, ********** ** owner.

Comments (9)
Avatar
Jonathan Lawry
•Jun 11, 2015
Trecerdo, LLC

I would be curious to see what now becomes of Brivo Labs. This is their unit that does "cool" stuff like Google Glass integration, Apple's iBeacon for access, and overall social media integration.

This has always struck me as more of an expensive recruitment and PR effort, to make Brivo an attractive place to work for 20-something DC-area techies who didn't move to Silicon Valley, than a serious investment in salable product. Has any Brivo Labs creation seen actual deployment?

I would think that a Bell Labs/Skunkworks group would be a bit of a money pit for a small company, and I would not be surpised if Drako now shuts it down or scales it back.

(4)
JS
John Szczygiel
•Jun 11, 2015

[Mod note: Poster is COO of Brivo]

Hi John,

Here is the answer to your question...Brivo Labs will continue to exist from a thought leadership perspective. Productization of some of the innovations developed in Brivo Labs are already being incorporated into Brivo Inc.

(1)
JH
John Honovich
•Jun 12, 2015
IPVM
In reply to John Szczygiel

John S,

Can you elaborate on which Brivo Lab projects have been incorporated into Brivo? Is that Randivoo or? Is the IDBox a concept or shipping product or?

(1)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Jun 12, 2015

"Access control acquisitions are relatively uncommon."

Why is that? It seems like a natural add-on to a manufacturer's portfolio. Is there just not enough margin to make it attractive? Are all of the companies that are acquisition worthy already scooped up? I don't do enough card access to be well-informed on this.

JH
John Honovich
•Jun 12, 2015
IPVM
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1

One basic factor is that there are simply less access control manufacturers. Think about all the companies offering recorders / VMS software. Contrast that to those who provide access control controllers / software. Far less of the latter.

Certainly that is related to the fact that there is a lot more video / (security) cameras than (electronic) access / doors (e.g., Which Market Is Bigger? Access Control Or Video Surveillance?).

Avatar
Jonathan Lawry
•Jun 12, 2015
Trecerdo, LLC
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1

I will add on to John's comments by saying that a considerable number of access control manuafacturers are closely held, private companies. I would love to say a majority are, but I don't have hard data to support this; just anecodotal data and my own experiences in access companies' changes of ownership.

This being the case, I believe access control acquisitions are under-reported. Unless there is a clear publicity benefit to either the buyer or the seller, which there often is not, few shout the news from the rooftops.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
•Jun 12, 2015

I have to ask: What about Brivo labs makes it a thought leader? Outside of Brivo employees, I have never heard anybody refer to Brivo Labs as a "thought leader".

If anybody not affiliated with Brivo has a solid argument to the contrary I'm all ears.

(3)
JH
John Honovich
•Jun 12, 2015
IPVM
In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #2

Thought leader stuff is what guys like Steve Van Till dream of being or at least being thought of.

Thought leader or not, the real question is what this actually delivers in reality - actual product that makes Brivo more attractive and valuable to customers. I do not know enough about what Brivo labs does but I'd be curious to hear how this is differentiating them from other access control companies on real features.

(1)
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
•Jun 12, 2015
In reply to John Honovich

I'd be curious to hear how this is differentiating them from other access control cocmpanies on real features

That makes 2 of us.