The Exacq / Tyco Solution Is Here

By John Honovich, Published Feb 16, 2015, 12:00am EST (Info+)

And there it is folks.

Exacq is in the SOLUTION business, 20 months from independent VMS to Tyco package.

In this note, we examine the 'solution', the transition and how it impacts Exacq, Exacq dealers and competitors to Tyco / Exacq.

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Comments (28)

Konstantin Avramenko

02/16/15 02:29pm

I think that all partners who were concerned about independence of Exacq have already switched to hm... other VMSs. Thus it has not really affect on the current partners and I assume that they can/will benefit from the promos on it.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 02/16/15 02:32pm

No, from what we've seen, there's a large group of Exacq partners who are somewhat concerned but reluctant to switch unless they see more tangible evidence of things going downhill. To that end, there are definitely more who will switch, especially as the transition becomes clearer and more negative to their interests.

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Konstantin Avramenko

In reply to John Honovich | 02/16/15 03:52pm

What are real risks for these slightly concerned partners? Exacq has good product and I doubt that they will stop support 3d party cameras let say tomorrow. Lack of innovations? But it (because of crisis, acquisition, pure R&D and so on) can happen with any company on the market despite of the status (independent or not). Sure it is more likely for such kind of cases but for now it is not so obvious.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 02/16/15 04:03pm

Lack of innovation is far more likely after an acquisition by a conglomerate. That's pretty standard as the acquirer seeks to maximize free cash flow to justify / profit from the acquisition.

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Konstantin Avramenko

In reply to John Honovich | 02/16/15 04:27pm

Then why do SIs continue use it? 20 months more than enough to make a transition. There are other VMSs on the market.

If I am not satisfied with a product or a supplier I switch to other, that's it. I do not see an issue here. It is not something huge like were mainframes that lasts decades after deployment.

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #1

In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 02/16/15 04:33pm

I guess it costs too much to make the switch, trainings and etc. So far SIs did not see any tangible evidence showing it is the case. Thus, they stall and wait.

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Konstantin Avramenko

In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #1 | 02/16/15 04:55pm

The cost of switching new customers to another product is not so huge and then it will be a question of time to make a full transition.
But it makes sense only if SI is really concerned with the product/vendor.
IMHO, the appearance of a bundle with some inhouse brand is not a significant sign of bad future for a company. Bad signs for the software company are a lack of major updates, an outdated interface, delays in replies to support requests, decrease in R&D spendings/staff etc.

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #1

In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 02/16/15 05:09pm

I believe the transition cost really depends on the size of the company and the way they operate.

Yes, I agree that lack of commitement from the company (R&D spending, innovations and etc..) would cause big issues.

We'll see how these aqusitions would impact the surveillance market...

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Mark Jones

In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 03/23/15 12:16pm

"IMHO, the appearance of a bundle with some inhouse brand is not a significant sign of bad future for a company."

No intelligent business owner is going to promote their product, put in the effort to market the product only to have a Tyco company swoop in at the last moment and steal the bid out from under them. It has happened all too often. Ask the end users today how they feel about it. Ask them if they are the least bit uncomfortable.

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Konstantin Avramenko

In reply to Mark Jones | 03/23/15 09:18pm

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. There are a lot of options on the market.

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Mark Jones

In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #1 | 03/23/15 12:11pm

I wonder how they feel about it today?

IPVM Note: Fired: All But One Exacq Rep Firm Now Out

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Konstantin Avramenko | 02/16/15 05:21pm

Because only in the last few months has there been major changes: reps being droped, cross selling becoming prominent, etc. That materially changes the relationship / positioning of Exacq dealers.

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Undisclosed #2

02/17/15 07:46am

Waiving of the Exacq camera licence fee when using certain Illustra camera models is definitely a potential reason to consider AD cameras. However we want to see how they shape up quality-wise against other lower priced brands such as Dahua IP cameras.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 02/17/15 08:27am

B, we are now going to test Illustra cameras. Expect a report to be published next month.

Btw, it is Tyco's position that waiving Exacq license fees when buying Illustra is not a standard offering / discount provided.

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Undisclosed #2

In reply to John Honovich | 02/17/15 08:41am

Great. That would be fantastic re that test.

Would that include the Illustra PTZ as well?

We're doing a test in two days from now which hopefully will include Illustra, Dahua and Sony models side by side in day and night.

We have been offered that waive of Exacq fees on certain Illustra models. Guess, we're lucky.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 02/17/15 08:45am

Or Tyco's not telling me the truth :)

We are planning to test 2 fixed cameras - one high-end, one entry level. We generally don't test PTZs though we are considering to test a few more later this year.

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Undisclosed #2

In reply to John Honovich | 02/17/15 08:50am

Right.

Great.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 02/17/15 08:53am

Btw, what I am hearing is that despite the fact that such license waivers are not standard, there appears to be wide discretion to give certain projects or dealers the discount / waiver. This lets them take the position that it is not standard while allowing to give the discounts whenever they need / want to do so.

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Undisclosed #2

In reply to John Honovich | 02/17/15 08:57am

Kind of makes you feel wanted at the receiving end.

Great strategy. And bartering is fun.

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John Honovich

IPVM | 02/17/15 09:38am

One interesting competitive aspect to track is how this impacts Arecont. Given that Exacq and Arecont shared reps in many regions for many years, cross selling the two offerings were common.

Now, if Exacq/Tyco is pushing their own cameras, it creates a challenge for Arecont, especially if Exacq/Tyco are willing to give away VMS licenses while Arecont has to use a paid 3rd party ones (whether it is Exacq or Milestone, etc.).

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Barry Shaw

In reply to John Honovich | 02/18/15 08:55pm

Maybe Tyco will buy Arecont next?

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Barry Shaw | 02/18/15 09:18pm

Well, Arecont investors have gotten their payday already, so I suspect there not super motivated to sell, unless their sales go down and they have problems servicing their debt. It would be ironic if Tyco's cross selling of Illustra contributed to that.

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #3

02/18/15 02:26pm

Is the Illustra a Tyco built camera? I thought I remembered hearing it was OEM

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #4

02/18/15 11:25pm

Cameras are more and more a commodity. It's the "brain" behind the camera that's evolving. This is economic activity, so offering incentives to buy the ones sold with Exacq is no great sin.

Bob Hope said of the space program that "our German Scientists are better than their German Scientists!" It will soon be a competition with Chinese made cameras. It's the software stupid - to paraphrase a Bill Clinton campaign slogan.

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Undisclosed Integrator #5

03/02/15 04:01pm

We were told that depending on the camera used you would get the licenses free or 1/2 off. This is not part of a project or anything but just regular buisness.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #5 | 03/02/15 04:04pm

Thanks for the feedback. It appears that Tyco / Exacq are saying different things to different people, but most commonly that license discounts or giveaways are very real.

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Undisclosed End User #6

03/10/15 03:47am

And there are also the Victor "VMS" products under the ADT Umbrella

American Dynamics Video Management Systems

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John Williams

03/24/15 04:24am

I keep looking at the upgrade path of Exacq and it looks as good and inexorable as ever.

Yes they have cameras now as do many competitors.

Rumors of discounts - a reach and... there are home teams in this world right!

John - What I don't find is a question asked without spinning it in one direction hard, rather then your normal objectivity - which is what I value most.

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