M2M Services, a provider of universal alarm panel communicators, connectivity and interactive services announced in a joint press release with smart security and Internet of Things (IoT) provider Alula that the companies have merged.
According to the press release, the new organization will operate under the name M2M Services and leverage the strengths of both companies; led by Peter Tzvetkov, CEO of M2M Services, and Dave Mayne, president of Alula, who will now lead North America operations and oversee global sales and marketing. The company will have U.S. headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., and global headquarters in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Kirk MacDowell, president and CEO of MacGuard Security Advisors, sees this move as one that will benefit both companies as well as the security industry as a whole.
“Alula and M2M Services have different offerings which once combined, could yield significant results for both, under one umbrella.”
MacDowell continued, “Over the years, Alula has had a bit of an identity crisis. Are they a manufacturer of wireless sensors, Connect Plus control panel, or a platform provider? The answer is yes to all three as well as an OEM to some of their competitors, which is not unusual in the manufacturing arena."
Alula was established in 2017 with the merger of IPDatatel and Resolution Products. Resolution was known for developing wireless products, wireless translators used by dealers when taking over another manufactured system, and a complete line of sensors. IPDatatel was founded as a communication path, utilizing a broadband connection.
“Conventional thinking was that if you combined an Alula intrusion product and platform, dealers would use both,” shared MacDowell. “Many dealers continued to use resolution products, but found it challenging to come to grips with the connected solution offered by Alula."
Another issue, he said, is that Alula did not offer a hard-wired/wireless panel solution, thus making it difficult for dealers to standardize on the Alula combined solution.
“Some dealers did make the jump and were impressed with the synergy between the Connect Plus product and the back end.” MacDowell expressed, “However, others were slower to adopt, which was frustrating for Alula.”
M2M Services is a technology company that provides low-cost universal communicators that work on many manufacturers control panels, are easy to install, and dealers/integrators like the simplicity, said MacDowell.
“The company is based in Bulgaria, where available engineering resources are more dominant than in the U.S. today." MacDowell went on to say that M2M has gained ground in the North American market over the past few years and has done a good job of working with central stations in partnership opportunities with dealers.
“Taking the best from Alula, combining the engineering resources from M2M as well as M2M’s worldwide distribution could be a win-win for both companies."
It’s all about continued dealer/integrator acceptance. The acceptance begins with leadership and the best chance for success is that the Americas business unit should be led by the U.S.-based team that understands the market and is respected by the dealer community,” stated MacDowell.
Read more about the merger on Security Sales & Integration, "M2M Services and Alula Join Forces to Redefine the Future of Smart Security"