Not Much Escapes Its Digital Eye
Today’s Indianapolis Star newspaper has a feature story on Exacq Technologies in the business section. The reporter, James Harper, did a good job in tying together the growth of the video surveillance industry with the shift to IP cameras. A special thanks to Skip Sampson of Koorsen and Rich Best of Vigilcorp for their nice comments about us.
Not much escapes its digital eye
Exacq Technologies’ adaptable software advances surveillance
By James Harper, Star correspondent
Video surveillance is adapting to the needs and demands of an increasingly sophisticated clientele.
A company on Indianapolis’ Northeastside, led by a handful of forward-thinking colleagues, is at the forefront of the industry’s transition into the digital age.
Exacq Technologies, founded in 2002 by co-workers from another local surveillance company, offers cutting-edge software to run Internet Protocol, also called network cameras, in demand for their sharper images, broader range of capabilities and cost-effectiveness.
"Exacq is a real gem among industry software developers," said Skip Sampson, vice president and head of the security division at Indianapolis-based Koorsen Industries. "Their (exacqVision) technology is first-class, making it easier to collect, store and review video content or track it live."-
The exacqVision software, created in 2006, has spurred soaring sales for Exacq Technologies, which have risen 262 percent over the past two years. It’s also a key reason Exacq plans to increase staffing from 16 full-time workers to at least 26 by the end of this year, said Roger Shuman, the company’s marketing manager.
Exacq’s products are in demand at vulnerable high-traffic locations. Clients range from Plainfield’s aquatics center to customers such as the State Bank of Texas, Diamond Pet Centers of Missouri and Canberra International Airport in Australia.
As the security industry changes over from older analog cameras to newer digitally based network cameras, Exacq is poised to profit, since its software can work with multiple hardware platforms, said Dave Underwood, company president.
"There are probably millions of analog security cameras currently installed, but the industry is now moving toward IP systems," Underwood said. "We offer software that allows users to upgrade systematically, transitioning toward the newer technologies at their own pace, thus enabling them to better control cost."
A recent analysis by San Antonio, Texas-based Frost & Sullivan of the video surveillance software market found that higher demand for security spurred $139.8 million in sales in 2006. Frost & Sullivan estimated those revenues will increase nearly sixfold to $826 million by 2013.
IP cameras basically are miniature computers with lenses. They provide incredible detail along with pan, tilt and zoom capability. Their small size also enables easy installation even when space is limited.
Executives from locally based Koorsen and VigilCorp can attest to the remarkable growth from the move to IP networks. As two of Exacq’s largest customers, they are among its stronger supporters.
Koorsen is a family-owned business established here in 1946. According to Sampson, fire protection and security services are the fastest-growing segments of a company that employs more than 600 people in Indiana and parts of the Southeast.
Richard Best, owner of VigilCorp, which installs access-control and video-surveillance systems statewide, is optimistic about the future growth of his company, too.
"We are positioning ourselves to go national as the demand for security services expands," said Best, grandson of the founder of Best Lock Co. "Exacq offers a great product, and we use it for customers who require a cutting-edge installation."
As to Exacq’s future, Underwood is optimistic the company will double its sales over each of the next five years. He projects an annual revenue base "somewhere north of $30 million annually" by 2013.
Exacq Techologies’ genesis dates to AT&T’s Bell Labs in the mid-1980s. A few co-workers, led by Jeff Walters, formed a division within the company called the EPICenter, to focus on video-graphics hardware. In 1988 it became a separate company called Truevision, where Walters was joined by Underwood, Tom Buckley, Jim McMillion and others.
In 1994, Walters, Underwood and Buckley formed Integral Technologies, based in Indianapolis, which created the Xpress image capture boards that helped launch the digital video surveillance industry. Integral since has been sold several times.
And in 2002, Dan Rittman joined Walters, Underwood, McMillion and Buckley to form Exacq Technologies.
One reason for Exacq’s success, said Rittman, now the company’s director of engineering and chief designer of the exacqVision software, "is that we had the opportunity to make all our first-time mistakes with predecessor companies."
Underwood echoes Rittman’s comments, adding that "most of us here have gone through the exercise of founding and nurturing an entrepreneurial startup, so there are few challenges that we can’t anticipate."
Add comment April 15th, 2008