News & Awards

Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT), along with Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), BDO, and Research Innovation Commercialization Centre (RICC), hosted a Small Business Week luncheon event, focusing on informing and inspiring small-to-medium sized businesses to become more competitive and successful through innovation. John Switzer (Chair of RIC Centre) facilitated the panel, with questions focused on shared experiences and success stories around innovation. The luncheon, "Competitiveness Starts With Innovative Entrepreneurs," was held at International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Guests enjoyed a lunch and chance to network before listening to keynote speaker, Jean-René Halde, BDC President & CEO, and a business panel discussion between Robert Cherun (UCIT Online Security), Christopher Johnson (BDO Solutions), and Larry Cox, (Polaris Transportation).

Presented annually, MBOT Business Awards of Excellence honour the efforts and accomplishments of Mississauga businesses, organizations and business people that have exemplified outstanding leadership, success and contributions to the economic and social well-being of Mississauga. Through their innovate solutions and ideas, UCIT Online Security has gained a nomination for the 2011 Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) Technology and Innovation Award.

We are proud to report that UCIT Online Security, a leader in live security-video monitoring, is the 19th fastest-growing canadian company in 2011, according to the PROFIT magazine prestigious PROFIT200 list. Despite a sluggish economy, the businesses profiled in the pages of PROFIT’s Summer 2011 issue have generated five-year revenue growth averaging an extraordinary 1,464%. "The PROFIT 200 demonstrate that innovative small and medium-sized businesses operate all across the country," says Ian Portsmouth, editor-in-chief of PROFIT Magazine. "No matter where they are from, they all have valuable lessons to share on how to drive growth in today’s challenging economy."

The condominium industry is a major source of clientele, says Sommer. Much of the time, particularly on night shifts, guards don’t have a lot to do. Keeping an eye on the building can be accomplished with strategically placed cameras.

Sidney Sommer saw the importance of IP years before most people in the security industry. The ideal customer for Sommer is anyone who is spending money on security guards. Monitored cameras can replace guards in certain situations, he says. "With things going from analogue to digital, it made it possible to monitor cameras remotely. It just came from the idea where you’ve got a guard inside a building watching tons of cameras. Why not do it over the Internet in a single building watching multiple sites?" Another key client for Sommer is the construction industry. The rise in copper theft has caused the industry to take a closer look at its security options, and Sommer’s monitored solution has proven to be a good fit. UCIT frequently works with police and supplies footage that can be used as evidence. Sommer says that UCIT technology has resulted in two arrests a week. "We could literally have a TV show with all the footage we have."

Video plays a guarding role at isolated, remote sites where sometimes officers may conduct a visit once a week or never patrol because of the distant location. Images now can more

easily move right into the hands of officers today. G4S’s Levine says he sees a lot of investment going toward video. Now, video analytics can move away from passive recording to actionable video. Walter Griesseier of American Iron & Metal, one of North America’s largest scrap metal operations, constantly fights theft and vandalism at isolated, remote sites, including facilities in northern Quebec, Canada. "Beyond guards, at some sites, we have security video with remote monitoring from UCIT Online Security which acts as an officer to capture license plate information and with truckers assigned their own passwords,’ says Griesseier. "For businesses which invest in video but do not have the critical mass to spend for their own command and control center, a remote command and control center is a smart option," he says.

Published in the June issue of PROFIT and online at PROFIT100.com, the PROFIT 100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement.

Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies entered the recession with two things hugely in their favour: well-differentiated products and services that customers want in good times and bad, and the ability to develop and execute effective management tactics and strategies. UCIT Online Security, the company whose security solution has been approved by most major insurance companies as a valid replacement for a security guard has made the list in the 22nd annual PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by PROFIT Magazine. Sidney Sommer, owner and managing director of the company is not worried about the deepening economic crisis because his firm — UCIT Online Security — helps companies reduce security costs. "It is a little unique," he said. "We are able to watch sites from our monitoring centre instead of putting a guard out on a construction site."

From the viewpoint of security, facility and building management, there are a variety of ways to control access of visitors and contractors. Kindle Management’s Semlyen was looking for spit-and-polish for tenant-residents at two smaller condos in Toronto. "Each has different location challenges and we could not afford a 24-hour concierge for security and services," she comments.

With cameras in and around the condo, an off-site monitoring center can patrol the area but also offer many levels of virtual concierge services. " The remotely monitored camera from Axis Communications sees a courier, who gets buzzed in and is instructed to place a parcel in, say, slot number one while a resident is alerted to the delivery," says Semlyen, who uses technology from UCIT Online Security. Outdoor cameras can control visitor parking spaces while also providing a strong level of security. There is almost no end to the types of services this approach can supply, according to Semlyen. "It really boils down to a business decision as to where we go with it. A future step may be to include remote monitoring into building automation and maintenance."