Dahua Technology – one of the word’s biggest video technology companies – has entered into a six-figure sponsorship deal with Celtic FC, supplying the club with state of the art video-based technology and equipment.

Under the sponsorship deal, Dahua is supplying video walls for locations such as the Celtic Store and Media Centre at Celtic Park, high-tech quad-rotor drones to help with player training and development, and electronic whiteboards to be used for staff training, as well as meetings and presentations for staff and visitors.

As part of the new partnership, Dahua will be appearing across a range of Club assets, on LED pitch-side banners, and on the club’s website and match programmes. The deal represents the first ever major sponsorship by Dahua Technology in the UK and Ireland.

“We are thrilled about our sponsorship of Celtic FC,” said Michael Lawrence, Marketing Director at Dahua Technology UK & Ireland. “As well as the highly visible aspects of the sponsorship, this deal represents a real partnership between Celtic FC and Dahua, and is an example of our engagement with communities across the UK and Ireland.”

Commenting on the deal, Cheng Zeng, Business Development Manager for China and Asia at Celtic FC said: “We are delighted to launch this partnership today with Dahua Technology. Their expertise and high quality technology will enhance both fan experience in our stores and business operations as a whole. We hope to work with Dahua long into the future.”

As well as the equipment supplied to Celtic FC, Dahua Technology manufactures a range of innovative and technically advanced video equipment. These include TiOC, a three-in-one camera that integrates 24/7 full-colour monitoring, active deterrence and Artificial Intelligence into one smart unit; WizSense, a series of products and solutions that utilise Artificial Intelligence and deep learning algorithms; and its Starlight range of low-light video technology.

Dahua Technology is a global manufacturer of end to end system solutions encompassing cameras, control equipment, recording, video walls and accessories. It is one of the world’s biggest video technology companies, creating advanced solutions for transportation, education, safe city, retail and commercial markets worldwide.

Motorola Solutions, Inc. has acquired Callyo, a cloud-based mobile applications provider for law enforcement. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Callyo is a software as a service company (SaaS) serving thousands of public safety customers across North America. Its portfolio includes two application suites – 10-21, which simplifies communication between first responders and citizens, and Callyo, which provides investigative tools that improve digital evidence collection.

This acquisition adds to Motorola Solutions’ existing command centre software suite critical mobile technology capabilities that enable information to flow seamlessly from the field to the command centre.

“First responders are increasingly looking to mobile applications to boost productivity and enhance community relations,” said Andrew Sinclair, senior vice president and general manager, Software Enterprise, Motorola Solutions. “With Callyo’s technology, agencies can improve collaboration and enhance the evidence collection process to build stronger cases more efficiently, ultimately enabling them to better serve and keep communities safe.”

“With Motorola Solutions, we have the opportunity to accelerate our product innovation, reach and commitment to service,” said Chris Bennett, founder and chief product officer, Callyo. “We’re excited to work together to deliver the next generation of mobile application capabilities that simplify and enhance communication between first responders and the communities they serve.”

According to the latest research report on the digital signature sector from Marketsandmarkets, this market is predicted to grow from USD 2.8 billion in 2020 to USD 14.1 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 31.0% during the forecast period. Government initiatives and transition towards digitalisation are suggested as the drivers for this impressive overall market growth.

Digital signature solution providers offer software to help organisations easily create digital signatures that comply with industry standards and offer support for working with accredited certified authorities. The software providers in the market are focusing on delivering encryption software, PKI solutions, email encryption solutions, and APIs to help end users securely sign documents. Software solutions, as compared to hardware solutions, are growing at a faster rate and contributing maximum in terms of market size in the digital signature market.

The Banking and Financial Services vertical is witnessing digital transformation at every level with rapidly changing customer demands and represents the highest CAGR according to the researchers. The use of online services, such as internet banking, mobile banking, and stock trading has soared. The BFSI vertical is focusing on understanding digital consumer behaviour, preferences, and choices through customer-centric business applications. Digital signatures help BFSI firms in simplifying complex business processes by offering enhanced security and improved turnaround time for on boarding customers.

In terms of geography it is North America that shows the highest take-up in this sector, according to the analysts this is down to the presence of several prominent market players delivering digital signature solutions to all end users in the region. The US and Canada both have strong economic conditions and are expected to be major contributors to the growth of the digital signature market. The geographical presence, significant Research and Development (R&D) activities, partnerships, and acquisitions and mergers are the major factors for the deployment of digital signature and services.

Key and innovative vendors in the digital signature marketplace and named in the report by Marketsandmarkets, include Adobe, Onespan, Thales, Docusign, Idemia, Ascertia, Zoho, Globalsign, Entrust Datacard, Digicert, and Identrust.

G4S is currently urging its shareholders to dismiss and ignore offer attempts from privately owned Canadian security company, Gardaworld. The latest offer of 190 pence per share, was estimated to be valued by Reuters at 2.95 billion pounds and was unanimously rejected by the board of G4S as significantly undervaluing the company.

Established in 1995, and based in Montreal Canada, Gardaworld is the largest privately owned security services company in the world. The company offers security solutions and professionals to protect people, assets and reputation globally. Gardaworld employs around 102,000 trained and dedicated professionals serving clients in North America, Africa and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies and governments and it has also served in the UK for around 15 years.

According to reports Gardaworld has made various attempts to engage with G4S over the last three months, but without success, and now is urging G4S shareholders to take note of this latest offer of 190 pence per share.

Reuters reports that G4S recently revealed it had already declined two previous offers in June for 145 pence per share and 153 pence per share each.

The Board at G4S believes that the timing of the proposals is highly opportunistic, coming as it does at a time of severe turbulence in global financial markets.

Earlier this year, G4S sold the majority of its conventional cash businesses for 727 million pounds to The Brinks Company, and the board believes this move greatly enhances the group’s strategic, commercial and operational focus and strengthens further its financial position. It says that the company is increasingly well placed to deliver growth, profitability and substantial free cash flow and that the group’s resilient performance in the first half of 2020 provides confidence in the strategy and its execution.

Stephan Crétier, Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Gardaworld, acknowledges that G4S is an important UK employer and a significant provider to both the public and private sectors, but said that he believes G4S “needs an owner not a manager.”

The latest report from Marketsandmarkets on the access control market includes the suggested impact of COVID-19 on the sector, including global forecasts to 2025 projecting a growth from USD 8.6 billion in 2020 to USD 12.8 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8.2%. Increasing deployment of wireless security systems and rising adoption of IoT-based security systems with cloud computing platforms are the key factor that is driving the growth of the access control market according to the researchers.

Biometric readers are expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Biometric technologies are used to measure different physiological parameters for identification and authentication purposes in access control systems. The market for biometric reader-based access control systems has been further categorised into fingerprint recognition, palm recognition, iris recognition, face recognition, and voice recognition. Biometrics is one of the fastest-growing technologies used to secure perimeters. This technology enables identifying a person’s physical characteristics to provide controlled physical access to infrastructure. This technology is being increasingly used in government facilities, manufacturing units, power stations, defence establishments, and enterprises.

The analysts find that the commercial vertical is the largest end user of access control systems, including facilities such as enterprises and data centres; BFSI; retail stores and malls; and entertainment areas. Manned security for all physical locations is difficult and expensive. The demand for access control systems is increasing since they reduce the need for manned security to a greater extent, thereby reducing security expenditure. These factors are encouraging commercial facilities to adopt access control systems to protect people and properties.

Geographically North America is the largest market, as it is considered by the researchers to be more advanced than in other regions in terms of the implementation of access control systems. Companies in the US, Canada, and Mexico are making efforts to enhance their expertise and develop innovative access control systems and services. This provides them with greater competitive advantage to increase their share in the region’s access control market. The growing number of cyber and malware attacks in the region has compelled several governments and security agencies to enhance security features in their transactions through the deployment of RFID and biometric technologies, which is further contributing to the overall growth of the access control market.

Major companies involved in the development and supply of access control and mentioned in this latest report include, Dormakaba, Ass Abloy, Johnson Controls, Allegion, Honeywell, Identiv, Suprema, Thales, Bosch, NEC and Idemia.

According to Omdia (Informa)’s latest access control report, Genetec Inc., a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, is the fastest growing access control software provider in the world. The report showed Genetec rising to 4th position globally (up from 6th and 8th positions in 2018 and 2017 respectively) with a growth rate of nearly 5 times the pace of the market.

“Genetec was the fastest-growing software provider in the Americas in 2019, increasing by over 1 percentage point to reach over a 9% share and maintaining its 3rd place ranking in this region. The company’s rise over the past several years has been emblematic of a broader trend favouring vendors that actively sell first-party access control and video surveillance solutions. The Synergis access control software from Genetec readily supports integrations with VMS software and video analytics,” said Bryan Montany, Physical Security Analyst at Omdia.

Enterprise, government, education, and public safety organisations are moving away from proprietary solutions in favour of secure access control solutions that are part of a unified physical security platform. This allows them to make clear, timely decisions based on a richer understanding of their security and operational environment. Delivering on this requirement has resulted in Genetec not only outpacing market growth for access control, but also continuing to be recognised as the global leader in video surveillance software according to another recent Omdia research report.

“While much of the industry has been concerned with traditional access control needs, Genetec has taken a radically different approach that looks beyond the door,” said Léon Langlais, Vice President, Product Engineering at Genetec. “As the market moves away from legacy technology, enterprise customers want to invest in a modern, open-architecture access control solution that enables their organisations to not only strengthen their security, but also extract actionable intelligence to improve operations.”

Genetec offers an open platform solution that supports a wide range of 3rd party access control devices. The company’s flagship access control system, Security Center Synergis, enables customers to leverage existing network and security equipment investments, while also offering flexible deployment options based on the latest in information technology to ensure enterprises have flexibility while optimising their spend.

Importantly, the company has developed access control solutions that go beyond the traditional confines of facilities and doors to enable customers to extend the functionality of the access control system. These innovations include physical identity management (Genetec Clear ID), access control for unmanned or remote infrastructure, and the ability to leverage access control intelligence to improve daily operations and facilities management.

Pyronix is releasing its latest security peripheral, the MCNano-WE wireless magnetic contact.

The Nano-sized contact has been designed to deliver exceptional long-life security performance that’s designed to disappear with out-of-sight installation.

“We’re really pleased to introduce such a convenient and flexible solution, that users may even forget is there,” Laurence Kenny, Pyronix Marketing Manager, said.

Fitting inside the frame of a UPVC door, the MC Nano-WE is a simple-to-fit and highly convenient solution for any residential or small-commercial installation.

Engineered for satisfying fitting, the MC Nano-WE provides a compact and stylish contact with multiple security use cases.

“The contact is designed for multiple purposes, whether securing entrances and exits, or to generate a voice push notification to the user via the app should the medicine cupboard or a specific area be accessed,” Laurence said.

He continues: “We’re delighted to bring such a peripheral to the market, that increases not only the opportunities of our customers, but the level of interactivity and value in the security system that the user ultimately receives.”

The MC Nano-WE’s compact and aesthetic design makes it a stylish device that can both blend-in and complement any property.

Produced almost 66% smaller than the existing MC1 Mini-WE, this brand-new device offers the same level of security protection, but in a much more modern and smarter package.

This new peripheral offers a wireless range of 250m in open space and a 2-year battery life.