Tag Archives for: Innovation

Genetec announces new version of Security Center

December 06, 2023

 

 

 

Genetec announces new version of Security Center

 

 

Company shifts to continuous software delivery model; new version brings map enhancement features, authentication improvements and new automation features.

 

 

 

MONTRÉAL, December 5, 2023Genetec Inc. (“Genetec”), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, today announced a new version of its flagship unified security platform, Security Center. With a shift toward a continuous delivery approach, this version marks a new era in the way customers can stay up to date with the platform’s latest features and updates.

“The fast-changing security landscape is driving a requirement for rapid innovation. By adopting a continuous delivery model, we are able to deliver new features and security updates more consistently with less disruption to customers, while maintaining the ambitious scale of our innovation strategy,” explains Christian Morin, Vice President of Product Engineering and Chief Security Officer at Genetec Inc.

 

The latest release of Security Center also brings many new features, including:

Map enhancements

The latest version of Security Center brings new mapping enhancements, including a new map widget for dashboards and improved zoom behavior, providing a smoother experience for operators, particularly in large city-wide or multi-site deployments.

With the new map widgets, operators can create mini-monitoring tasks in their dashboards. They can pull cameras (or other entities) from the maps into empty tiles to view video, and easily search for entities they are interested in. The enhanced zoom feature now displays or hides layers depending on how much you zoom in or out. This helps operators see only what’s important at their current zoom level, preventing clutter. For instance, when zoomed out, doors and intrusion zones can be hidden, allowing operators to concentrate on cameras and ALPR units from a bird’s eye view. The hidden features will reappear as operators zoom in to the individual building level.

Authentication improvements

Security Center has also added new configuration enhancements for authentication services. These improvements include a new configuration wizard that walks users through the set-up process, a troubleshooting window to help detect and diagnose problems, and a testing window to check that everything is working properly before deploying it into production.

These enhancements help simplify an otherwise complicated system configuration, and reduce some of the uncertainty in the process so systems integrators can get the system up and running more quickly.

Reaching new levels of efficiency

As part of its continuous delivery model, the latest version of Security Center lays the groundwork for ambitious new platform features that will significantly simplify system configuration, management, and auditing.  This will benefit customers looking to lighten the load of day-to-day activities just as much as those managing large, complex facilities. To be introduced throughout 2024, these new features will enable advanced workflow activities, allowing operators to concentrate on tasks that need their attention.

For more information, please visit https://www.genetec.com/product-releases/security-center-5-12.

About Genetec

Genetec Inc. is a global technology company that has been transforming the physical security industry for over 25 years. Today, the company develops solutions designed to improve security, intelligence, and operations for enterprises, governments, and the communities in which we live. Its flagship product, Security Center, is an open-architecture platform that unifies IP-based video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), communications, and analytics. Founded in 1997, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Genetec serves its customers via an extensive network of certified channel partners and consultants in over 159 countries.

For more information about Genetec, visit: https://www.genetec.com

© Genetec Inc., 2023. Genetec and the Genetec logo are trademarks of Genetec Inc. and may be registered or pending registration in several jurisdictions. Other trademarks used in this document may be trademarks of the manufacturers or vendors of the respective product.

Press Contacts:

North America: Julie Miller, HighRez

julie@highrezpr.com   +1 310 259 5834

 

WPS Parking Solutions has been acquired by CERTINA GROUP to further drive innovation and growth in parking management

May 05, 2023

 

 

WPS Parking Solutions has been acquired by CERTINA GROUP to further drive innovation and growth in parking management

 

 

From left to right: Hendrik Pot, CFO at WPS, Giovanni Santamaria, Managing Partner at Certina, Erik Stronk, CEO at WPS

 

 

WPS Parking Solutions, specialists in innovative cloud-based parking management solutions has been acquired by Munich-based family-run industrial holding company CERTINA GROUP. With over 25 years of experience in building and reshaping companies, CERTINA will further invest in WPS, its solutions, customers and employees to drive innovation and growth within the parking industry.

The sale of WPS Parking Solutions to CERTINA will result in the separation of the current WPS organization. WPS North, including WPS Belgium, WPS Parking Systems (NL), WPS Canada, WPS UK, WPS US, and WPS Holding, will now be part of CERTINA’s portfolio of companies. WPS North will continue to operate as an individual company under CERTINA.

WPS Brazil, as an independent company within the WPS family, will not be sold. The current shareholders, local management and Egeria, will continue WPS operations in Brazil and South America in its current form.

WPS and CERTINA are committed to ensuring continuity and growth in the parking management solutions industry. The acquisition is an exciting opportunity for WPS to enter the next phase of its development with a new owner who has extensive experience in building and reshaping companies.

Erik Stronk, CEO at WPS Parking Solutions: ‘’We look forward to a bright future that we will realize together with CERTINA. With their investments made according to the principles of sustainability, continuity and corporate responsibility, we find the ideal partner in CERTINA to help us navigate changing market conditions and further invest in our products, employees, and growth. I am confident that this acquisition will accelerate innovation and success for our business and customers.”

Giovanni Santamaria, Managing Partner at CERTINA: “We are excited to welcome WPS Parking Solutions to the CERTINA family of companies. With our extensive experience in building and reshaping businesses, we look forward to investing in WPS, its solutions, customers and employees. As a family-owned industrial holding company with a focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility, we look forward to collaborating with WPS management and employees, and we have confidence that the acquisition will expedite the success of both WPS and CERTINA.

About WPS Group:

Since its establishment in 1985, WPS Parking Solutions has grown from a local Dutch provider of parking systems into one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based automated parking solutions. WPS’ mission is to create smart, reliable and future-proof parking solutions that are designed for today’s and tomorrow’s connected world.

About CERTINA:

CERTINA is a family-run industrial holding company, founded, built up and represented by the exceptional businessman Dr. Hans Wehrmann. They look back on more than 25 years of investment experience with over 65 successful transactions in various industries. The group currently comprises 20 companies in five industries and generates sales of more than EUR 750 million with over 3,000 employees. Since their foundation, they have invested according to the principles of sustainability, continuity and corporate responsibility. They create long-term value for generations in the interests of employees and society. Some companies have been part of their portfolio for over 20 years.

 

AppyWay: Pioneers in mobility announce research collaboration to support a commercial and sustainable reality for Automated Valet Parking

March 31, 2020

 

 

 

 

AppyWay: Pioneers in mobility announce research collaboration to support a commercial and sustainable reality for Automated Valet Parking

 

 

  • Automated Valet Parking (AVP) is a key feature needed in a level 4/5 automated vehicle. To identify available parking, reserve, navigate to and pay for is a complex task.

  • In particular, addressing how and where Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) park when not carrying passengers has been identified as critical for the sustainable deployment of CAVs in cities.

 

 

LONDON UK, Tuesday 31st March 2020:  A consortium of mobility innovators from the public and private sectors today announced their Innovate UK funded project, ‘ParkAV’, is spearheading technical and commercial research to help realise level 4/5 CAV adoption in cities. The project aims to solve the issue of where these vehicles will go to drop off passengers, how they park between trips to recharge, access storage, or be serviced and, importantly, blend the relationship between on and off-street parking to support Mobility as a Service (MaaS) operators.

 

The consortium made up of Jaguar Land Rover, AppyWay (formerly AppyParking), Coventry City Council, Milton Keynes Council and managed by WhiteWillow Consulting, have focused efforts on what is seen as the core issue for the successful introduction of CAVs. How do cities, urban areas, traffic & highways planners ensure empty CAVs do not contribute to traffic and congestion?

 

The notion of AVP is actively being explored at a technical level by vehicle manufacturers globally. However, the ‘ParkAV’ partners suggest that whilst such engineering developments are to be welcomed, developing a scalable and sustainable framework to see AVP become commonplace, and monetised, requires a deeper public and private sector collaboration.

 

Ben Boutcher-West, Head of Mobility for AppyWay,

“A key deliverable within the project has been a detailed framework for both the flow of data and the flow of money to ensure AVP is viable solution. Beyond just the vehicle technology, AVP looks to deliver the function within a mobility subscription, one that manages topics such as Value Added Tax, all suppliers and even EV payment, in one technical and commercial interface. As a consortium, we have maintained a customer focus, ensuring they would be set down compliantly at their chosen destination. That means consumers no longer would have to enter the off-street facility at all and enjoy a much more convenient and hassle-free service, dropped off at their point of interest.”

 

Sunil Budheo, Innovation Manager at Coventry City Council continues,

“When thinking about what our constituents might expect in the future with the rise of CAVs, it’s important to focus on not only optimizing the user experience but also making sure the needs of the city are considered. Drop-offs and pick-ups for CAV journeys are likely to be on-street and close to points of interest, so both on-street and nearby off-street parking locations need to be part of our thinking. We must mitigate the circulation of empty vehicles on our streets and we’re proud to be continuing our innovative work in this space as part of the ParkAV project.”

 

Brian Matthews. Head of Transport Innovation at Milton Keynes Council notes,

“We have recently seen practical demonstrations of CAVs operating in both Milton Keynes and Coventry, so we are very confident that self-driving vehicles parking themselves is not too far away. ParkAV gives us the opportunity to understand how this technology can be best applied in city environments, maximizing the benefits for travellers and cities.”

 

The group have uncovered the baseline requirements and considerations across four key areas:

 

  • User experience: what do consumers/passengers want and expect?
  • Commercial model: how are all parties active within an AVP session compensated? How will the market opportunity be unlocked to enable scale?
  • Integration: how do the physical and digital realms integrate across on and off-street infrastructure? How do cleaning and valet services access vehicles?
  • Local government integration: off-street parking works best when it compliments on-street provision and supports local transport and traffic policies. Solutions that support both are important requirements for the mobility-as-a-service marketplace.

 

Key to the research is to understand the detailed flow of money and data that will enable multiple on and off-street operators and service providers to work together, presenting the operator and end consumer with a single interface with which to do business. This will maintain safe and reliable mobility for consumers. A comprehensive data and money exchange model has been developed; ensuring systems scale across multiple sites and are commercially and socially viable.

 

The work from the ParkAV project enables the sector to deliver CAV’s in a more integrated way. A key point is that in order to scale the rollout of shared, connected and one-day autonomous vehicles, through a concept the consortium call “MaaSpark” (MaaSpark is the concept of parking for MaaS providing dynamic kerbside access and integrated payments), further steps are required to make parking better for everyone.

 

We don’t have to wait to take these steps; they can be implemented ahead of the CAV technology itself. The steps laid out by the consortium form a “call to action” for government and an opportunity for all sectors to collaborate further.

 

Based on their findings, the ParkAV project suggests the following to central government:

 

  • Change the Road Traffic Act to allow short term parking (“kerb-kissing”) in bays dedicated for other users and allow dynamic payment / reservation of parking bays (this also works for human driven vehicles)
  • Allow digital and dynamic Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) captured from roadside data to enable digital coverage for the whole UK. Within this, renaming from Traffic Regulation Order to “Mobility Enabling Order” will emphasise the change in thinking
  • Mandate standards that support interoperability from parking payment systems (as is starting to happen with Electric Vehicles for both charge point access and payment accounts)
  • Don’t just look at CAV vehicle capability, but have a customer and business centric view of how they influence land use and development planning to encourage adaptability of land use and growth with a technology agnostic approach

 

For local government, they suggest:

  • Develop new approaches to more open parking contracts, based on outcome based Key Performance Indicators with more risk taken by the contractor. This would allow parking to move from a negatively viewed labour intensive enforcement model to an outcome driven enabling model to support social good, whilst preserving current income levels from “parking”
  • See MaaSpark as an important enabler of MaaS, rather than a competitor/ blocker to it
  • Develop ways to charge wholesale prices for parking by changing contract approaches
  • Consider and plan now for future AV parking within new developments, allowing for future change of use.

 

AppyWay, Jaguar Land Rover and the wider UK industry then have opportunities to exploit these actions, enable changes, and help to provide better parking for all, not just autonomous vehicles.

 

 

Colin Teed, Lead Engineer, Advanced Electrical Research at Jaguar Land Rover said, “The ParkAV project demonstrates the key role that AVP could play in the future of mobility. The potential for AVP to reduce the time and stress when parking a vehicle is an exciting step forward in helping Jaguar Land Rover to reduce congestion in the future. By developing premium features, which enhance our customers driving experiences we can achieve our Destination Zero mission.”

 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any of the partners should you wish to know more about the findings.

 

 

 

The ParkAV project is part-funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. It is part of the government’s £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund, supporting the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.

 

As a key part of the UK government’s modern Industrial Strategy, the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge was announced in 2017 to encourage and support extraordinary innovation in UK engineering and technology, making the UK a world leader within the transport industries.

 

This includes facilitating profound changes in transport technologies and business models, to make the movement of people, goods and services across the nation greener, safer, easier and more reliable.

 

 

Jaguar Land Rover

 

 

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all-wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.

 

At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class-leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2019 Jaguar Land Rover sold 557,706 vehicles in 127 countries.

 

We support around 260,000 people through our retailer network, suppliers and local businesses. At heart we are a British company, with two major design and engineering sites, three vehicle manufacturing facilities, an Engine Manufacturing Centre and soon to be opened Battery Assembly Centre. We also have vehicle plants in China, Brazil, India, Austria and Slovakia. We have seven technology hubs. In the UK these are based in Manchester, Warwick (NAIC) and London. Globally these are located in Shannon, Ireland, Portland, USA, Budapest, Hungary and Changshu, China.

 

We have a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer the latest diesel and petrol engines. All new Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle models offer the option of electrification, giving our customers even more choice.

 

 

AppyWay

 

AppyWay exists to help cities thrive from the kerb up. We see the kerb as a catalyst – the key to powering progress with the most pressing urban mobility challenges. Our platform of data, APIs and tools provide digital kerbside management solutions that enable intelligent mobility, better connecting cities with people and businesses.

 

Through close collaboration and industry leading partnerships, the AppyWay platform effectively acts as a ‘future mobility’ conduit between the public and private sector:

 

Kerbside Management | B2G

AppyKerb, our Govtech stack, is a complete kerbside management platform. With AppyKerb, Local Authorities are empowered to commoditise and open up their assets. This enables rich data-driven insights and digital access solutions for everyone using our kerbs.

Learn more >

 

Intelligent Mobility | B2B

AppyWay business solutions keep people, goods and cities flowing. A full eco-system of kerbside data APIs, payment solutions and CAV integrations improves kerb interactions for local enterprises, customers, deliveries and fleets alike.

Learn more >

 

 

Milton Keynes Council

 

Milton Keynes council is a unitary authority in the South East Midlands. Constructed as new town, the area has seen consistent and rapid growth over the past 50 years, making it one of the UKs most successful economic growth areas. Home to 280,000 residents the city is characterized by high levels of private car use linked to significant levels of city centre parking areas, making the efficient management of parking a key priority for the city

 

 

Coventry City Council

 

Coventry City is the 12th largest in UK and the 2nd largest in West Midlands and part of the West Midlands Combined Authority. It has a Long-established link with Motor Manufacturers, Daimler built the 1st British car in 1897 it is Home for London Taxi (Electric). It was the first city to trial Autonomous Vehicles in a live environment it has provide a test bed environment for testing connected and autonomous vehicles in a live environment. It is the first city to trial digital traffic regulation orders and is developing autonomous valet parking. Coventry is preparing for City of Culture 2021 and for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where we will be Showcasing to the world our leadership in this area.

 

Parker Technology Selected as 2019 Indiana Breakout Tech Culture Awards Finalist

July 19, 2019

 

 

Parker Technology Selected as 2019 Indiana Breakout Tech Culture Awards Finalist

 

 

[INDIANAPOLIS, IN] Parker Technology has been selected as a finalist for the 2019 Indiana Breakout Tech Culture Awards. Out of 268 nominated companies who participated in the Powderkeg Tech Census, the Parker team’s responses were some of the best in the state, making it one of the 50 top-rated tech cultures in the state of Indiana.

 

The 2019 Tech Census: Tech Cultures Edition surveyed tech employees, who rated their companies and employers on culture-related topics including leadership, management, workplace, compensation and community involvement. Nearly 270 tech companies were nominated, and more than 1,200 people responded to the census.

 

The inaugural award categories include:

  • Top-Rated Leadership
  • Top-Rated Workplace
  • Top-Rated for Social Impact
  • Top-Rated for Health + Balance
  • Top-Rated Mission, Purpose, Values
  • Top-Rated Career Path
  • Top-Rated Product Team
  • Top-Rated Customer Experience (CX) Team
  • Top-Rated Sales and Marketing Team
  • Top-Rated Emerging Culture
  • Top-Rated Overall Culture

 

Finalists will be announced on Wednesday September 18thin Indianapolis, at an invite-only event hosted by Inside INdiana Business host Gerry Dick. One finalist will be selected for each category, and a finalist will also be named the Overall Top Culture Winner in Indiana.

 

About Powderkeg

Powderkeg is the connections engine for tech founders, investors, and professionals at startups between the coasts. Their digital community helps tech companies find the resources they need to grow much faster. Capital, partnerships, mentorship … whatever you need, you can find it in the Powderkeg community. Learn more at www.powderkeg.com.

 

About Parker Technology

Parker Technology provides parking facilities with a premium customer service experience. With their robust solution, they enhance the customer experience, improve operational efficiencies, increase successful payments and ensure calls are answered. When a parking guest pushes the “help” button on a PARCS kiosk, one of their patient, well-informed specialists (CSRs) answers and resolves their issue. This is where Parker shines – as the only company in the parking industry that can deliver face-to-face communication via patented two-way video intercoms. Putting this personal, human touch back into an automated situation is their unique approach. Learn more at www.helpmeparker.com.

 

 

Toledo Ticket Company: Mitchell Carter Named Eastern Regional Sales Manager

May 06, 2019

 

 

 

Toledo Ticket Company: Mitchell Carter Named Eastern Regional Sales Manager

 

 

 

Mitchell Carter was named Eastern Regional Sales Manager in March 2019, for The Toledo Ticket Company, a leading provider of ticketing solutions for nearly 110 years. As a member of the founding family of Toledo Ticket, Mitch says that he has gained a new appreciation for the longevity of the company as well as its progressive nature. 

 

 

“I was always generally aware of my father and grandfather’s work growing up, but now that I’m part of the company, I see how broad Toledo Ticket’s capabilities are and how far it has come.”

As the Eastern Regional Sales Manager, Mitch will maintain the client base and sales of tickets, cards, tags and coupons within the Eastern region, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. 

“I hope my youthfulness helps bring a new outlook to Toledo Ticket,” said Mitch. “I plan to help interlace the two primary functions of the company and bring them closer together so that clients can see how broad our services and capabilities are today.”

That versatility includes the company’s “green approach” to flexible services and products, which have grown from every form of ticket imaginable to RFID tags and credentials for colleges, universities, municipal, healthcare, government, and institutional, as well as private parking operations to improve security and convenience. 

“I plan to do all I can to help make sure Toledo Ticket is around for another 100 years,” said Mitch.

Toledo Ticket, which began in 1910 as a provider of tickets to movie theatres and carnivals, today produces consecutive numbering, bar codes, magnetic stripes, multi-part valet, scratch-off tickets, pay & display, pay-by-space, access and debit cards, and spitter tickets for thermal/non-thermal revenue control. It manufacturers and provides products in all 50 states and more than 30 countries.

 

www.toledoticket.com