Commercial Integrator August 2022 - 6

CI NEWS IN BRIEF RECENT STORIES PEOPLE AND PLACES WHAT'S NEW
Solutionz, Inc., Announces Acquisition of VSGi
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif.based
Solutionz, Inc., a
Fernandez Holdings (FHI)
portfolio company, has
announced that it has entered
into an agreement to purchase
VSGi. The company is a California-based
audiovisual integrator
and managed services
and cybersecurity provider
working across North America.
Per a statement, VSGi has
provided videoconferencing,
audiovisual solutions, digital
signage and integrated services
for nearly every major
agency and department in
the federal government. It has
also served customers across
the corporate, healthcare and
education vertical markets.
The company will operate
under the direction of Bill Warnick,
CEO of Solutionz, Inc.
Speaking about the acquisition,
Warnick remarks, " As we
grow into one of the largest
integrators in the U.S., customer
satisfaction remains our
number-one priority. Combining
our experience, expertise
and partnerships with VSGi will
ensure we continue to deliver
the very best experience to our
growing federal clientele and
other markets. "
Timing the acquisition with
the announcement of his
own retirement, Donald K.
Jones, CEO of VSGi, remarks,
" Joining forces with a rising
and thriving integrator like
Solutionz, Inc., and VSGi are combining their respective
experience, expertise and partnerships.
Solutionz is a logical next step
for VSGi. " He continues, " By
leveraging the success of SoluJohnson
Controls Acquires Tempered
Networks to Boost Cybersecurity
CORK, IRELAND-BASED
Johnson Controls has acquired
zero-trust cybersecurity provider
Tempered Networks. Based
in Seattle, Tempered Networks
has created Airwall technology,
an advanced self-defense
system for buildings that is
said to enable secure network
access across diverse groups
of endpoint devices, edge
gateways, cloud platforms and
service technicians. According
to the company, it represents
a step-change in operational
technology built on secure
transmission pipelines to ensure
buildings' data exchanges
and service actions can only
take place between people
and devices that are continuously
authenticated.
The acquisition gives Johnson
Controls the capability to
6
provide zero-trust security within
the fabric of its OpenBlue
secure communications stack,
advancing its vision of enabling
fully autonomous buildings
that are inherently resilient to
cyberattack.
" When it comes to buildings,
we must create easily
implementable cybersecurity
defenses, as we're often dealing
with critical infrastructure,
including assets such as data
centers and hospitals, " Vijay
Sankaran, vice president and
chief technology officer, Johnson
Controls, says. " Tempered
Networks Airwall approach is
purpose-built for our sector as
it's designed around principles
of zero trust, securing device
communications as data moves
between devices and the cloud
- so enabling remote building
Commercial Integrator AUGUST 2022
optimization in the most trusted
way possible. "
Tempered Networks' Airwall
technology is being integrated
into Johnson Controls OpenBlue
platform, which is being
recognized as a smart-building
software platform with
advanced, AI-enabled
building-management capabilities.
OpenBlue is said to
provide a flexible computing
approach for converging
building technologies and
making those technologies
more insightful, powerful
and optimized through edge
AI and through full machine
learning in the cloud. The
goal is to make all buildings
smarter, healthier and more
sustainable.
" Digital transformation is
the primary way we'll make
the world's buildings more
autonomous and resilient, "
Bryan Skene, chief technology
officer, Tempered Networks,
says. " Being acquired by
Johnson Controls allows us
to fully integrate our Airwall
technology into their software
stack, providing an advanced
security platform for a range
of edge to cloud applications.
Our ambition, now that we're
part of Johnson Controls, is
that building systems everywhere
can be managed from
anywhere and remain secure
from cyber threats. "
The acquisition of Tempered
Networks builds on
the previously announced
selection of the company as a
core component of Johnson
Controls OpenBlue platform
and services.
commercialintegrator.com
tionz's business model, we are
able to expand our nationwide
footprint.... "
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Commercial Integrator August 2022

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