Haim Amir

Essence Group, a provider of IoT solutions for security, connected home and healthcare, has joined Zigbee Alliance as a member in the “Project Connected Home over IP” initiative. In doing so, the company will contribute to developing and promoting the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. The goal of the Connected Home over IP project is to simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers. The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification. Unified connectivity protocol The industry working group will take an open-source approach for the development and implementation of a new, unified connectivity protocol. The project intends to use contributions from market-tested smart home technologies from various member companies. The decision to leverage these technologies is expected to accelerate the development of the protocol and deliver benefits to manufacturers and consumers faster. “Essence is excited to join in and contribute to the standard by bringing its vast 25 years of experience and knowhow in developing and manufacturing radio IoT devices for the security, connected home and health care markets, currently producing over 10 million such devices per year,” said Dr. Haim Amir, CEO of Essence Group. “As a global Software & IoT provider with a history of developing disruptive technologies Essence has always believed in the holistic vision of ’better life made possible‘ while building solutions at scale that emphasize security and, privacy together with an intuitive user experience.” Participating in the Connected Home over IP Project is important in strengthening and accelerating a global standard. Through it, Essence will demonstrate new abilities across different segments over the next decade. Smart homes with IoT “Industry players are working alongside each other through the Alliance to shape the future of the IoT using open, global standards,” said Chris LaPre, Solutions Architect, Zigbee Alliance. “Our members together drive meaningful connections throughout the smart home, and we welcome new additions like Essence Group to our roster of IoT visionaries.” Essence is a global provider of IoT connected-living and cybersecurity solutions for communication, security and healthcare service providers. Leveraging 25 years of experience and innovation with a global presence and more than 50 million devices deployed worldwide. Essence has strong strategic relationship with Verisure, the European provider of professionally monitored security systems and has a vast deployment in senior monitoring products in the US. Essence specializes in the IoT segment driven by deep R&D and systems integration including embedded Cyber security. Zigbee Alliance suite IoT solutions The Zigbee Alliance is the foundation and future of the Internet of Things. Established in 2002, their wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way they live, work, and play. With the members’ deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions – including the recently announced Project Connected Home over IP – they are leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world. The Zigbee Alliance board of directors is comprised of executives from Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, IKEA, The Kroger Co., LEEDARSON, Legrand, Lutron Electronics, MMB Networks, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, SmartThings, Somfy, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, and Wulian.

Essence Group, the global Internet of Things solutions provider, and Verisure Sàrl, a provider of monitored security solutions in Europe, are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their partnership. The successful cooperation between the two companies has proved to be mutually beneficial, leading to tremendous growth and the development of one of the world’s most used home security systems.    At the beginning of the partnership, Verisure was a regional security provider, operating in Sweden, Spain and other key European countries. At the time, Essence, based in Israel, was beginning to make waves as an innovator in the wireless alarms market. Security monitoring services Essence and Verisure are underscoring their commitment to each other, their customers and the industry at large Today, Verisure stands as one of the premier providers of security monitoring services present in 16 countries, whilst Essence Group is a recognised market leader in its own right, having produced over 50 million security devices that are installed on every continent. Essence’s systems are used in home security, elderly care, and medical aesthetics devices across the world. The two companies have jointly provided millions of homes with ground-breaking detection solutions, improving the security and wellbeing of customers around the world. At this 20-year juncture, Essence Group and Verisure are underscoring their commitment to each other, as well as their customers and the industry at large. Innovative products and services Dr Haim Amir, Founder and CEO of Essence Group “Our two companies share a common focus – putting user experience and innovation front and center, and continuously striving for improvement. The past twenty years have proven to be a colossal success, with each organisation growing in size, experience and understanding. It is not in our nature to rest on past successes, but to commit to continuing innovation and deliver better than we did yesterday.” Austin Lally, CEO of Verisure “Essence Group has been a valued partner since the very beginning of our relationship 20 years ago. We believe feeling safe and secure is a human right. It should be for everyone. This partnership has been instrumental in helping us deliver on our customer promise and vision. Essence has been a key partner bringing innovative products and services to our customers year after year.”

Seniors require and deserve peace of mind, knowing that help is easily available when they need it; they also need their boundaries respected, ensuring their privacy is paramount. Essence’s Care@Home solution delivers both. Essence will present its technology at Health+Care, June 26 & 27 at ExCel, London, to introduce the general availability of its offerings in the UK market. Essence SmartCare, part of the Israel-based Essence Group, is a pioneer in intelligent IoT and cybersecurity solutions for the monitored security, connected home, and senior telecare markets worldwide. Advanced speech recognition technology The system requires no wearables, so it’s available even when the senior cannot activate a panic buttonHighlighting its stand at the event will be the Care@Home Communicator, which is a significant differentiator for Essence SmartCare’s full line of smart Telecare technologies. They range from emergency alerting to a professional intelligent activity monitoring solution. Using advanced speech recognition technology – Intelligent Voice Activation (IVATM) – the Communicator’s two-way communication is activated only when a senior calls out a specific phrase that identifies that person is calling for help. The system requires no wearables, so it’s available even when the senior cannot activate a panic button. The Communicator immediately opens a two-way communication channel to the monitoring station, allowing them to get further details about the emergency to send an appropriate response. Monitoring and communications technologies Our breakthrough technologies provide this to the UK telecare market in a way that has not been seen here before"“Combining the most sophisticated senior monitoring and communications technologies delivers peace of mind to consumers and allows service providers to significantly expand their offerings,” said Dr Haim Amir, CEO, founder, and chairman of Essence. “Studies have shown that seniors live longer, happier, and more fulfilling lives when they can stay in their own homes, maintaining their independence. Our breakthrough technologies provide this to the UK telecare market in a way that has not been seen here before.” “Essence SmartCare leads by enabling reliable connectivity via digital, IP-based communication of the most advanced cellular networks with the flexibility to use an existing analogue channel on the same box,” says Barak Katz, General Manager of Essence SmartCare. Built-in speaker and microphone The battery-operated Communicator extension comes with a built-in speaker and microphone and can be located in any roomThe battery-operated Communicator extension comes with a built-in speaker and microphone and can be located in any room of the house – the waterproof system can even be installed directly in the shower. This enables complete coverage of the home with no areas inaccessible for assistance. Essence SmartCare provides flexible and scalable services for a person-centred approach, allowing providers to grow cost effectively with new offerings. Rich administration tools include operational capabilities to accelerate time to market as well as comprehensive account management and reporting. Essence SmartCare will also be previewing some of its upcoming products at the show, bringing even more emphasis to its commitment to improving the customer experience and level of safety. The Communicator will be among the products highlighted at the upcoming Health + Care conference, June 26 & 27 in London at ExCel. Essence will be at Stand #J62.

Essence, providers of IoT-enabled security and connected-living technologies, will be exhibiting at IFSEC International in London from 20-22nd June with a focus on its cloud-based platform for security service providers. The cloud service suite features hosting, data analytics, 24/7 multi-level support, and full customisation for professional and DIY security systems. The scalable and flexible platform accelerates time to market, allows complete management of accounts and systems, and delivers seamless, rapid integration into existing systems. Complete end to end system With the new holistic cloud, service providers get a complete end-to-end system that manages both services and hardware. The cloud supports Essence’s two flagship IoT and interactive security systems: WeR@Home, a complete home management solution offering security and safety with user friendly, seamless mobile apps and simple, do-it-yourself installation and setup; and EverGuard, a field-proven, end-to-end interactive professional security solution that includes a wide range of hardware, software, operations, and services. "Essence continues to drive innovation in home and professional security focused on directly impacting the success of our partners" “Essence continues to drive innovation in home and professional security focused on directly impacting the success of our partners,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Essence CEO and founder. “Our cloud services platform directly enhances their customers’ satisfaction by giving them a flexible range of products and services to meet their needs and budgets.” Intelligent Voice Activation In addition to its cloud services and interactive security options, WeR@Home and EverGuard, Essence will present a new concept that brings the capabilities of voice interactivity to traditional security: an innovation based on Essence’s patented Intelligent Voice Activation technology and uses voice to make duress calls, such as “intruder in the house,” and alarm commands based on biometric identification to control the security system itself. “IFSEC offers us a world-class opportunity to present the newest versions of our end-to-end, cutting-edge, cloud-based solutions to the security market,” said Ronnie Nir, Essence VP of Sales and Marketing. “Cloud-based architecture allows our partners to gain a better understanding of their customers though analytics and tailor their services with the flexibility afforded by the many hardware and software option available - directly impacting their ability to aggressively expand market share.” Visitors may see Essence’s cloud solutions, end-to-end security and home management platforms and new innovations at IFSEC, Booth C1055.

IFSEC’s increased focus on IoT allowed Essence to showcase what they have been doing for years Essence, a provider of IoT, cloud-based connected living solutions, will be showcasing its WeR@Home Home Management Platform at the upcoming IFSEC International security exhibition in London to show how service providers can benefit from the new opportunities created by IoT. Leveraging more than 20 years in the security field, Essence’s end-to-end integrated platform lets security companies and other mass market service providers offer their customers the ability to fully manage their homes’ security, safety, home automation, and energy devices from one intuitive mobile app. ‘Home Automation Product’ area at IFSEC This year at IFSEC, the event’s organisers have recognised the effect that IoT device connectivity has had on the traditional security industry and has added a Home Automation Product area. This new focus has afforded Essence the opportunity to showcase its unique home automation solution that has for several years allowed security companies and other mass market service providers a platform from which to provide integrated connected home service. About WeR@Home Enabled by a wide ecosystem of connected devices, WeR@Home combines home automation functions such as smart lighting, thermostats, switches and door locks to work seamlessly with easy-to-install security and safety devices. Consumers get a whole-home management experience that can be self-monitored from anywhere - with the added peace of mind of optional, professional 24/7 monitoring. Essence’s WeR@Home Video Management solution provides an extra level of security, with the ability to view the home or office in real time with high definition video over IP Essence works with partners to continually expand the possibilities, offering new valuable services through integration like “Works with Nest” and HD video monitoring. Essence’s WeR@Home Video Management solution provides an extra level of security, with the ability to view the home or office in real time with high definition video over IP. Customers can also get continuous recording with easily searchable video at a later time – all this from within the WeR@Home mobile application. This delivers providers even more revenue-generating opportunities. “IFSEC’s increased focus on the expanding world of IoT allows us to showcase what we have been doing for several years,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Essence President & CEO. “We’ve been working steadily with security companies to increase their growth opportunities with more services and expanding customer reach beyond their traditional markets.” The full capabilities of WeR@Home will be available for demo at IFSEC June 21-23, Excel, London, Booth # C1084. Come see our custom built Connected-Living Demo Room that can be remotely activated form the exhibition floor.

Essence’s WeR@Home Smart Living solution has recently been awarded “Works with Nest” approval Essence, a leading provider of IoT, cloud-based connected living solutions, has created new service revenue opportunities for operators and service providers with valuable enhancements to its ecosystem. Essence’s WeR@Home Smart Living solution has recently been awarded “Works with Nest” approval, adding significant value to users of the Nest Self-Learning Thermostat. Integrating Nest into Essence’s home management system allows it to disable the home’s heating/cooling system as soon as the house is empty and immediately detect if windows have been left open, resulting in decreased energy efficiency. Additionally, Nest’s ability to detect an empty home can automatically arm the home’s alarm system if homeowners have forgotten to do so. With WeR@Home’s soon-to-be-released video management platform, users will enjoy high quality video monitoring directly from their WeR@Home mobile app while service providers will gain new revenue opportunities through added playback and analytics capabilities. “Service providers need easy-to-integrate home management solutions that provide real value both to themselves and their customers,” says Essence CEO & founder Dr. Haim Amir. “Each enhancement to our technology is focused on delivering that in a simple, intuitive system.” WeR@Home and Care@Home security solutions Essence service platforms offer two flagship products: WeR@Home and Care@Home. WeR@Home delivers a complete DIY home management, security, and safety solution. Thanks to its Z-Wave compatibility, consumers can control more than 1,000 other home management devices from Essence’s easy-to-use app from any screen and device. Care@Home is a suite of senior telecare solutions focused on increasing the independence of the elderly living at home. Essence announces a new partner, FPT Telecom, Vietnam’s second largest mobile telecommunications operator, which will soon be launching its service based on Essence’s WeR@Home Connected Home platform. FPT is currently in the midst of a pilot to provide its users with a seamless Smart Home experience, providing home management, safety, and security. As Essence’s first mobile operator in Asia, WeR@Home allows FPT to take a leadership role in bringing the connected home to the Vietnamese market. “At Essence, we’re completely focused on increasing business value for service providers, creating a quick go-to-market system that have been proven among other leading operators and service providers around the world like Telecom Italia, GetSafe in the U.S., G4S in Denmark, and Hills Health in Australia,” concluded Dr. Amir. WeR@Home and Care@Home, will be available for demo at MWC in February at Hall 5, Booth #5E71.

Essence, a leading provider of M2M, cloud-based connected-living solutions, and Assa Abloy, the global leader in door opening solutions and parent company of Yale, have partnered to combine Essence’s state-of-the-art connected home solution - WeR@Home™ with Yale’s industry-leading smart locks. Strong professional home security solutions provider “Essence is at the cutting-edge of IoT, building on 20 years as a strong professional home security solutions provider, while we are the leading global brand offering the highest standard of residential smart lock security,” said John Ward, Managing Director, Yale EMEA. “Our combined expertise offers greater value to consumers with an integrated experience for managing their homes.” Essence’s WeR@Home™ multi-service platform, which provides home security, safety, and remote home management, quickly and easily integrates with Yale Z-Wave smart locks. Consumers will be able to directly program their lock via any Internet-supporting device with the WeR@Home application from any location, managing home access remotely or onsite, including the use of virtual keys to allow others’ permanent or temporary home access. Based on Bluetooth low-energy Assa Abloy’s new Yale ENTR™ smart lock based on Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) will also be integrated across Essence’s solutions. ENTR is an easily installed retrofit lock currently available in Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, France, Israel, Germany, and Spain, with wider distribution in the works. These developments are the first stage of a strategic partnership between the two companies. Currently in the works are projects aimed at creating a holistic solution by deepening integration of Yale smart locks within Essence’s connected-living platforms. Assa Abloy combines with Essence Combining Assa Abloy and Essence’s entry management technologies expands the capabilities of both solutions. The systems maintain their intuitive simplicity, ensuring continued consumer ease of use with enhanced access capabilities. “Integrating a time-honored product like Yale smart locks across Essence product suites enriches our value to the consumer,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Essence founder & CEO. “The Essence-Assa Abloy partnership expands the possibilities of our solutions, strengthening our offerings across markets, and enabling business flexibility for our customers.”

Essence and Assa Abloy have partnered to combine WeR@Home home solution with Yale’s smart locks Essence, a leading provider of M2M, cloud-based connected-living solutions, and Assa Abloy, the global leader in door opening solutions and parent company of Yale, have partnered to combine Essence’s state-of-the-art connected home solution - WeR@Home™ with Yale’s industry-leading smart locks. “Essence is at the cutting-edge of IoT, building on 20 years as a strong professional home security solutions provider, while we are the leading global brand offering the highest standard of residential smart lock security,” said John Ward, Managing Director, Yale EMEA. “Our combined expertise offers greater value to consumers with an integrated experience for managing their homes.” Essence’s WeR@Home™ multi-service platform Essence’s WeR@Home™ multi-service platform, which provides home security, safety, and remote home management, quickly and easily integrates with Yale Z-Wave smart locks. Consumers will be able to directly program their lock via any Internet-supporting device with the WeR@Home application from any location, managing home access remotely or onsite, including the use of virtual keys to allow others’ permanent or temporary home access. Assa Abloy’s new Yale ENTR™ smart lock Assa Abloy’s new Yale ENTR™ smart lock based on Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) will also be integrated across Essence’s solutions. ENTR is an easily installed retrofit lock currently available in Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, France, Israel, Germany, and Spain, with wider distribution in the works. A strategic partnership These developments are the first stage of a strategic partnership between the two companies. Currently in the works are projects aimed at creating a holistic solution by deepening integration of Yale smart locks within Essence’s connected-living platforms. Combining Assa Abloy and Essence’s entry management technologies expands the capabilities of both solutions. The systems maintain their intuitive simplicity, ensuring continued consumer ease of use with enhanced access capabilities. “Integrating a time-honoured product like Yale smart locks across Essence product suites enriches our value to the consumer,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Essence Founder & CEO. “The Essence-Assa Abloy partnership expands the possibilities of our solutions, strengthening our offerings across markets, and enabling business flexibility for our customers.” The Yale Lock team and Rafi Zauer, Essence's Product Manager, will be present at IFSEC booth C1325.

Essence, leading provider of IoT, cloud-based connected-living solutions, has significantly enhanced the features of its award-winning WeR@HomeTM Multi-service Connected Home platform. WeR@Home is now one of the first Smart Home solutions that lets consumers receive alerts, control their home security, and manage their home automation from their Apple® Watches. This version of WeR@Home allows service providers to offer tiered activity levels, increasing the flexibility of their offerings. Meanwhile, the Multi-Place feature gives end-users the ability to control and manage more than one location from a single smartphone app. Apple Watch application With the Apple Watch application, WeR@Home users can take care of things on the go: Arm and disarm the system in all the pre-set arming modes Receive event notifications Control their Z-Wave home automation and energy management devices Create shortcuts that allow them to quickly perform functions such as running Smart Automation rules or getting peace of mind by taking videos from the cameras WeR@Home™ offers a seamless connected-home experience for security, safety, and remote home management. Featuring cloud-to-cloud integration and Z-wave-based integration, WeR@Home lets consumers control more than 1,000 devices – everything from security and nanny cams to stereos and thermostats. Enhances customer usability “Consumers want complete control of their home where they want it. The Apple Watch application enhances the customer usability,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Essence Chairman & CEO. “Meanwhile, for service providers, we’ve designed the newest features so they have the option to introduce services with a basic package and then offer premium services without any integration or custom programming requirements and available on the most advanced devices. They can also structure their service packages by values such as security, energy, or child care.” The features provided in the basic and premium service offerings are defined in advance, allowing different levels of automation rules capabilities in accordance with the customers’ wishes. For example, the basic package provides scheduling, like setting the alarm to arm itself at any given time, while the advanced offerings can set more advanced “if this/then that and that...” parameters, such as turning the lights on or off when activating the alarm. Multi-Place function aid end-users to manage secondary homes The Multi-Place function allows end-users to manage secondary homes as well as their main residences. Users can also have limited access to other people’s homes such as a parent, neighbor or customers, in the case of nannies or domestic professionals servicing several clients. Essence’s feature-laden connected-living solutions are accessible from anywhere and any device, with the mobile app equipped with the exact same capabilities as the web control system. Essence’s recent study of IoT usage showed that most people used their mobile remote access for visual confirmation of home security. “No matter how complex the system backend actually is, we never lose sight of the fact that it must remain simple to implement and use and easily adjustable in accordance with changing consumer needs. The Apple Watch interface is just that.” concluded Dr. Amir.

G4S won the award for successfully integrating Essence's WeR@Home solution to drive its business growth and market leadership G4S Security Services in Denmark has won the IoT/M2M Evolution Business Impact Award for successfully integrating Essence's award-winning, IoT-based WeR@Home solution to drive its business growth and market leadership. Essence delivers IoT cloud-based, connected-living solutions. The M2M Evolution Business Impact Award recognises companies and business leaders who have successfully implemented M2M / IoT solutions to solve a business issue, launch a new service, or create new revenue opportunities. “Receiving the Business Impact Award is a great honour, singling out the best companies for their accomplishments,” said Morten Holck Jaeger, Head of Commercial Operations for G4S. “We chose to work with Essence because of its innovative mind set. The technology created a significant opportunity for us to expand our business in an entirely new direction. The timing was critical as we recognised the market for connected-living solutions is already growing significantly, and demand will only increase.” G4S Denmark decided to adopt Essence's Smart Living WeR@Home platform to efficiently grow with reliable, high quality, innovative services, with a direct link to its security and safety offerings under the strong G4S brand. Over the course of less than six months - from concept to commercial launch, G4S Denmark and Essence developed the Everhome smart home offering. G4S minimised operational costs by implementing a 100% online marketing and sales platform to introduce the different G4S Everhome offerings. By combining G4S's strong security brand with a modular smart home offering, G4S expects to double its total sales in the residential market in 2015. “G4S shares our vision that people can enjoy a better life using innovative technology as their seamless extension for connected lives. M2M and IoT are the enablers,” said Dr. Haim Amir, Chairman and CEO of Essence. “We are thrilled with G4S winning the Business Impact Award and appreciate the opportunity to enable its journey into the smart home world," added Dr. Amir.

Essence has defined the One PlayTM framework, giving service providers the flexibility to tailor a complete range of hardware Essence, the leading provider of IoT, cloud-based connected-living solutions, predicts another year of solid growth for the Internet of Things and Smart Solutions for the connected life. “2014 saw rapid growth across the connected home space, including significant investments from big players like Google and Apple. Similarly, Essence expanded our customer base of WeR@HomeTM, launching complete solutions for security service providers and telecom operators,” says Haim Amir, PhD, Chairman and CEO of Essence. “‘Simple,’ ‘easy to use,’ and ‘value’ are driving consumer interest and sales, which is why they’ve always been the focus of our solutions.” Essence has defined the One PlayTM framework, giving service providers the flexibility to tailor a complete range of hardware, software, and services that meet consumers’ needs, quickly and conveniently, providing significant value for home security and safety, home automation, remote home management, and home care for the elderly. Essence has been recognised with the European Consumer’s Choice Award for 2014 and the Broadband Infovision Award for the WeR@HomeTM home service innovation. Over the past year, Essence released the fourth version of the WeR@HomeTM multi-service platform and inked agreements with a host of large clients, including G4S, Protect Australia, Gulfstream, Global European Telecom, Elkotek, SecuritySat, and others. Several strategic customers using EverGuardTM, the leading professional security solution, have also profited by bundling it with Essence’s products. Essence launched Care@HomeTM, an innovative solution that helps seniors maintain their independence while providing peace of mind for them and their family members. Its unique algorithms learn seniors’ behavioral patterns and alerts professionals and select family members via an app if there’s any deviation from their daily routines. Care@HomeTM’s first customer, Natali, the largest healthcare provider in Israel, has almost doubled its ARPU levels by offering the solution as part of a suite of services. “For more than 20 years, we’ve adopted and implemented key principles of superb customer experience, high quality, and reliability to develop innovative, affordable solutions that are attractive to mass adoption,” said Dr. Amir. “As a B2B2C provider, we believe our partner service providers will see significant growth in customer adoption rates by providing valuable services in the connected home, using our modular, cost-effective solutions.”