Blacksumac, The Company Behind Piper, Gets Acquired By iControl Networks!

Piper, a simple security and home monitoring system, has been acquired, or at least the company behind Piper has been. Earlier today, Blacksumac announced that they have been acquired by iControl Networks. iControl is a company in the connected home technology sector, this acquisition will allow them to expand its connect home management offerings to new markets. Specifically these markets will be rental homes or properties, international locations, and multiple dwelling homes. It will be the product for those looking peace-of-mind of home awareness at a more affordable price point. From what we have been hearing, Piper will continue to operate and apparently the free cloud services you get with Piper will not be going away. Russell Ure, the CEO of Blacksumac, believes that this acquisition will grow Piper to serve a global, emerging market. Both sides of the story, iControl Networks and Blacksumac, seemed pleased with the acquisition. Piper and Blacksumac will not be relocated from their offices in Canada, but will immediately benefit from the scalability of iControl OpenHome. For more information please see the press release below.

Press Release

iControl Networks Acquires Creator of Piper All-in-One Home Awareness and Automation Device

Blacksumac’s Piper to Complement iControl’s Existing Connected Home Platform Portfolio 

Redwood City, CA (April 9, 2014) – iControl Networks, a leader in connected home technology and innovation, today announced that it has acquired Blacksumac Inc., the creator of Piper, a Wi-Fi-enabled all-in-one Home Awareness and automation device. This strategic acquisition allows iControl to expand its connected home management offerings to new markets, including rental properties, multiple-dwelling residences and international audiences that desire the peace-of-mind of home awareness at a very affordable price point.

“Piper’s unique product offering appeals to a large and mostly underserved consumer market segment,” said Bob Hagerty, CEO of iControl. “We remain focused on advancing our connected home management platforms for service providers and growing our connected life ecosystem via the iControl OpenHome™ Partner Program. At the same time, we are excited to expand into new, untapped markets that will bring us one step closer to our vision of a home management solution for every household, so people worldwide spend less time managing their lives and more time living them.”

Piper is a self-managed, self-monitored device that combines unique HD panoramic video, home automation and environmental sensors into a single, elegant product that users interact with on their Internet-connected devices. Piper, powered by iControl, will complement iControl’s existing portfolio of connected home platform solutions for service providers, which includes:

• iControl Converge™: The platform behind connected home solutions offered by leading broadband service providers, including an all-in-one touch screen, monitored security panel and a robust ecosystem of OpenHome-certified life safety and lifestyle devices.
• iControl Touchstone™: A self-installable, self-managed gateway solution that provides home management for the OpenHome ecosystem.
• iControl Connect™: Designed specifically for home security and telecommunications companies, this solution combines Wi-Fi and Z-Wave technologies with next generation security control panels.

“We are incredibly excited that Piper is joining forces with iControl, and look forward to bringing iControl’s ecosystem to the next level,” said Russell Ure, CEO of Blacksumac. “We designed Piper to serve the needs of users who typically would not have access to Home Awareness and automation, or those who are still learning about the technology and its benefits. With iControl’s proven infrastructure and industry-wide reputation, we believe Piper will grow to serve a global, emerging market.”

The Piper team will remain located in Ottawa, Ontario, and will immediately benefit from the scalability and robustness of the core iControl OpenHome architecture.