Strategy in TECH...
Anuva Automation, the Melbourne, FL-based parent company of wireless home automation solutions provider Turn It On (TiO), announced today that it has named Sanjay Patel as the company’s new president. Patel replaces previous president Mike Anderson who stays on with the company in a consulting role.
We have been reporting on TiO and its various predecessor permutations (Colorado vNet, 3vNet, ACTP) for some time now. TiO, which stands for Turn it On, is an interesting hybrid of software and hardware enabling an incredibly flexible home automation system that strikes a balance between easy operation, system capabilities, user experience (UX) and powerful performance.
TiO is app driven and also has a proprietary system software solution . And now the company shows us the power of a strong system software foundation with an “update” that dramatically expands the systems capabilities.
Anuva Automation’s TiO division held a meeting at CES 2015 Monday evening with its national sales force to deliver an important message – they have arrived…and they can prove it. TiO (which is short for Turn It On) has had a long and, at times, troubled history – which has caused some in the industry to question its viability. And it was this question mark that the company sought to permanently erase from the doubters’ minds.
Turn It On (TiO), a division of Anuva Automation, announced this week that it is now shipping their TouchLite 4 Lighting Control pad. The announcement is significant for multiple reasons – not the least of which, the TL 4 is its first device that expands the TiO system beyond its original audio foundation.
“I have a very high regard and respect for the product,” Vinu Patel, CEO of Anuva Automation told us he said to Mike Anderson earlier this year as they discussed a possible buyout. Patel was sharing the story of how he came to know – and ultimately buy – Anderson’s home automation and control company Turn It On (TiO). As we reported earlier this year, TiO had run into trouble and out of money when financial backing fell through. The situation quickly became dire.
In what was a complete surprise to many last week, several industry reps and dealers received a letter from Audio Control Technology Partners (ACTP) CEO Mike Anderson that announced the return of Turn it On (TiO) to the market. TiO, as you might recall, lost funding back in May and ultimately disappeared from view…all before they shipped their first product.
This past Saturday, CEPro published a strongly worded report based on anonymous email sources saying Automated Control Technology Partners, Inc., the parent company of Turn it On (TiO), has “fallen on some hard times” and its “office doors were locked” and “employees haven’t been paid for months.” The article also said that the company is “filing for Chapter 11” [bankruptcy] and “that a huge number of employees have been laid off.” CEO Mike Anderson was quoted as disputing many of the points in the article.
2013 ends today and it is fun to look back on the top stories of the last year. Many times, this yields surprises as stories from early in the year are easy to forget. In this post, we are revealing the top Strata-gee.com stories from 2013 based on which stories generated the most page views…therefore, those stories that you – the reader – found most interesting.
Last month we told you about the [probably final] closing of 3vNet…the third or fourth time it – or more accurately, its predecessor company Colorado vNet – has gone through that process. At the same time CEO Mike Anderson announced that closing, he also announced the launch of a new company called Automated Control Technology Partners – a company that he said would ultimately have a stable of brands under its control.
Mike Anderson, CEO of 3vNet announced today that 3vNet’s business is being wound down and would cease shipping all products by December 31, 2013. At the same time, Anderson also announced the launch of an entirely new enterprise called Automated Control Technology Partners, Inc. which is expected to debut at the upcoming InfoComm in Orlando, FL this June.
