SIA New Member Profile: ECD Systems

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member ECD Systems is a one-stop provider of connected building technologies. The company is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

SIA spoke with Mike Bradley, CEO of ECD Systems, about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Mike Bradley: ECD Systems was formed in October 2014 to purchase the low-voltage contracting business assets of Safeguard Security following the sale of the rest of Safeguard. The original version of ECD was Electronic Contracting and Design, formed in 1985. In 1997, Safeguard Security purchased Electronic Contracting and Design. In early 1998, I joined Safeguard following a 16-year career at Chambers Communications to manage the new Safeguard contracting business, which was soon merged with Safeguard in a new Scottsdale location. I was soon appointed as president of Safeguard by owner John Jennings and along with Ben Wilson and Rich Alaimo, my current partners in ECD Systems, Safeguard along with all its related businesses embarked on an aggressive growth plan including organic and acquisitions. Since 2014 the new ECD Systems has tripled its size with five vertical markets: industrial and corporate security, education, health care, multifamily housing and luxury residential.

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings/company unique?

MB: ECD Systems describes its offerings as connected building technology. Security is only one of ECD’s offerings which is shared in equal part with acute health care clinical technologies and fire life safety. The luxury residential offering includes lifestyle technologies and security only to national luxury home builders. ECD Systems only works with the No. 1 or 2 market leader in each technology category and often applies several of it’s disciplines to its commercial clients. ECD owns its own data and cybersecurity business, which has become the glue for each of the disciplines. Elite Force IT and the cyber disciplines give ECD Systems an advantage when connecting complex building technologies to the network.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

MB: ECD Systems has no desire to become a national provider, but rather concentrates on being the obvious provider to the Arizona marketplace. ECD is known as a go-to local service provider for national security firms looking for a local partner. But ECD refuses to become just a labor force for national companies, working exclusively with partners who subcontract the bulk of any local project, including materials to the ECD team.

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

MB: ECD Systems partners with SIA and the National Systems Contractors Association as an active member of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), teaching local school districts how to use the PASS tools to develop comprehensive security plans on a school- and district-wide level. More than ever, these tools are becoming critical for districts to protect both the children and staff.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.