Netwatch, an innovative security systems company based in Carlow, is a true modern success story. Initially set up by David Walsh and Niall Kelly in 2003, the company has quickly grown and now, just three years later, it employs 25 people and had a projected turnover of €1.8m for 2004. If current expansion plans materialise, it is envisages the company will employ 60 people by the end of 2006.

Netwatch is the first company in Ireland to use modern communication technologies to provide remote visual monitoring security systems to businesses throughout the country.

Recent research and general trends show that businesses are increasingly becoming targets of crime. Burglary, vandalism and internal theft are escalating. Possibly the most worrying aspect of these trends is the fact that many of the businesses that suffer from such crimes actually already have crime-prevention systems in place, where are costing them a great deal of money.

Walsh and Kelly identified a glaring need in the market for better business security. Using new technologies pioneered in Australia, they developed a system for the Irish market that delivers all the advantages of intensive manned security solutions at an extremely low cost.

From its central command centre in Carlow, Netwatch provides cost-effective monitoring and control of remote site activity 24 hours a day, reducing the need for onsite security guards. "Netwatch enables companies to monitor and manage multiple remote sites from a single location," says Walsh. "Remote visual monitoring has many advantages, it minimises costly garda call-outs through the ability to remotely verify and respond to calls."

The Netwatch system is an event-based one. When an alarm is triggered at a premises, live pictures of the area where the security breach has occurred are sent down through ISDN lines to the Netwatch command centre. This means the scene can be checked remotely. It is also fully interactive. The cameras can also be controlled remotely to focus on different areas and they are equipped with microphones and speakers allowing the command centre to communicate directly with the intruder to warn them to stop, that the gardai are on the way or indeed to alert the gardai to danger. It also allows for a high degree of liaison with the gardai and both them and keyholders know they are only called upon when the activation has been caused by a genuine intruder.

"It is estimated the system has already prevented almost 500 crimes against businesses throughout Ireland and this figure continues to grow on a daily bases," says Walsh. These achievements are impressive when you consider it was a totally new form of security system that was established in the market within a matter of months and it has already gained broad acceptance among a wide range of sectors in just three years. Clients include companies and organisations in a number of sectors nationwide such as the motor trade, construction, hardware, warehousing, factories, retail units and local authorities.

The achievement of these results has been due to a combination of the technical and technological expertise of the Netwatch team, the extreme high service levels offered by the company and the effectiveness of the system. The fact that it is so effective is evident by the fact that client referral is among its most powerful sales and marketing tools.