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Motorola Solutions Buys Callyo, Mobile Apps for Police

Both GT100 companies, Motorola’s purchase of the police tech provider represents continuing investment in digital evidence tools and management, and a business model of expanding with niche products from other companies.

Motorola Solutions' headquarters in Chicago
Motorola Solutions' headquarters in Chicago
Motorola Solutions has made another investment in the public-safety market by acquiring Callyo, a Florida-based company on the GovTech 100 list whose cloud-based mobile applications for law enforcement have become part of an ecosystem of integrated technologies alongside partners such as RapidSOS and Mark43.

A news release today said the company will add Callyo’s technology to its suite of command-center software for public safety agencies. The statement singled out two application suites: 10-21, an app that allows police to make untraceable calls, and Callyo, which includes investigative tools for collecting and keeping digital evidence.

Callyo Chief Product Officer and Founder Chris Bennett said in the statement that the acquisition by Motorola Solutions would increase Callyo’s reach and the pace of its innovations.

Andrew Sinclair, a senior VP and general manager of software enterprise at Motorola, said in a statement that Callyo’s applications would help his company’s law enforcement customers communicate and share evidence with other departments.

“First responders are increasingly looking to mobile applications to boost productivity and enhance community relations,” the statement read. “With Callyo’s technology, agencies can improve collaboration and enhance the evidence collection process to build stronger cases more efficiently, ultimately enabling them to better serve and keep communities safe.”

Like many companies that make tools for law enforcement, Callyo’s business model to date involved partnering for interoperability with adjacent technologies. For instance, it partnered with RapidSOS to create a free website for first responders to more accurately trace 911 calls, and with Mark43 to integrate a virtual phone network with records management systems.

One of the largest technology vendors for public safety agencies in the U.S., Motorola Solutions has been buying out players in that space, much of it to do with video and other evidence. Callyo is Motorola’s sixth acquisition in two years, according to Crunchbase. In January 2019, Motorola bought VaaS International Holdings for license plate reading technology; in March 2019, it bought Avtec and its dispatch-center systems; in July 2019, dash cam and body cam systems from WatchGuard Video; and two video security system companies earlier this year, including IndigoVision in the U.K. and Pelco in California.