• CEPro_logo_blue-new
  • TOPICS
      • News
        • People & Places
        • Product Briefs
      • Projects
      • Events
      • Control
        • Central Vac
        • Energy/Power
        • HVAC/IAQ
        • Interfaces/Devices
        • Lighting
        • Motorized Shades
        • Whole House Systems
      • Audio/Video
        • Amplifiers/Receivers
        • AV Accessories
        • AV Racks
        • Cabling
        • Displays
        • Furniture
        • Headphones
        • Home Theater
        • Media
        • Mounts/Lifts
        • Multiroom AV
        • Projectors/Screens
        • Speakers/Subwoofers
        • Wireless AV
      • Security
        • Access Control
        • Alarms/Sensors
        • Services/Platforms
        • Surveillance/Cameras
      • Business Support
        • Associations/Buying Groups
        • Cell Phone Boosters
        • Distributors/Reps
        • Operations
        • Recurring Revenue
        • Research
        • Sales/Marketing
        • Software Services
        • Tools/Testers
      • Networking
        • Cellular
        • Devices/Equipment
        • Wireless
        • Wired/Installation
      • Markets
        • Builders
        • Commercial
        • Design
        • Europe
        • Outdoors
        • Resimercial
        • Wellness
      • CE Pro Hub Pages
        • Bose
        • Inside Sound United
        • Nice
        • Savant
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-iQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
  • DISCOVER
    • CEDIA Expo
      • September 29 – October 1
        Dallas, TX
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBIS
      • February 8 – 10
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      • October 26 – 28
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      • VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      • VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      • VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      • VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      • VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
    • CE Pro-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
  • Search
  • TOPICS
    • News
      • People & Places
      • Product Briefs
    • Projects
    • Events
    • Control
      • Central Vac
      • Energy/Power
      • HVAC/IAQ
      • Interfaces/Devices
      • Lighting
      • Motorized Shades
      • Whole House Systems
    • Audio/Video
      • Amplifiers/Receivers
      • AV Accessories
      • AV Racks
      • Cabling
      • Displays
      • Furniture
      • Headphones
      • Home Theater
      • Media
      • Mounts/Lifts
      • Multiroom AV
      • Projectors/Screens
      • Speakers/Subwoofers
      • Wireless AV
    • Security
      • Access Control
      • Alarms/Sensors
      • Services/Platforms
      • Surveillance/Cameras
    • Business Support
      • Associations/Buying Groups
      • Cell Phone Boosters
      • Distributors/Reps
      • Operations
      • Recurring Revenue
      • Research
      • Sales/Marketing
      • Software Services
      • Tools/Testers
    • Networking
      • Cellular
      • Devices/Equipment
      • Wireless
      • Wired/Installation
    • Markets
      • Builders
      • Commercial
      • Design
      • Europe
      • Outdoors
      • Resimercial
      • Wellness
    • CE Pro Hub Pages
      • Bose
      • Inside Sound United
      • Nice
      • Savant
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-IQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
  • DISCOVER
    • Cedia Expo
      VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
    • CE Pro-iQ
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
News
Projects
Control
Audio Video
Security
Business Support
Markets
SUBSCRIBE CEDIA EXPO CEPro-iQ
Audio/Video | Control | Multiroom AV | News | Products
December 27, 2016

Kramer Electronics Acquires Home Automation Provider iRule

Israel-based Kramer, a giant provider of audio/video distribution systems for commercial venues, has acquired iRule, developer of popular home automation software for DIYs and pros.
Julie Jacobson   Updated: August 21st, 2019
Israel-based Kramer, a giant provider of audio/video distribution systems for commercial venues, has acquired iRule, developer of popular home automation software for DIYs and pros.
Article:
Audio/Video | Control | Multiroom AV | News | Products
December 27, 2016

Kramer Electronics Acquires Home Automation Provider iRule

iRule, a popular purveyor of cloud-based home-automation for DIYs and pros, has been acquired by Kramer Electronics, a giant provider of audio/video systems for commercial applications.

“We now have 25 offices around the world to help us sell products,” says iRule founder and CEO Itai Ben-Gal in an interview with CE Pro.

The two companies have worked together since early 2015, when Kramer used iRule software as the basis of its first comprehensive control system called K-Touch.

Previously, commercial A/V pros had to rely on third-party control systems like Crestron or AMX to integrate Kramer products. They can still do that, of course, but they can also use Kramer’s home-grown K-Touch platform.

For its part, iRule had focused on the DIY home-automation market for most of its seven-year existence, selling basic A/V control software for as little as $50. By 2013, however, the company started investing heavily in the pro-installation channel, adding integration drivers for pro-centric subsystems.

Next: Kramer Wins ISE 2015 with K-Touch Commercial Control by iRule

That year, iRule acquired On Controls, a company that was enhancing the iRule platform for the installer channel.

But iRule seemed to find its greatest success in commercial venues like sports bars and Best Buy’s Magnolia, where iRule’s flexible and robust software was selected to run A/V demos at the stores.

When Kramer demonstrated iRule-based solutions at Infocomm 2016, “they took home five ‘best-of’ awards,” Ben-Gal says.

Kramer’s investment in iRule “became more strategic” over the past two years, so it made sense for Kramer to buy out other iRule investors.

“We get to do more of what we want to do,” Ben-Gal says. “Sometimes you can get more done with fewer voices.”

He says iRule and On Controls are not abandoning the residential market per se, “but we are continuing a trajectory that has us more focused on commercial.”

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julie Jacobson
Follow
Julie Jacobson:
Julie Jacobson is founding editor of CE Pro, the leading media brand for the home-technology channel. She has covered the smart-home industry since 1994, long before there was much of an Internet, let alone an Internet of things. Currently she studies, speaks, writes and rabble-rouses in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V, wellness-related technology, biophilic design, and the business of home technology. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a recipient of the annual CTA TechHome Leadership Award, and a CEDIA Fellows honoree. A washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player, Julie currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and sometimes St. Paul, Minn. Follow on Twitter: @juliejacobson
View Julie Jacobson's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

Audio/Video • Control • Multiroom AV • News • Products

ARTICLE TAGS

Kramer • Mergers and Acquisitions

SHARE

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
Copy URL
← Previous Article Next Article →
Article Business SupportPress ReleasesResearch

AmEx Small Business Confidence Report Reveals Growing AI Fascination

Results from a newly announced survey of small businesses from American Express finds that participants have labor concerns.
Article ControlEnergy/PowerHVAC/IAQInterfaces/DevicesLightingMotorized ShadesProducts

Single Room Bundle from Control4 Offers Streamlined Control

Snap One has announced an affordable single room control package that includes its popular Halo remote.
Article Business SupportPress ReleasesResearch

AmEx Small Business Confidence Report Reveals Growing AI Fascination

Results from a newly announced survey of small businesses from American Express finds that participants have labor concerns.
Article Audio/VideoBuildersBusiness SupportControlLightingMotorized ShadesNetworkingOperationsSales/MarketingSecurityWhole-House Systems

Building Cultured Success with Acoustic Design Systems

How Chris Sterle took $63 and grew his custom installation business in Las Vegas and St. George, Utah, into an $8.5 million juggernaut with brilliant homebuilder relationships. 

SHOW NEWSLETTER

Sign Up

CE Pro

Subscribe Sign Up

Content Types

News
Products
Projects
Companies
Downloads
Webcasts
Podcasts
Events

Specials

CEDIA EXPO
CE Pro 100
CE Pro Summit
Awards Programs

Company Info

About
Contact Us
Customer Service
Media Solutions & Advertising

Subscribe

Magazine
Newsletters
Digital Edition

Connect

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feed

Categories

AUDIO/VIDEO
AV Accessories
AV Racks
Amplifiers/Receivers
Cabling
Displays
Furniture
Mounts/Lifts
Multiroom AV
Projector Screens
Speakers/Subwoofers
Wireless AV
CONTROL
Central Vac
Energy/Power
Interfaces/Devices
HVAC/IAQ
Lighting
Motorized Shades
Whole-House Systems
NETWORKING
Cellular
Devices/Equipment
Wireless
Wiring/Installation
SECURITY
Access Control
Alarms/Sensors
Services/Platforms
Surveillance Cameras
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Associations/Buying Groups
Distributors/Reps
Operations
Recurring Revenue
Research
Sales/Marketing
Software/Services
Tools/Testers
MARKETS
Builders
Commercial
Design
Europe
Outdoors
Wellness
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2023 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • ABOUT
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY