JCI Johnson Controls International PLC

CORK, Ireland, Sept. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, selected Tempered Networks to provide best-in-class secure communications and network management for its OpenBlue services, further advancing cybersecurity leadership for the company's smart buildings technology ecosystem.

The agreement allows Johnson Controls to deploy Tempered Airwall as a core component of OpenBlue service offerings to protect building automation customers worldwide. OpenBlue serves many different industries including commercial and civic workplaces, hospitals, schools, campuses, and stadiums.

"The acceleration of digital transformation means our customers are realizing the benefits of operating smart buildings that are increasingly data-enabled and require the strongest levels of cybersecurity", said Vijay Sankaran, vice president and chief technology officer at Johnson Controls. "By leveraging security technology from Tempered Networks, we enable smart buildings with industry-leading secure remote access technology and AI-driven security insights to help OpenBlue customers manage risk and simplify network management, allowing them to deliver a great occupant experience."

Tempered Airwall will be integrated into OpenBlue Bridge technology, a gateway for secure edge to cloud communications.

"We are enabling Johnson Controls technicians to securely access and manage equipment at a customer site from anywhere using zero trust software defined networking and military-grade encryption, rendering building systems invisible to unauthorized users and potential attacks," said Jason Christman, vice president and chief product security officer at
Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls new OpenBlue services that leverage the Tempered Airwall platform will be available globally and addresses clear demand for improved cybersecurity and management.

"Critical infrastructure is being hacked daily because digital transformation has made it vulnerable.  The network solutions that worked in the past, like adding yet another firewall, are no longer effective", said Keith Beeman, CEO of Tempered Networks.  "With Airwall's native zero trust platform, building automation systems can now be safely and optimally managed from anywhere."

The integration of Lynwood, Washington-based Tempered Network's security technology further advances OpenBlue Services leadership in cybersecurity, building on recent partnerships with Pelion and DigiCert to provide advanced secure device management and digital trust for smart building technology.

To learn more about Johnson Controls' approach to cybersecurity, please visit www.johnsoncontrols.com/cybersolutions. 

To learn more about Tempered Networks and Tempered Airwall, please visit https://tempered.io.

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet. 

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

About Tempered Networks

Tempered Airwall protects critical infrastructure with the industry's only, truly native Zero Trust platform. Think of us as the virtual air gap protecting the systems in a smart building, the medical devices in a hospital, the machines in a factory floor. These are all use cases we solve today. Airwall helps you easily secure things and facilities while still allowing you to monitor and connect to them remotely, from anywhere. For more information visit https://tempered.io.

Johnson Controls International plc Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Johnson Controls International plc has made statements in this communication that are forward-looking and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are, or could be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this communication, statements regarding Johnson Controls' future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, synergies and integration opportunities, capital expenditures and debt levels are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "forecast," "project" or "plan" and terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Johnson Controls cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond Johnson Controls' control, that could cause Johnson Controls' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: Johnson Controls' ability to manage general economic, business, capital market and geopolitical conditions, including global inflation and component shortages; Johnson Controls' ability to manage the impacts of natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the strength of the U.S. or other economies; changes or uncertainty in laws, regulations, rates, policies or interpretations that impact Johnson Controls' business operations or tax status; the ability to develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance; changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including increased tariffs or trade restrictions; maintaining the capacity, reliability and security of Johnson Controls' enterprise and product information technology infrastructure; the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights; any delay or inability of Johnson Controls to realize the expected benefits and synergies of recent portfolio transactions such as its merger with Tyco and the disposition of the Power Solutions business;  the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the ability to hire and retain key senior management; the tax treatment of recent portfolio transactions; significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities associated with such transactions; the availability of raw materials and component products; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; labor shortages, work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with the labor force; the cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements.  A detailed discussion of risks related to Johnson Controls' business is included in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Johnson Controls' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2020 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on November 16, 2020, which is available at www.sec.gov and www.johnsoncontrols.com under the "Investors" tab. Shareholders, potential investors and others should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Johnson Controls assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this communication.

Forward Looking Non-GAAP Financial Metrics
The Company has presented forward-looking statements regarding, organic revenue growth, adjusted segment EBITA margin, and adjusted earnings per share, which are non-GAAP financial measures. These forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures are derived by excluding certain amounts, expenses, or income from the corresponding financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The Company defines organic revenue growth as revenue growth excluding the effect of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency. The Company defines segment EBITA as income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests, excluding general corporate expenses, intangible asset amortization, net financing charges, restructuring and impairment costs, and the net mark-to-market adjustments related to restricted asbestos investments and pension and postretirement plans. Adjusted segment EBITA excludes special items because these items are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of the Company's businesses. Management believes that organic growth, segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA and adjusted segment EBITA margin are useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company. Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. Free cash flow conversion is defined as adjusted free cash flow divided by adjusted net income. Management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding the strength of the Company and its ability to generate cash. Adjusted earnings per share is defined as earnings per share, less integration costs, net mark-to-market adjustments, restructuring and impairment costs, transaction costs and other nonrecurring costs, Power Solutions divestiture reserve adjustment and discrete tax items. The Company excludes these items because they are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of the Company. Management believes adjusted EPS is useful to investors in understanding the ongoing operations and business trends of the Company.

The determination of the amounts that are excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures are a matter of management judgment and depends upon, among other factors, the nature of the underlying expense or income amounts recognized in a given period, including but not limited to the high variability of the net mark-to-market adjustments and the effect of foreign currency exchange fluctuations. Our fiscal 2021 full year and fiscal 2022-2024 guidance for organic revenue also excludes the effect of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency.  

We are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of the aforementioned forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because such information is not available and management cannot reliably predict all of the necessary components of such GAAP measures without unreasonable effort or expense. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on the Company's GAAP financial results.

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SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc