Digital Systems Installation (DSI)

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

Chad Barnett founded DSI in 2008 while still a full-time officer with the Weber County Sheriff's Office. He knew video and surveillance equipment from that work, and he started by helping local communities respond to rising crime concerns. With what he calls 'fellow enthusiasts' and an early bet on new technology that drew national attention, the side project became a company. Chad Barnett, Founding Story on cobaltsp.com · Cobalt announcement, Feb 2, 2026

The niche DSI found was the factory floor. Its site describes tying cameras into production lines at Frito-Lay, monitoring ten Tesoro refinery sites and wiring Rio Tinto Stadium, and a 2022 trade profile describes camera systems that watch food production from raw goods to finished product, flag equipment malfunctions and feed employee training. Barnett's line for it was that DSI's mission 'has been to force an industry to become better because we exist,' a phrase he repeated, in shorter form, in his Cobalt statement. DSI homepage case studies · Food and Beverage Tech Review, 2022 profile · Chad Barnett, Why Cobalt on cobaltsp.com

Along the way DSI became the largest Avigilon dealer in Utah and reached Avigilon's Elite Plus tier, built a solar-powered mobile surveillance unit for remote sites, and was named to Food and Beverage Tech Review's top-10 food-safety list two years running. The 2023 profile put its customers in 47 states and named a national sales director and a marketing director alongside Barnett as owner. The company promises free remote support for life on systems it installs and a five-year warranty on much of its hardware. DSI About page · DSI blog: Avigilon Elite Plus (Feb 2024) · Food and Beverage Tech Review, 2023 profile

The culture DSI sells to recruits is small-town Ogden with a passport: company parties, no experience needed for installer roles, and a promise that staff who travel for the company keep the airline points. A January 2024 post by its marketing director, who spent a day pulling wire at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center, ends with sore hands and a new respect for the installers as 'the face of our company.' DSI careers page · DSI blog: Learning Surveillance Camera Installation (Jan 2024)

Barnett framed the sale as demand outrunning what DSI could do alone: the company had become a leader in heavy and light industrial and manufacturing security, and partnering with Cobalt would let it 'accelerate innovative solutions to long-standing industry needs' in those sectors. The deal closed in December 2025 and was announced on February 2, 2026; Barnett stayed on as Special Advisor while an incoming CEO, Rick Williams, took over day to day. Chad Barnett, Why Cobalt on cobaltsp.com · Cobalt announcement, Feb 2, 2026 · Cobalt team page

The team

The people who built it

DSI's site has no team page. People named publicly: Chad Barnett (owner/founder), Curtis Fielding (National Sales Director, 2023), Dakota Taylor (Marketing Director, 2023), Stephen Severance (blog author, 2023 to 2026), and Rick Williams, the CEO Cobalt installed.

Chad Barnett, Owner (Food and Beverage Tech Review, 2023) · source

Chad Barnett, Owner (Food and Beverage Tech Review, 2022) · source

DSI install team, 2024 (Cobalt company page hero) · source

Pulling wire at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center (DSI blog, Jan 2024) · source

Company culture image on the careers page · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record

Barnett started DSI to help local communities address rising crime concerns while serving as a Weber County sheriff's deputy, and the company still calls Ogden its hometown in a blog post about securing local businesses. Cobalt announcement, Feb 2, 2026 · DSI blog: The Best Security Cameras in Ogden
Named to Food and Beverage Tech Review's 'Top 10 Food Safety Solutions Companies' in both 2022 and 2023. DSI blog, Aug 2023 · FB Tech Review 2022 profile
DSI advertises installer jobs with no experience required and trains on the job, and its careers page promises learning and advancement inside the company. DSI careers page
The company exhibited at or attended ISC West 2026 and published a recap for industrial security and IT managers. DSI blog, Apr 23, 2026

In their words

7 public statements by the founder and team

2026
Founding Story / Why Cobalt (Digital Systems Installation page) post
Chad Barnett · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · First-person: founding in 2008 as a full-time officer, early adopters and national attention, a simple focus on reliable solutions people could trust, DSI's emergence as a leader in industrial and manufacturing security, and why growing demand prompted the Cobalt partnership; ends with the company's 'because we exist' line.
2026-02-02
Cobalt Acquires Digital Systems Installation press
Chad Barnett · cobaltsp.com (News & Insights); picked up by SecurityInfoWatch · Buyer's announcement of its 17th deal (6th of 2025). Barnett quoted on the founding focus and on accelerating solutions with Cobalt; says he will stay as Special Advisor while an incoming CEO takes day-to-day responsibility.
2026-02
Cobalt Service Partners Acquires Digital Systems Installation press
Chad Barnett · SecurityInfoWatch · Trade-press pickup of the announcement; same Barnett quotes, notes his sheriff's-office background and the special-advisor role.
2023
Digital Systems Installation: Delivering Robust Food Safety and Security interview
Chad Barnett; Dakota Taylor; Curtis Fielding · Food and Beverage Tech Review (Top 10 Food Safety Solutions Companies 2023) · Profile built from an interview with Barnett as owner, with his photo. Barnett on audio analytics (glass break, gunshots) and cloud or on-prem storage; Dakota Taylor and Curtis Fielding also quoted; cites 15+ years and customers in 47 states.
2022
Digital Systems Installation (DSI): The Power of Integrated Surveillance in Food Manufacturing interview
Chad Barnett · Food and Beverage Tech Review (Top 10 Food Safety Solutions Companies 2022) · Earlier profile with Barnett's photo: founded 2007 for enterprise-level integration, Avigilon Elite Partner, and Barnett's line that DSI's mission is 'to force an industry to become better because we exist.'
2024-01-05
Learning Surveillance Camera Installation post
DSI marketing director (byline Stephen Severance) · dsinational.com (Blog) · DSI's marketing director spends a day installing Avigilon cameras at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center and writes about the physical demands, problem-solving and customer-facing role of the installers.
2026-04-23
ISC West 2026 Recap: 3 Industry Shifts Reshaping Security Camera and Access Control Integration post
DSI (byline Stephen Severance) · dsinational.com (Blog) · Post-sale company post on AI analytics as baseline, edge computing and unified surveillance/access/OT platforms for manufacturing sites.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Chad Barnett to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.

The sale

As both sides told it · on the public record

Announced Feb 2, 2026 By Cobalt (own newsroom); SecurityInfoWatch Deal #17 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder left Cobalt, Feb 2, 2026

What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced DSI on February 2, 2026 as its 17th acquisition and sixth of 2025, calling it a leading national provider of advanced surveillance and security systems whose founder's early work 'laid the groundwork for a company defined by reliability and trust.' No Cobalt executive is quoted. Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to December 2025; Benesch says it advised Cobalt.

Announcement

What the founder said

Chad Barnett said DSI's proven qualities combined with growing demand prompted the partnership; together with Cobalt DSI would accelerate solutions to long-standing needs in heavy and light industrial and manufacturing security, and the combination 'positions us to shape the future of the industry.' He stays as Special Advisor to hand day-to-day responsibility to an incoming CEO.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public. No price, structure, rollover or earn-out disclosed. Advisors: Buyer's counsel: Benesch (Chris Hopkins, Leah Beitner, Jordan Zornes), per Benesch's Feb 6, 2026 release. None named for the seller.

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated

2025-12
Close (Cobalt's company page lists 'Acquisition Date: December 2025'; the announcement counts it as the sixth deal of 2025). source
2026-02-02
Cobalt announces the deal; Barnett moves to Special Advisor with an incoming CEO to be named. source
2026-02-06
Benesch announces it advised Cobalt on the acquisition. source
2026-04-23
DSI publishes an ISC West 2026 recap on its blog; the site itself is unchanged (copyright line still '2022', no mention of Cobalt anywhere, same 2018 template). source
2026-09-28
Cobalt's team page lists Rick Williams as 'CEO, DSI National', an executive from metals distribution and manufacturing (Utah State, BYU MBA). No announcement of his appointment was found. DSI's careers page links to an external job board rather than listing roles. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership

Chad Barnett

Founder and Owner (2008 to 2025)

Left Special Advisor (per Feb 2026 announcement); no later public update source

Rick Williams

Now CEO, DSI National (Cobalt team page, Sept 2026) source

Curtis Fielding

National Sales Director (2023)

Now Not mentioned in any current source source

Dakota Taylor

Marketing Director (2023)

Now Not mentioned in any current source source

Stephen Severance

Blog author on dsinational.com (2023 to 2024)

Stayed Still bylined on the April 2026 ISC West post source

Companies Cobalt Service Partners also bought

20 on the public record

North Carolina Sound (NC Sound) Pikeville, NC Jul 13, 2026
CGL Electronic Security (with CGL Technologies of PA) Westwood May 18, 2026
LEK Technology Group Prattville Mar 19, 2026
STS360 Dallas, TX Feb 19, 2026
Galaxy Integrated Technologies Waltham Aug 21, 2025
System Integrations Lebanon Aug 21, 2025
Acme Lock & Door Cincinnati, OH May 21, 2025
Superior Alarm Systems (SAS) Canoga Park May 15, 2025
Flores Technical Services (FTS) Dallas, TX Mar 10, 2025
Nashville Door Closer (NDC) Nashville, TN Dec 17, 2024
Entrance Technologies Eagle River, WI Dec 3, 2024
Automatic Entrances of Wisconsin (AEW) Waukesha, WI Sep 23, 2024

All 21 transactions →

Sources

Everything above, dated Sept 28, 2026

Unverified at publish: Founding year conflict (2008 per founder and Cobalt, 2007 per DSI's own About page and the 2022 trade profile); headcount (never stated); the '47 states' and '#1 Avigilon dealer in Utah' claims are the company's own; when Rick Williams was appointed and whether 'DSI National' is a rename; whether Barnett is still active as Special Advisor; the founder photo is from a trade-magazine profile (fbtechreview.com), not from Cobalt or the company site; no LinkedIn URL surfaced in a public search result for any DSI person; Google, Yelp and BBB not fetchable.