Why Organizations Choose ATEK Over Dickson
Dickson’s journey from selling its first chart recorder to the University of Chicago in 1938 to operating the DicksonOne cloud platform tells the story of an industry in transition — from paper-based recording to digital monitoring. Since May River Capital acquired Dickson in 2018 and added Oceasoft’s European technology in 2019, the company has been modernizing. But for organizations evaluating environmental monitoring today, the question is whether a platform built by upgrading a century-old chart recorder business delivers the same depth as one designed from the ground up for cloud-native compliance monitoring.
Understanding Dickson
Dickson was founded in 1923 by Hunter A. Dickson, an engineer formerly with the Bristol Company. The company built its reputation on circular chart recorders — paper-based instruments that mechanically trace temperature and pressure readings onto rotating chart paper. Dickson sold its first self-contained temperature chart recorder to the University of Chicago in 1938, focused exclusively on chart recorders by 1952, and introduced electronic monitoring products in 1985.
The modern era began when May River Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on lower middle-market industrial companies, acquired Dickson in April 2018 as a platform company. In December 2019, Dickson completed the 100% acquisition of Oceasoft SA, a Montpellier, France-based company specializing in connected sensors and wireless monitoring for life sciences and agri-food markets, through a €2.85/share squeeze-out from Euronext Growth.
Today, Dickson operates the DicksonOne cloud platform with WiFi, Ethernet, and LoRaWAN connectivity, serving over 80,000 customers. The company continues to sell chart recorders alongside digital products, maintaining both legacy and modern product lines.
Dickson’s recognized strengths include:
- Century of Industry Presence — Over 100 years of environmental monitoring expertise with recognition across pharmaceutical, healthcare, food and beverage, aerospace, and manufacturing. The brand name carries weight with procurement teams who have used Dickson chart recorders for decades
- DicksonOne Platform Capabilities — Cloud-based monitoring with FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, real-time alerts (SMS, phone, email, audible), automated reporting, granular permissions, mobile app, and global multi-site management from a single dashboard
- Broad Customer Base — Over 80,000 customers including 80%+ of Fortune 100 companies, with compliance coverage across FDA 21 CFR Part 11, EMA Annex 11, GxP, and ISO 17025
Common Challenges with Dickson
Organizations evaluating or currently using Dickson frequently encounter these considerations:
- Hardware-plus-subscription cost structure: DicksonOne requires purchasing data loggers separately (the DWE2 display logger lists at $487) plus a mandatory cloud subscription ($19.50/month per logger for the first five, $6.50/month each above five). At scale, the combined hardware investment, ongoing subscriptions, and separate calibration costs can accumulate beyond initial expectations
- Chart recorder transition ambiguity: Dickson’s continued sale of 3-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch circular chart recorders alongside DicksonOne creates a product line that straddles two eras. Organizations may encounter sales conversations that blend legacy chart recorder thinking with modern cloud platform capabilities, making it harder to assess the digital platform on its own merits
- PE-driven acquisition integration: May River Capital’s platform acquisition strategy (Dickson in 2018, Oceasoft in 2019) brought European wireless sensor technology but also created integration considerations — two headquarters (Addison, IL and Montpellier, France), different technology stacks, and an ongoing product consolidation effort
- Calibration as an add-on: Dickson does not operate its own accredited calibration laboratory. Calibration services are typically provided through third-party partners or through Oceasoft’s capabilities, adding coordination complexity and separate billing for what many regulated facilities consider a core monitoring requirement
- Mobile app stability: User reports indicate the DicksonOne mobile app can crash when browsing devices and viewing data, limiting the reliability of mobile monitoring for teams that depend on smartphone-based oversight during facility rounds
How ATEK Addresses These Needs
All-Inclusive Pricing Without Subscription Tiers: Where DicksonOne separates hardware costs ($487+ per logger), monthly subscriptions ($19.50/month for the first five, $6.50/month above five), calibration fees, and validation documentation into individual line items, ATEK bundles everything into a single per-monitoring-point rate. Hardware, cloud platform, calibration, validation, training, and 24/7 support are included. No “first five vs. above five” pricing tiers, no separate logger purchases, and no annual subscription renewals to manage across your pharmaceutical monitoring infrastructure.
Born-Digital Platform Architecture: ATEK’s platform was designed from inception for cloud-native environmental monitoring. There is no chart recorder heritage in the architecture — every feature, workflow, and interface was built for real-time digital compliance monitoring. For organizations evaluating modern monitoring platforms, this means no legacy design decisions influencing the user experience, no compatibility layers bridging paper-era and digital-era products.
A2LA-Accredited In-House Calibration: Dickson relies on third-party calibration providers, adding coordination overhead and separate invoicing. ATEK’s in-house A2LA-accredited calibration lab handles calibration, certificates, and NIST-traceable documentation directly. For Canadian facilities, the local lab eliminates cross-border shipping and the associated customs delays that US-based calibration services introduce.
24/7 Monitoring Specialist Support: DicksonOne provides phone support and online assistance during business hours. ATEK guarantees a 5-minute live response from environmental monitoring specialists 24/7/365 — including after-hours temperature excursions, weekend alarm escalations, and holiday compliance events. Native bilingual support (English and French) serves Quebec facilities without language barriers.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Dickson | ATEK | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry heritage | 100+ years, 80,000+ customers | Modern platform | Dickson |
| FDA 21 CFR Part 11 | DicksonOne compliant | Compliant | Comparable |
| Chart recorder support | Full range (3”-8” models) | Not offered | Dickson |
| Fortune 100 penetration | 80%+ of Fortune 100 | Growing | Dickson |
| Pricing model | Hardware + subscription tiers | All-inclusive per point | ATEK |
| Calibration | Third-party | A2LA-accredited in-house | ATEK |
| Support response | Business hours | 5-minute guarantee, 24/7 | ATEK |
| Bilingual support (EN/FR) | Not available | Montreal-based, native French | ATEK |
| Canadian data hosting | US-hosted | Canadian-hosted, PIPEDA-compliant | ATEK |
| LTE cellular option | Not available | Available | ATEK |
Who Benefits Most from Switching
- DicksonOne customers facing subscription renewal who want to evaluate all-inclusive pricing alternatives before committing to another year of per-logger subscription fees plus separate calibration and validation costs
- Organizations still running Dickson chart recorders ready to migrate to continuous digital monitoring and looking for a platform purpose-built for cloud-native compliance rather than a digital overlay on a chart recorder company’s product line
- Canadian pharmaceutical and healthcare facilities needing bilingual support, Canadian data hosting with PIPEDA compliance, and local A2LA-accredited calibration without cross-border shipping from Illinois
Making the Transition
Switching from Dickson to ATEK accounts for the reality that many organizations have a mix of Dickson products — from legacy chart recorders to DicksonOne-connected loggers:
- Inventory and assessment — We catalog your current Dickson deployment: DicksonOne logger locations and subscription details, any remaining chart recorder positions, alarm configurations, compliance report workflows, and integration points with your quality management system
- Parallel deployment — ATEK wireless sensors install alongside existing Dickson loggers or in place of chart recorder positions. Both systems (or all three, if chart recorders are included) run simultaneously during the validation period, ensuring continuous compliance documentation
- Compliance validation — Complete IQ/OQ/PQ documentation is included. For organizations migrating chart recorder positions to digital monitoring, we provide specific qualification protocols that demonstrate equivalence or improvement over paper-based recording
- Subscription consolidation — Once ATEK is validated, DicksonOne subscriptions can be cancelled and chart recorders retired. ATEK’s all-inclusive pricing replaces the combination of logger hardware costs, DicksonOne subscription fees, third-party calibration, and separate validation documentation
When Dickson May Be the Right Fit
Dickson is the stronger choice for organizations that still require chart recorders for specific regulatory or legacy requirements — some inspection regimes and legacy SOPs still reference paper chart documentation. Organizations deeply embedded in the Dickson ecosystem across dozens of facilities with existing DicksonOne subscriptions and established procurement relationships may prefer the continuity of staying with a known vendor. Dickson’s 100+ year brand recognition and 80,000+ customer installed base provide institutional credibility valued by conservative procurement teams.
When ATEK Is the Better Choice
Choose ATEK when you need:
- All-inclusive pricing replacing DicksonOne’s hardware-plus-subscription model and separate calibration costs
- Born-digital cloud platform without chart recorder legacy in the architecture
- A2LA-accredited in-house calibration rather than third-party calibration coordination
- 24/7 live support with 5-minute response guarantee, not business-hours-only phone support
- Bilingual support and Canadian data hosting for Quebec and Canadian facilities
Start with a free assessment to compare ATEK’s all-inclusive model against your current Dickson costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ATEK FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant like DicksonOne?
Yes. Both platforms achieve FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. ATEK provides native compliance including electronic signatures, complete audit trails, ALCOA+ data integrity, and automated compliance reporting. The key difference is pricing: ATEK’s compliance features are included in the per-monitoring-point rate, while DicksonOne’s compliance capabilities require both hardware purchases and an active subscription.
Can ATEK replace Dickson chart recorders?
Yes. ATEK’s continuous digital monitoring provides real-time data that exceeds what circular chart recorders capture. For organizations transitioning from paper-based recording, ATEK provides qualification documentation demonstrating that digital continuous monitoring meets or exceeds the compliance requirements previously addressed by chart recorders. Some organizations maintain chart recorders during a transition period until their SOPs are updated to reference digital records.
How does ATEK’s pricing compare to DicksonOne’s subscription model?
DicksonOne charges separately for hardware (e.g., $487 per DWE2 logger), cloud subscriptions ($19.50/month per logger for the first five, $6.50/month above five), calibration services, and validation documentation. ATEK’s all-inclusive per-monitoring-point pricing bundles all of these. For a 20-point monitoring deployment, compare the total DicksonOne cost (logger hardware + annual subscriptions + calibration + validation) against ATEK’s single rate. Request a demo for a detailed comparison.
What happens to data stored in DicksonOne when migrating to ATEK?
Historical data in DicksonOne can be exported before cancelling your subscription. ATEK’s migration team assists with data retention planning to ensure your compliance archive requirements are met. During the parallel operation period, both platforms capture data simultaneously, providing continuous documentation through the transition.
Does Dickson’s Oceasoft acquisition affect migration to ATEK?
If your facility uses Oceasoft-origin sensors or the Oceasoft platform (common in European facilities), these are distinct from DicksonOne-native devices. ATEK’s migration assessment identifies all monitoring hardware regardless of whether it originated from Dickson’s US product line or Oceasoft’s European technology, and plans the transition accordingly.
Does ATEK support LoRaWAN like Dickson’s newer products?
Yes. ATEK supports WiFi, LoRaWAN, and LTE cellular connectivity. LoRaWAN is particularly useful for facilities with thick walls, cold storage environments, or large floor plans where WiFi signal penetration is limited — the same use cases that drove Dickson’s adoption of LoRaWAN through the Oceasoft technology.