Bridging Gaps in Security

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 9/15/2009 | Article type: Hot Topics

The current financial adversity and economic downturn have "forced" manufacturers to think more about product development, business strategy and risk management. Having witnessed the largest three industry events this year — namely SecuTech Expo, ISC West and IFSEC — A&S presents its key findings to, hopefully, shed some light on the future of security.


Technology
Continuous R&D was the one thing that most of the exhibitors at the three shows could agree on. Below are some of the highlights and emerging trends.


Video Surveillance
At the component level, Texas Instruments went all out at SecuTech Expo, demonstrating its capabilities in image processing and video analytics while advocating open standards. Others like Techwell, NXP, OmniVision, Xilinx, Grain Media, Ceramicro, Sunplus Core, Everlight and Ambarella discussed their solutions in H.264 compression, imaging sensors and LED design, for surveillance and other applications, at SecuTech's subconference, CompoSec.


In image capture, high resolution, H.264 and all-in-one were the buzzwords at all three shows. CNB and Samsung Electronics both developed new DSPs in-house — MonaLisa and A1, respectively — for their analog lines, boasting the industry's first 600 TVLs. While the migration to full IP seems to have slowed down a bit due to the global credit crunch, megapixel has still become the de facto standard in network cameras, with pixel counts ranging from 1.3 to 16 million while the most demanded are between two and five megapixel. H.264 was undoubtedly the most discussed, though resistance could be seen in some mature markets like the United Kingdom and Italy. More standardization and education are required for further growth in H.264 uptake, as three different compression profiles combined with three to four resolution possibilities can be complicated or unclear to buyers and users.


Tibet System's all-in-one camera/ DVR was an eye catcher, featuring a network camera, H.264 DVR with SD storage, PIR motion detector, PoE, WiFi and audio functions in one compact enclosure (about two sets of poker cards). Others like Bosch Security Systems and Camdeor Technology had their IP-ready cameras on display while urging users to maximize their existing analog investments.


In storage, H.264 hybrid DVRs garnered the most limelight, with vendors like AVerMedia Information dishing out easy-to-use operator interfaces for better differentiation, higher security and faster response. Cost-effective video analytics could be found in brands like Hikvision and HuperLab, helping reduce operational cost while enhancing user efficiency and performance with streamlined human resources.


For transmission, major developments were seen in fiber optics, WiFi and 3GPP, with ease of use (such as one-touch and plug-and-play) being the most demanded feature and the latter two catering to end users. Panasonic and Sony had on display their IP-over-coaxial offerings, again helping users maximize their existing installations.


Access Control
Intelligence at the edge, PoE, wireless reader-to-controller transmission, multimodal biometrics and physical/logical convergence were the common themes at the shows.


Solution providers like CEM Systems (Tyco) showcased their smart edge devices, equipped with user-friendly management software and plug-and-play PoE. Expensive cabling could also be avoided via encrypted WiFi or ZigBee transmission.


Biometrics have been gaining traction in the marketplace, thanks to ever-increasing accuracy and ever-reducing prices. Multimodal capabilities from L-1 Identity Solutions and Face-Tek, for example, help ensure higher security by verifying more than one set of biometric or traditional card/ password data.


Converged physical and logical solutions, such as those from HID
Global and Hirsch Electronics, also received much attention as they protect existing physical investments and alleviate data/privacy concerns in the logical space at the same time.


Crossover
Product and manufacturer categories were found to be increasingly blurred. Prime examples are Lenel Systems (a UTC Fire & Security company) and Brivo, known in Web-based access control and now offering video recording and management solutions.


Video management software and video analytics have been merging as well, with Milestone Systems and Genetec promoting automatic license plate recognition and access management. Providers like exacq, ISS, OnSSI and Orsus have also come out with cost-effective solutions, dabbing in both video management and analytics.


In intrusion detection, Tecnoalarm and Optex were found to advance into the video sector, providing in-house video verification solutions to reduce manpower cost in case of false alarms.


Business Reality
With respect to business development strategy, offering "do-more-with-less," cost-effective options is especially demanded in today's harsh economic climate. Cash-strapped businesses and end users are looking for relatively "entry-level" solutions that could meet the basic requirements of physical security (when faced with increasing crime rates) at competitive prices.


For example, Arecont Vision announced price cuts to all its megapixel products worldwide, aggressively eating into Axis Communications' customer base. World-renowned players such as Dedicated Micros, GE Security, Honeywell, IQinVision, Norbain (Xeno) and Pelco (a Schneider Electric company) released their no-frills lines, directly targeting small businesses and home users that could account for as much as 30 to 40 percent of any given market.


Lenel and Genetec also made their entry-level management software for physical access control blatantly obvious at their stands, while the former also offered a basic video management package.


Some resellers and users, however, expressed their concerns that the quality of service and support may deteriorate (to some, already has) should the recession drag on and more manufacturers turn to drastic cost-reducing measures like office closures and staff cuts. Luckily, there were vendors like Actiontop Electronics who boasted to provide five-year warranties on all their product offerings.


Reading Tea Leaves
Both manufacturers and integrators from the IT field have been eyeing the electronic security market for at least a couple of years now, given their experience and advantages in networking, software engineering and "marketing stunts." Most in electronic security perceive them as a real threat that will soon negatively impact profit margins, especially when more corporate users are turning security operations over to IT or MIS departments.


As such, manufacturers are advised to increase their investment in IT/IP training, for their own employees, for channel partners and for clients. HID, for example, has designed courses in networking and IT for its top 15-percent channel partners.


R&D is another area that requires unwavering support. Axis, for example, has planned to release 30 new models this year along, while many Asian manufacturers have targeted the second half of this year for full IP releases. And with more people becoming more resource-and-environment-conscious, continuous R&D ensures that solutions like video analytics and management software continue to improve in accuracy and openness.


It is inevitable for some business entities to cut back on their human resources, but it should be noted that some manufacturers have secured new accounts because these new accounts were dissatisfied with previous suppliers' reduced levels of quality and support. A number of small-to-medium players from the United States have also gone noticeably more "global" with many new hires in charge of international sales, further intensifying the competition.


Another common but hard-to-solve challenge was brought up a few times during the shows: risks associated with inventory management. Although there are glimmers of light on the horizon, the jury is still out on when the financial storm and economic recession will really subside. Even representatives from conglomerates such as ADT Worldwide and Bosch also expressed their concerns in overstocking or losing business when back orders suddenly rush in.


This game-changing downturn came at a critical juncture in the evolution of electronic security. It remains to be seen what the rise of Asia will bring and who will be left standing at the end of this race to strike a balance between price and performance.

Multisite Surveillance Eases Expansion

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 8/12/2009 | Article type: Infrastructure

In the past, upgrading and expansion of sites meant huge changes in the control room, including increasing monitors, guards, cabling and so on, which often resulted in capacity limitations. A&S discusses how the available technology today makes for smoother transitions during multiple site expansion.


Now, however, with IP-based solutions available and, provided that the system architecture is sophisticated and up-to-date, there is no need to make substantial changes in the control room when expanding the system, said Per Johansson, Senior Product Manager for Southeast Asia, Bosch Security Systems. This does not mean expansion and upgrading are easy.


A proper design of a multisite solution should ensure that the upgrade process for individual sites within the formation is independent of one another. It should not require a simultaneous upgrade of all sites, as that would mean immense downtime in the entire formation, and efforts to coordinate maintenance operations would be huge, said Barak Israel, Product Manager of Nice Systems. It is difficult enough to set a downtime period in a single site, let alone a complete multisite, which can include dozens of different sites located in different time zones, Israel continued.


For expansion, customers require migration to a new system to be seamless, with the existing system running until the new system is ready for the switchover. It might be simply replacing the video surveillance equipment in the control room, or it could require a new, bigger control room with proper IT and storage facility setup. In either case, for minimum downtime, there will be a need to prepare the new system in parallel, while ensuring the existing system remains operational, Johansson said.


In simple terms, there is a transition period where dual technologies are being run, which potentially means dual outputs within the control room. This situation is frequently driven by the end user looking to reduce capital outlay during the upgrade, and while on short term, it is cheaper to keep the existing system running for as long as it is practical, seamless integration is restricted until you do bite the bullet, said Stuart Gilbert, Security Sales Leader of EMEA and India, Honeywell Building Solutions.


System switchover must be well-planned and communicated to all involved parties across the organization, including stakeholders and IT and safety departments. With proper planning, the required facilities, tools, system interface and communications within house or external parties can be located within the control room and, if required, a disaster recovery site provided, Johansson said.


Appropriate Displays
Physical limitations, resulting from the sheer number of required displays, can be daunting, said John Centofanti, National Sales Manager, Security Systems, Americas, Panasonic System Solutions Company. To solve this, during expansion, rather than increasing the number of monitors for however many cameras added, rear projection video walls or displays are much more flexible and provide a better fit for continuous usage. While many consumer-grade displays provide cost-effective alternatives, typical "TV" monitors were not designed for 24/7 usage and will often suffer from issues ranging from image burn-in to fast image quality degradation and high failure rates, said Robert Wu, Senior Director of Market Strategy at Barco. Display solutions help reduce the amount of downtime and improve the overall TCO (including saving on power and cooling). Finally, to accommodate space restrictions in existing buildings, front access rear-projected display cubes are best for 24/7 applications. In truly tight spots, however, specialized LCD panels can be used — the key is not to have static images displayed on the same area for too long a period, such as maps, borders, timestamps, camera IDs and so on, Wu said.


For display flexibility, major areas include customizing views, viewing different inputs and sharing views. Consider a traditional control room full of monitors, each displaying one camera image feed from a matrix switch. At anytime, regardless of situation, the size of the content being displayed is fixed. During an emergency, perhaps only a handful of the images are relevant, resulting in wasted display space. With controllers placed between the matrix switch and monitors, individual images may be resized to span across multiple displays to create a better and more detailed view, Wu said.


Storage
Physical limitations, resulting from storage media capacities and the physical footprint these devices can occupy, have been a longstanding issue, Centofanti said. With added sites, onsite storage gets crowded and increases energy usage, which could mean more investment in air conditioning as storage banks need to be kept cool, Gilbert said. One way to solve this is to take the stored hub data and store it at the central site, but this can be costly and not in every user's budget.


Cost and Interoperability
Corporations need solutions built for the real world. They must look to deploy open, future-proof solutions that easily integrate with existing systems and eliminate the need to "rip and replace," said Rafi Bhonker, VP of Worldwide Marketing and Sales at Orsus. "One of our clients, for example, was faced with an unexpected merger that required security operations to find a way to integrate a handful of new, unrelated sites."


With old buildings that have existing infrastructure, adding new devices to buildings means multiple technologies. It may be difficult because sometimes users already have analog systems and want new bits added to become IP. This means different transmission streams, recording media, storage racks and so on. "None of this is technically difficult, but it comes down to cost," Gilbert said. "Another challenge for integration is protocol. A lot of integration is happening, but this doesn't mean you can integrate with everyone." There has to be a degree of willingness to allow this to happen, especially with analog systems.


Rarely can customers, even under normal credit conditions, afford to replace a system outright. Modern multisite solutions, therefore, have to provide interfaces to traditional legacy equipment as a smooth convergence point with new equipment — essentially hybrid solutions, Johansson said. Running systems in parallel has also been a big problem in multisite central control rooms without a management station capable of supporting legacy. More and more video vendors are already supplying support equipment such as hybrid DVRs or multichannel encoders to help bring legacy analog into the IP domain, said Neville Miles, VP, Systems and Products, Security Solutions, Siemens Building Technologies. This will make sure video streams are available where they are needed and help spread out the cost, over time, of moving to a full IP solution.


Choosing management stations for central command rooms with comprehensive operator privileges and partitioning, then carefully planning workgroups and access rights is imperative to make sure organizations meet legal obligations in managing data. In terms of uptime and high availability, systems without this functionality should not be deployed in multisite applications, Miles cautioned.


Evolution under Way
Multisite surveillance is a natural evolution — once the industry has matured and reached reliable IP infrastructure, multisite surveillance will be the next step. Already in other areas of the IT world, be it TV over IP networks, voice over IP, storage and data solutions, virtualization and so on, multisite technology is common, said Udi Segall, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Nice Systems. The infrastructure, therefore, is well and truly ready for additional video surveillance services.


It is, however, a phenomenon that requires all bits and pieces of the surveillance puzzle to fall into place — bandwidth, display, storage, image resolution, network protocols, integration, cost and so on — before it can become a momentous and widespread trend. At present, multisite monitoring is a technique which should only be used where operationally feasible.

Linking Multiple Sites Anywhere, Anytime

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 8/11/2009 | Article type: Infrastructure

Ten years ago, IP began tearing down the walls of traditional security set by analog devices. Today, the height of that breakthrough is finally being realized, in the form of multisite surveillance.

The market for multisite surveillance, including MNCs and government facilities, is implementing multisite surveillance. Converged surveillance solutions over geographical distances are possible, with IP infrastructure, network camera development and improved storage.

To keep up with MNCs expanding their global footprint and government organizations reaching overseas, multisite video surveillance supports users with centralized security and management operations, plus the added ability to integrate various applications on an enterprise level, across different functional workgroups, said John Centofanti, National Sales Manager of Security Systems, Americas, Panasonic System Solutions Company.

International security providers agreed their customer base shows a push toward integrated multisite solutions. "This can be ascribed to the general, increasing trend for companies and organizations to take responsibility for their own security rather than relying on the government," said Brian Kelly, MD of Bold Communications.

Gadi Piran, President and CTO of OnSSI, said it is natural to assume looking to multisite surveillance as it streamlines cost and improves overall efficiency — all of which are inherent benefits of enterprise level networked systems. 

More large installations are seeing multisite surveillance, that MNCs and government agencies are including corporate and university campuses, retail store chains across states and countries, banks, hotels, ports and harbors, government buildings, production facilities and so on, said Jon Hughes, Video Product Marketing Manager, GE Security.

Mads Frederiksen, Territory Manager for Asia, Milestone Systems, said that more than 70 percent of Milestone's global sales this year have been derived from its enterprise and corporate multisite VMS.

There is currently no legislation for multisite surveillance, as no international regulatory body for security exists. "Multisite surveillance is becoming must-have technology because the potential threat or risk to an organization is high, and companies are becoming more transparent and open to public scrutiny," said Rafi Bhonker, VP of Worldwide Marketing and Sales at Orsus.

Threats
Designing multisite surveillance systems are tricky, as traditional problems are magnified by the number of sites and connecting them. When examining risks and threats, some considerations include the type of assets protected, network topology, cameras, integration capabilities and budgets for guarding. Integrators must consider camera specifications and bandwidth requirements, said Alan Lipton, CTO, Access and ISP, GE Security.


MNCs are looking for value-added surveillance that no only identifies a security breach but has machine vision. For a manufacturer, if there is a mechanical issue with a conveyer belt, the multisite solution can identify the problem, Bhonker said.

A multisite scenario must consider all security requirements from the start. "Any site that is using multisite surveillance should have its systems designed in such a way as to be not only efficient from a transmission point of view, but also that its integrity cannot be easily compromised by an attack, often something as simple as cutting the phone line," said Doktor Jon, a 30-year veteran.

"Additionally, understanding what, when and where you want to view the video, and where you want to display real-time streams versus playback of alarmed events are important considerations," added Neville Miles, VP of Systems and Products, Security Solutions, Siemens Building Technologies.

Distributed Architecture
One of the most ROI-generating aspects of multisite surveillance is its ability to share information with users across physical boundaries. This creates a control room that exchanges traditional audio/video equipment for intelligent displays, high-performance encoders/decoders, IP network switches rather than traditional video and/or RGBHV matrices and management software as well as client software, said Robert Wu, Senior Director of Market Strategy at Barco.

Using distributed architecture to manage equipment enables two things. The first is MNC operators can have complete control of all corporate branches, said Barak Israel, Product Manager of Nice Systems. Second, the solution becomes more autonomous. If the main site is no longer operational, or the network connectivity between sites is down, then each remote branch can operate independently.

With both onsite response centers plus a central site, users can dial in on their laptops from overseas and be able to tap into the cameras and control rooms, said Stuart Gilbert, Security Sales Leader of EMEA and India, Honeywell Building Solutions.

Video Streamlining
If bandwidth is not an issue, then local recording becomes less of an issue, and recording can be done at a centralized location. Although this is a scenario that does exist, for example, with government multisite solutions using private networks, it is not the case for most deployments, Segall said. As it stands, the deluge of video and data information from analog and network cameras, encoders, storage systems like NVRs, access control and fire and alarm systems can all be streamlined into usable and organized information with sophisticated VMS, Piran said.

In the case of multiple attacks, for example, VMS could initiate a process, which the operator can follow, for global action protocols and priority levels for the same events (for example, calling the police or fire and rescue services). It would become apparent very quickly, by seeing a number of high priority alarm events appearing simultaneously in the alarm queue if an organized attack was being carried out, Kelly said.

As detection devices and cameras go into alarm, the activations can be displayed in real time on multilayered maps to provide visual progress of the event, and automatic reverse commands (such as locking down a site or, conversely, releasing all access points) could be initiated, Kelly explained.

In an instance of environmental or weather disasters, it would be impractical to individually handle thousands of simultaneous activations. Subject to prior agreement with the client, once the cause of multiple activations has been established, all events of a certain type from a particular region can be bulk-handled, and closed down with the same resolution report, Kelly said.

However, the current installed analog base is huge, resulting in compatibility issues between different firmware, for example, for DVRs. For some, this could render displays incapable of showing cameras from two or more sites on one display, simply because the DVRs used at the remote sites were supplied from different vendors or vary in age conditions. Today, many modern digital video devices allow for in-the-field firmware/software uploads that allow a seamless upgrade of legacy equipment without the need for a "forklift upgrade," Lipton said.

Apart from streaming video to the right place at the right time, it is important for VMS to allow for expansion, whether that entails more cameras, more sites or integration with other security systems and devices, Frederiksen said.

Utility Security Upholds Uncompromising Standards

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 11/5/2008 | Article type: Infrastructure

Utilities are like a country's nerve system any harm could result in serious consequences. After Sept. 11, utility sites have focused on defending vulnerabilities against threats.


The protection of critical infrastructure, such as water systems, became a high priority after Sept. 11 for U.S. federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency. Both agencies developed guidelines for the security of water and wastewater facilities. In June 2002, Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act, which requires vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans for community drinking water systems serving more than 3,000 people. Electric utilities follow the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's guidelines, starting a program for self-reporting and certification in 2008.


Security providers agreed the security market for utilities will increase. Ariel Frischoff, VP of Sales for EMEA and APAC, Agent Video Intelligence, said the market is roughly US$300 to 500 million. Rajeev Kaushal, Division Head of einfochips, estimated the global market size to be billions of dollars. Other interviewees felt it was difficult to put a figure on utilities, since threats differ from region to region.


Threats
Utilities face several threats. One threat is physical attacks that would inflict damage or destruction to vital infrastructure. "These attacks can include terrorism, sabotage or vandalism," said Tom Wallace, Sales Manager for Utilities, Security Systems Division, Southwest Microwave. "For water utilities, these acts can threaten raw water supply, water treatment plants and storage or distribution facilities. This could potentially affect water and power delivery, or public and environmental health and safety."


Other threats include planting of explosive devices and arson. Dumping of flammable or toxic substances into water, treatment facilities or distribution systems could be a potential risk. Theft of material such as copper or destruction of assets is also a big concern.


Utilities also have to assume the risk of hacking into a facility's supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system or deletion of critical files and databases. In addition, liability risks are real, such as injury or death to individuals by drowning or electrocution from high-voltage equipment.


Internal threats cannot be ignored, such as employees stealing information, materials or equipment. "Employees of critical utilities site are exposed to sensitive information about the site," Frischoff said. "For example, a nuclear plant contains information on nuclear energy processes that are confidential. Employees may have access to it and try to steal it to sell it on the market."

Perimeter
Perimeter systems are the first crucial layer of security for utility sites. It has to both deter and detect, often with barriers, cameras and monitoring systems.


"Perimeter sensors allow security personnel to detect an intrusion attempt to the outer perimeter," Wallace said. For example, fences topped with razor wire, are an effective delay to unauthorized entry. Monitoring equipment provides visual assessment of the disturbance, allowing security personnel to respond quickly.


Environmental conditions have to be considered when implementing perimeter systems. "Usually utility sites are very big in size, and are located in areas where environmental elements are very strong, like wind, snow or hot deserts," said Frischoff. "This makes them very difficult to safeguard."


"To overcome harsh weather conditions, Magal's taut wire is designed for installation near the sea in humid conditions, snow or strong winds. It offers high probability of detection and a low false-alarm rate." said Adam Rosenberg, VP of Marketing for Magal Security Systems.


False-Alarm Control
Several types of sensors can be used for perimeter security. The most important criteria for perimeter intrusion are the number of false alarms and the associated technologies to reduce them.


"It has to be considerably low," Philbin said. "Otherwise, sites will pay unbelievable prices, having security guards even police running back and forth to remote and expansive sites." Electrified fences have fewer false alarms because a physical action is required to initiate an alarm. Magal Security Systems said its false-alarm rate for its taut wire system is one false alarm per kilometer in three months.


Access Control
At many utility sites, employees enter through a detection gate and have their belongings searched. Between gates, there are different levels of security for employees, with different authorization granting access to different areas.


Oren Feldmann, VP of Marketing and Sales at EVT, said access control for utilities is usually combined with other systems, such as alarm-triggered video or video analytics. "If someone has gone through a gate, a video will pop up and be viewed live from the control room," he said. "Or if someone has stayed in a gateway where everybody is supposed to pass in a few seconds, then the video analytics will tell the operator what the person is doing."


Access control can play a larger role in an integrated system. "In a hazardous environment, access control can track who is in a facility, their real-time location and in the event of an emergency, direct first responders to that exact point," said Susan Alderman, Project Marketing Director for EMEA and India, Honeywell Building Solutions.


It can be governed down to the smallest details, such as working with ID card management, authenticating contractors and visitors on prespecified locations, times and training credentials, Alderman continued. Access control can also be used to protect intellectual property, along with tracking valuable portable assets to predetermined boundaries.


Product Trends
Perimeter security will always be the first protection for utility sites. "Utility companies are still perimeteroriented and typically spend more on perimeter protection than for internal security," said Andrew Minnikin, President of Pacom Systems U.K. and Northern Europe.


System integration is another trend for utilities, owing to a need for operational efficiency as well as security. Frischoff estimated this market to grow at 25 to 40 percent annually.


Integration will offer financial gains to utilities. "In our experience, this equates to at least a 20-percent saving on operational costs more if a fully integrated design process is applied at the initial design stage," Alderman said.


Integration will lead to improved situational awareness and real-time responses. For example, Chitayat said, the Orsus Situator can automatically notify the relevant agencies and personnel when certain events occur, such as water pollution, resulting in faster responses.


Future Outlook
Increased situational awareness is a goal that security providers strive for. "All sensors, all systems and all information will drop a conclusion through one procedure to the security person of what is happening and what they need to do," Feldmann said. "An operator goes to site one to site 20, and all sites will need to look the same and feel the same."


Video analytics are getting smarter, with demand growing to detect more unauthorized intrusion and eliminate false alarms. "The money will be spent much more smartly in the future," said Eli Gorovici, President and CEO for DVTel.

 

Development of Israel's Security Industry

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 1/28/2008 | Article type: Hot Topics

It is almost inconceivable that the security industry could have reached the heights that it enjoys today without input from Israeli companies. A&S looks at the countryˇs various strengths.

Having fought five major wars in its first four decades, Israel has built a comprehensive standing army  the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)  and has furnished it with an arsenal of highly advanced military hardware. Facing a shrinking market over the last two decades, the global defense industry, including the IDF, has had to cope. Israeli defense concerns have made a concerted effort to employ R&D teams in devising products for non-military markets.

Demobilized soldiers and Russian immigrants with technological know-how brought new ideas and energy. According to Arlene Marom, Director of Tech River, these immigrants had ideas that they were unable to develop in Russia. Incubators were set up to employ these immigrants, while turning technological concepts into commercial successes through a framework of support and financial aid.

The Israeli government has been a major contributor to Israel's high-tech industry. It was instrumental in backing large numbers of projects, said Marom. This helped turn ideas into marketable products. Major successes were the establishment of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of Israelˇs Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor; the Israel Export & Int e rna t iona l Coope r a t ion Institute; and Israelˇs venture capital infrastructure.

Universities are another source of leading technologies. The Israeli government invests more than US$260 million per year in supporting research. The state has also invested heavily in English proficiency. This has had a particular benefit for the ICT industry, where English serves as the lingua franca. In addition, Israelis receive eight years of English as a second language through the end of high school.

A small economy with a relatively limited internal market, Israel can only boost economic growth by increasing exports. The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute put non-defense and military-related security exports at $1 billion in 2005 with non-defense IT exports at double this figure. The institute also reported that the first half of 2007 saw 27.3 percent growth in industrial exports to the U.S. (not including diamonds) for a total of $4.7 billion. Of this amount, $2.64 billion was generated by the high-tech sector.

As Israel is a purveyor of securityrelated products to the world, in the course of negotiations between the Israeli government and foreign companies, agreements are made that foreign companies will purchase goods and services from Israeli sources, said Trendlines. Furthermore, the report stated that, in the U.S., large companies such as Lockheed Martin have departments that promote trade with Israel so as to ¨capture industrial cooperation credit.〃 With a substantial portion of buy-back obligations created as a result of Israeli government purchases from U.S. companies active in defense and security-related matters, these U.S. companies seek to satisfy their obligations by making or promoting purchases from Israeli companies that are active in these same markets.

Leading Technology

Alarms

Israeli companies are instrumental in the development of alarm technology. Alarm system manufacturers in Israel fully understand that these systems have become commodities due to high demand worldwide and the competitiveness of OEMs, especially in Southeast Asia, said Lior Konitzki, Director of the Aerospace, Defense and Homeland Security Division at the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. The fact that Israeli companies remain competitive is due largely to the knowledge that has been gathered in Israel regarding system installation. Current leaders in the sector include Electronics Line 3000, Visonic, RiscoGroup, Pima and Crow.

Perimeter

One emerging segment for perimeter security in Israel is software designed for perimeter protection planning and management of emergency situations within protected areas. Leading companies include 4DM, Ness TSG, Orsus and Rontal. Leaders in solutions for non-physical barriers include Hadas, Emza, SpiderTech and Magal; leaders in systems for intrusion detection that incorporate cameras and sensors are Magna, Dr. Frucht and Magal. Other notable players are Elta (Israel Aerospace Industries), El Far, Elbit and RBTech.

Surveillance

¨The advantage of Israeli video surveillance companies is their ability to analyze threats and to implement the right, cost-effective solution,〃 Konitzki said. ¨We have seen many cases where government and private organizations pour huge amounts into video surveillance without actual ability to use the system as an operational tool. The key word is integration and interoperability between cameras and sensors.〃 Major players are the Mer Group, Megason, KP, Orad, Video Domain, Magal and ioimage.

Access Control

¨This sector is another where competition against world players is tough. The successful companies are those that embed innovative biometric solutions for the government and homeland security market. Finger-based biometrics is still the leading segment, although we are seeing a trend for behavioral and voice biometric solutions. Major players in biometrics are BioGuard, IDesia, PerSay and Rafael. When it comes to behavioral-based systems, notable are Nemesisco and SDS (Suspect Detection Systems). Synel, Orad and KP Electronic Systems lead in access control,〃 Konitzki said.

Public Companies

Israeli companies are successful in other areas as well. There are more Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ than from any other country outside the U.S. Being a publicly traded company has several advantages, explained Steve Gasner, Director of the Risk Management & Analytic Services Division, Dun & Bradstreet (Israel). It opens the door to funding and new markets, while offering transparency.

The advice given by Shabtai Shoval, CEO of Suspect Detection Systems, was succinct: ¨Being a publicly traded company in the U.S. is beneficial in terms of both funding and reputation. Being a publicly traded company in the E.U. also brings funding benefits, but this is much less so in the case for companies traded outside these two foreign markets.〃

Going public on stock exchanges outside of Israel, the U.S. and the E.U. can bring exposure and acceptance from outside markets, said Dagan Sadeh, CEO of Visual Defence. Other stock exchanges, like the Nikkei, are comparable and every bit as powerful. Thus, a listing on the Nikkei can bring both increased exposure and legitimacy within important APAC markets and also to the global security market as well.

Company Profiles

Agent Video Intelligence

The company has 50 employees, 70 percent of whom are engaged in R&D. In fact, more than 50 percent of the companyˇs budget goes to R&D. The Agent Video Intelligence (Agent Vi) system includes platform components and specific algorithms called¨detectors.〃Platform components consist of a software module called an ¨agent,〃 which performs raw processing of images as seen by each camera in the field prior to compression. This process is called ¨feature extraction.〃 The result is very low-bandwidth data (usually less than 10 kilobits per second) that is transmitted to the server for further processing.

The Agent Vi server is the brain and main component. It receives and processes data streams from up to thousands of Agent Vi-embedded video devices connected to the network. Using the IPoIP architecture, which supports low bandwidth bidirectional communication with Agent Vi-enabled units, the server performs a wide range of software preconfigured detection missions in real time.

The Agent Vi-Sentry command and control (C2) application enables users to monitor and handle events, set event detection criteria, and control various parameters. Using the Vi-Sentry, a single operator may handle, review and analyze automatically detected suspicious activity from thousands of cameras in the field. Vi-Sentry is designed to minimize amount of visual information exposed to the operator. Only suspected events or manually selected cameras are displayed.

Electronics Line 3000

Electronics Line, established in 1982, evolved from being a traditional manufacturer of security systems to an industry market leader. Over the past five years, the company has concentrated mainly on wireless systems for the growing residential market. The emphasis has shifted to user ability to control the system from inside the home and remotely via a landline, cellular, PC or PDA, while offering providers applications for streamlined operations like advanced installation, management and diagnostic tools.

The companyˇs latest product line offers advanced functionality within a sleek, ultra-modern and sophisticated design. This new solutions also feature the companyˇs newly implemented GPRS platform. This state-of-the-art platform realizes the operational benefits of both GSM and broadband communications, providing advanced functionality coupled with reliability and low operational costs. The GPRS-based solution offers innovative interactive management applications and tools for end-users and providers, while offering the latter the advantages of a scalable solution which leverages existing, advanced communication networks.

IDesia

IDesia has 10 full-time employees, all in R&D. This does not include Executive Chairman Gideon Barak, who is active in marketing as well as R&D. IDesia BioDynamic Signature (BDS) technology utilizes unique and consistent features of the human heart beat, providing unprecedented anti-spoofing security based on a positive proof of life. Biometric features are captured by simply touching conductive media for just a few seconds, followed by proprietary signal analysis that provides biometric identification results. Among its many advantages over existing solutions, BDS technology is far easier to integrate into compact electronic devices and operate; it has the best performance to cost ration on the market. Most important, it almost never fails.

IDesia plans to apply its BDS technology into the whole spectrum of commercial and enterprise biometric products. Israeli company Aladdin Knowledge Systems has an agreement with IDesia to integrate BDS technology into its e-Token product. The product is a flash drive-sized device which, when plugged into the USB, provides IT security for network enterprise applications. In addition, large automobile manufacturers have also approached IDesia to use its technology in driver identification as well as car automation projects.

ioimage

ioimage, a privately held company, has been at the vanguard of intelligent video applications, delivering IP cameras and encoders with powerful built-in video analytics and unique designs geared toward simplicity. ioimage created a new segment in the intelligent video market by shifting from pure software to hardware devices. In 2006, approximately 75 percent of sales were to commercial, non-government entities. The company operates globally with the majority of revenue still coming from the EMEA region, with the highestgrowing regions being the U.S. and Asia-Pacific. ioimage sells primarily through distributors and large system integrators.

Magal Security Systems

Magal Security Systems has been in the business since 1969. Revenue in 2006 reached $66.9 million, with Israel accounting for 39 percent, followed by the U.S. with 20 percent, Europe 12 percent and other countries 29 percent. Magal invests 8 percent of revenue into R&D. Magalˇs core technology is high-end physical security  physical deterrents comprising intrusion detecting sensors; its major technology is taut wire. The company also produces command and control and multimedia surveillance systems. These systems can handle not only video motion detection, but also digital video recording. Serving as workstations, they can control entire sites comprising hundreds of cameras.

Magal has also acquired or adapted technologies initiated by third parties such as Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Other technologies have come through acquisitions  buried cable sensors developed by Stellar and GPS technology from Dominion Wireless.

MATE Intelligent Video

MATE Intelligent Video has a subsidiary in the U.S. and a strategic partnership in China. The company's main revenue-generating regions are North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Out of MATEˇs 60 employees, 40 percent are R&D staff. MATE is a pioneer in video content analysis (VCA) with 10 years of proven experience. Its state-of-the-art VCA algorithms are developed in-house. MATEˇs core knowledge allows maximum flexibility and the ability to customize products. The companyˇs technology is based on open architecture so that it is easy to integrate with other suppliersˇ technology.

MATEˇs products include iSense, a video counting solution for people and cars. In addition, its Access Watch is a patented video analytic system designed to detect tailgating, piggybacking, counter flow and intrusion through access control doors. Installed above the entrance, the embedded DSP (digital signal processor) analyzes video in real time both from an onboard camera and from a second, external camera to achieve unprecedented detection accuracy (higher than 95 percent) and extremely low false-alarm rates.

NICE Systems

NICE , traded on both the NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, has a presence through five regional headquarters and five R&D centers across the world; it has sales channels in more than 100 countries. The company has close to 1,900 employees, with more than 450 in five worldwide R&D sites. Approximately 10 percent of the companyˇs revenue (non-GAAP 2006 revenue was $418 million) is invested in R&D.

NICE ˇ s uniqueness lies in advanced interception, mediation, monitoring and analysis of multimedia communication; its solutions operate in video, radio, telephony and IP-based communication environments, offering advanced IP-based video surveillance, real-time detection, content analysis, zero point-of-failure reliability, and enhanced command and control center management. NICE Insight from Interactions solutions are based on management and analysis of unstructured multimedia content from telephony, the Web, radio and video communications. For security markets, NICE offers next-generation video security solutions such as NiceVision Net  a complete, end-to-end solution for IP video security  and NiceVision ControlCenter  an enhancement to its video management applications suite, including new capabilities for advanced control room management and a network-based digital video matrix.

PerSay

PerSay is one of the few companies worldwide to have successfully deployed voice biometrics for commercial verification purposes. A team of 12 R&D staff members has developed PerSayˇs core technology and platform  one of the largest groups to focus completely on voice biometric technology. Some 60 percent of PerSayˇs revenue is poured back into R&D.

PerSay is a Verint spinoff; this has enabled it to develop its FreeSpeech product, which offers text-independent verification capabilities that are successfully used by financial institutions in contact centers with both standard telephones and Voice over IP. The system can handle more than 200,000 voice prints and verification takes place within 10 seconds. It also provides watch list checks to detect certain speakers when they call. Another of the companyˇs best-selling items is its text-dependent speaker verification product. Vocal Password is currently being deployed by Canadaˇs Bell for 300,000 voluntary customers.

PIMA Electronic Systems

PIMA is an Israeli firm that develops and manufactures intruder a l a rm sys t ems . Today, PIMA accounts for more than 40 percent of the Israeli intruder alarm market. It sells its products to more than 50 countries. In addition, PIMA also develops and manufactures central monitoring station hardware and software and communication accessories. The company was the first to develop a display system that, in one glance, enables the installer and user to see the status of the whole system. There is no need to press anything or go to a different menu.

Synel Time and Atendance Systems

Synel Time and Attendance Systems, a public company that has been traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 2000, has 250 employees with approximately 40 staff members in the R&D department. Some 7 percent of total revenue goes back into R&D. Synel's revenue in 2006 was $21.7 million, of which access control systems accounted for approximately 30 percent. This represents 14-percent revenue growth from 2005.

The company focuses on five main targets: utilization of technological advantages, aggressive international marketing, development of futuregeneration data collection products, supply of synergic complementary solutions and creation of HR as the main company asset. The company aims to provide a complete solution for managing and controlling employees, visitors, outsourced personnel and vehicles entering an organizationˇs premises on a daily basis. The Harmony solution comprises an extended access control module which caters to most current market needs. It also features time and attendance, job costing, project costing, HR, and payroll modules. The system reduces operational costs and eliminates need for multiple databases.

Visonic Group

Established in 1973, Visonic is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Wireless products make up 63 percent of revenue, wired 28 percent, real-time location products 6 percent and access control products roughly 3 percent. Visonicˇs main business is in security alarms (80 percent). This is followed by its safety products division (devices for detection of gases, flooding and smoke), healthcare and those from Visonic Technology subsidiaries  access control and real-time location products.

Its integrated Amber health-care panel is unlike other personal emergency response systems. The fully wireless panel not only receives signals from a large variety of detectors and sensors, but also connects to the call center in the event of an emergency for two-way communication.

Managing Systems: Beyond Security

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 12/13/2007 | Article type: Hot Topics

As businesses, public services, educational facilities and governmental institutions grow, so do the buildings and complexes to contain them and, therefore, their infrastructure and security requirements. "Without proper facility management ," said Hansjoerg Wigger, Press Officer of Siemens Building Technologies, "the cost is usually a combination of revenue loss, service disruption, equipment replacement, damage repair and increase in insurance premiums." Managing security and non-security systems on one single interface is not an easy task, but there are software vendors who have brought us closer to this ideal.

The success of an integrated system is fully dependent on its ability to maintain the most up-to-date support of the integrated components. "Specifically, the system should support and expose the latest features and capabilities of each subsystem," said Carlos Lopez-Reyna, Global Product Manager for Honeywell Security. Additionally, an integrated platform should provide a powerful framework upon which each of the integrated components can interact. "Finally, the offering should provide a time-proven mechanism to integrate pre-existing systems while providing access to the latest technologies and features."

Connecting the Dots

While Lenel offers support for security systems, building automation systems can also be linked to its solution. "We have tools and can integrate with any building management systems with OPC (OLE process control)," Ross said. "Any events triggered in the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system can be brought into OnGuard as well, which is reported into the database and links into any other system." With such a highly automated system, Lenel's solution aims to be as user-friendly as possible without being overwhelming. "The system is relatively intuitive," Ross said. "On the operator side, we put in a lot of time and effort, maintaining a positive user experience."

Getting multiple inputs to display on one screen is a selling point of Canadian Visual Defence's solution, along with processing them in real time. ¨"The system can deal with 2,000 alarms per minute, 1 million a day," said Founder and Chairman Barry Tal. Even in the event of a fire, the system will continue to process signals and events accordingly. "We can set up a workflow for how to react to alarmed events, with questions and answers, getting step-by-step responses."

The solution is suited for large installations, such as mass transit. Tal said Visual Defence integrated all devices to one inter face for a U.S. transit authority on the East Coast, which used to operate five individual systems on separate screens, but now has them on one. As security personnel can operate the different systems from one platform, standardized workflows can also be implemented.

The Orsus Situator situation management system is for integrated security and safety control rooms. It has advanced yet easy-to-use planning tools that transform routine and emergency plans into actionable, adaptive tasks and procedures and integrate them with virtually any security and safety devices, device controllers, systems and dynamic data sources. "Situator has a unique and powerful tool for the planning phase that enables the organization to plan flexible, dynamic responses to almost any type of incident in an intuitive way," said Shirlee Segev, Marketing Communications Manager for Orsus. "The planning tool enables managers to implement policies for routine and emergency activities, while considering the available human and physical resources."

The different systems talk to each other by using Situator's rule-based engine that defines activation rules to be executed when events take place. "The rules engine processes sensor alarms and automatically activates pre-defined procedures or recommends procedures for operators to follow," Segev said. In addition to launching procedures, the rules engine also triggers various actions, including automatic post-event reports.

DVTel presents a unified view of security data. "The DVTel intelligent Security Operations Center (iSOC) was designed to encompass more than IP video for security," said Kim Robbins, Director of Marketing Communications. The DVTel iSOC is a unified video and access control system, which is based on a video platform as opposed to the standard access control platform. Video is the more challenging application from a resources standpoint.

DVTel plans to announce plug-in modules which offer additional features and functionality, with APIs and SDKs to ease the integration process. Robbins said, "For this kind of platform, people want to do all kinds of things building management, perimeter fencing and much more so this feature will help third-party software integration go more smoothly."

The desire for one platform stems from the short comings of maintaining multiple systems, said Anthony DeStefano, Director of Integrated Security Systems for TAC. "Companies are looking for a single system for everything an integrated platform that can accomplish energy management, video, access control, intrusion detection and so on." In the past, these systems have always been kept separate; in a single building, there could be one provider for video, one for access or intrusion and one for building automation. "You would have four different integrators servicing one facility. The trend is to cut out all of the cost of running individual cable for all these devices, put it all on one cable, and run it all on one building management system." "With our solution, when there's not much activity at night and it's easier to manage," DeStefano said, "one properly trained operator can literally control the whole building from one station just one of the benefits of the technology that helps reduce operating cost." Honeywell is well positioned to address the needs of the integrated physical and logical security market, said Lopez-Reyna. "For example, Honeywell's Pro-Watch security management platform and SmartPlus platform allow for enterprise processes like HR provisioning, regulatory compliance, brand protection and so on. This solution is a direct result of the Honeywell and Novell collaboration, which enables ample and a variety of IT adaptors and development tools to meet the needs of converged solutions."

"Moreover,"said Mark Freer, Business Development Consultant for Bytes Systems Integration, "Honeywell's Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) is a high-performance platform for monitoring and managing building devices and systems, including access control, surveillance, IT/ IP subsystems , telecommunications, HVAC, lighting, hydraulics, water, electrical equipment and more."

With EBI, users have single-window control over all building operations and all the relevant data needed to maximize building performance. "The subsystems are able to talk to each other because when they are integrated into EBI," said Freer, "the information is normalized into a standard representation. This facilitates integration between the different building subsystems so that the building becomes an intelligent one."

"Bosch's Building Integration System (BIS) utilizes an open system and combines all the major IT standards and requirements that security and facility mangers are asking for," said Reinhard Bloss, Product Manager of Integrated Systems for Bosch Security Systems. "The power and capability of BIS is the true integration of different subsystems which are often supplied by different vendors. With BIS, information from individual subsystems can be presented in a common, uniformed GUI to the operator." Third-party products are connected via OPC as this standard is already adopted by a large number of products on the market. "Of course we support older products, too, via serial interfaces and OPC converters or via data-gathering equipment with I/O switches," said Bloss.

"IPSecurityCenter is an intelligent software solution, allowing customers to tailor the interface, processes and reporting procedures to their individual security needs and integrating legacy and disparate systems and devices," said Beverly Mann, VP of Marketing for CNL. "Our unique differentiation is that IPSecurityCenter is vendor-independent , technology- and device -agnostic, and is able to integrate any number of devices against customer requirement." The solution integrates applications from video surveillance, alarm systems, life-critical systems and HVAC, as well as group and functional business systems. "Driven by customer-defined, end-to-end processes, IP Security Center ensures compliance to security and business policies from single- and multi-incident response to total, real-time situational awareness response all the way through to resolution and audit."

When connecting to third-party systems, IPSecurityCenter provides a software layer between the device and IPSecurityCenter's built-in workflow and management process functionality. "This makes it possible for IPSecurityCenter to react to virtually any change initiated by the device," said Mann, "and for IPSecurityCenter to then talk to other systems, either by updating the other systems because of an event trigger, an operator intervention, or to ask for related incident information such as video."

Previously, some of the challenges have arisen due to the varying nature of customer requirements leading to long deployment cycles. "Experience has shown that a large percentage of customer requirements are broadly similar," Mann said, "but within those requirements, a degree of tailoring to the individual customer is required. Therefore we have a library of built-in, customer-driven templates allowing the customer to tailor to their individual requirement, right down to the appearance of the GUI." This allows development to be focused on individual client requirements. ¨This enables the customer to have a tailored and finely-tuned solution while saving time and money in both installation and deployment.〃

Tyco has three competitive differentiators in the market. "One, we provide a complete solution in our Software House C·CURE 9000 Security and Event Management System, offering both hardware and software, so when users have an issue they can make one call to resolve it," said Kim Carito, Marketing Manager, Tyco Safety Products. "Two, we have a global reach, with offices in more than 60 countries. Third, we have among the world's most qualified network of system integrators to complement our own installation and services teams."

C·CURE can handle up to 10,000 or more inputs, including any mix of video, physical access, HVAC, traffic and others. Different systems can communicate with each other via the embedded Microsoft .NET architecture, with FIPS-approved encryption ensuring secure communications between the client devices and the central server. "Powerful APIs serve as the foundation for an SDK that developers can use to ensure the integration of and communications among multivendor subsystems," Carito said.

With great integration capabilities, advanced alarm routing, and remote access for system administration and monitoring via a light client, Tyco's flagship solution possesses one of the richest communication platforms in any industry. For effective information management, C·CURE supports multiple layouts and monitoring station panes in the same window to enable users to focus on system activity, while another window displays live video.

The platform puts a unique spin to a familiar look and user experience. The intuitive C·CURE inter face is similar to the well-known Outlook application and Windows Explorer "tree structure" while maintaining the functionality its powerful predecessor, the 8000 series. Context sensitive menus allow user s to control objects in real time, enable/ disable cardholders from one sorted list, and create a customized system for specific requirements.

Magal's Fortis also operates on an open-system architecture. "Any types of sensors in the field (cameras, access control, perimeter, etc.) can be integrated and would report back to Fortis via TCP/IP networks," said Nadav Tzur, Software Specialist of C4I Division of Magal Security Systems. "Each subsystem is controlled by a piece of management software, and Fortis has access to all of them through vendor-specific SDKs and APIs." From a central workstation, operators can rapidly display, control and direct individual sensors, significantly increasing their effectiveness.

Fortis has the simplicity and capability to allow forces in the field to receive information from the sensors and adjust their way of reaction, said Adam Rosenberg, VP of Marketing. "The Fortis enables each individual field and patrol team to receive on a vehicle LCD or PDA a picture of the incident and be more aware of the type and cause of the alarm." The control center can direct guards on which route to take to the alarmed area, consequently approaching the incident and sealing off the area in an efficient way.

ROI is Key

Johnson Controls offers C&C software integrating multiple security technologies from different vendors into one workflow for alarm and event management. "While many vendors have integrated command and control, most often the integration is limited to single brands of subsystems," said Steve Thompson, Director of Fire and Security Products. "Our customers are requesting more brand-agnostic solutions."

A number of Johnson Controls' customers, particularly large multinationals, have large property portfolios grown over time through acquisition. This often results in a diversity of dissimilar systems under multiple brands that can be expensive to manage. For multiple brands of access control systems, the challenge is even greater as keeping credentials up to date is both labor-intensive and error-prone. By offering a single platform, Johnson Controls' customers can benefit from lower cost of operation, improved security and better compliance.

In addition to vendor-neutral middleware, Johnson Controls unveiled updates to their access control and video systems to blend traditional and IP technologies in one environment. "Many of our customers have been struggling with when and how to move their security systems to the latest IP standards," Thompson said. "By providing compatibility with both in a hybrid solution, our customers can negotiate a smooth transition to IP on their own timeline and budget."

TAC predicted that having even more product standardization will become possible with federal legislation on the horizon. Next-generation products for access control will have to be HSPD-12- and FIPS 201-compliant, and this will be a big change in the area of access control in the U.S. "American companies are pretty much reactive," DeStefano said. "Unless their security system is not working or they are required to meet a government standard, they won't upgrade their system. What companies do want when they're building new facilities is to put everything on one common infrastructure." For example, a single common IP network for the entire facility will literally have one Cat-6 cable or optical fiber.

Support for multiple third-party edge devices and legacy hardware that allows users to extend the life of their systems through a common and familiar inter face is in great demand, as this will increase users' return on investment in the various systems acquired over the years. Convergence of technologies and protocols is easier said than done, but it is obvious that these software houses are not slowing down or stopping anytime soon!

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2007 Prime Product of the Year: Part I

Your Wish is My Command? Not So Fast...

Security in Control and Ready to Roll

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 12/13/2007 | Article type: Hot Topics

Integration. It is a buzzword overly used in the past few years that no longer describes the kinds of advances showcased at recent security exhibitions. What do you call it when information from your surveillance or access control system is utilized to adjust lighting, air conditioning or network privileges? A&S probes into a budding, holistic approach known as situational awareness.

First-generation management software packages typically act as librarians and gatekeepers that simply keep information archived and let it in or out of storage upon request. Often, actionable intelligence passes by unnoticed, causing preventable security breaches and unnecessary losses. When information is now measured in terabytes, managing complex issues and events on every system within your premises requires advanced software engineering.

To better understand and distinguish between different management software packages on the market, A&S broke them into two categories. The first category is for solutions that govern single or multiple security systems, such as video management, access control, perimeter fencing or a combination of these. These solutions do not control or — for lack of a better word — integrate signals from non-security systems, such as fire systems or building automation for elevators or ventilation. Vendors of these types of solutions include Milestone, Genetec, Verint, IndigoVision, Nice, MDI, Mirasys, Nedap, Bioscrypt and so on.

The other category, command and control (C&C), is for software platforms that link every imaginable system onto one inter face. This layered architecture gives security personnel, on site or off site, a complete overview of all subsystems, rather than individual screens or windows for surveillance, access control, intrusion, IT and other subsystems. An ideal C&C platform works as an omnipotent facilitator that allows information to flow freely among different subsystems' management software, gathers useful bits and communicates them to responsible parties for timely, appropriate and sometimes automatic reactions.

For example, if a glass-break sensor triggers an alarm, the system could lock down certain access control points and send alerts to guards with corresponding surveillance footage and floor plan. With unified management of subsystems, swiping a door card does not merely open the door and switch on the lights, but also adjusts for temperature and sends cooled air to the right area. Vendors of C&C solutions include Tyco, Bosch, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Magal, DVTel, TAC, Lenel, CNL, Orsus and so on.

Integrating logical data from all subsystems, along with merging hardware components, makes creating truly integrated platforms a challenge. While linking each subsystem's database or software to a C&C platform can be easily made possible through software development kits (SDKs), commanding specific hardware components a PTZ camera or an elevator directly from the C&C console through proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs) is trickier, when analog or preexisting devices are involved.

The ultimate goal of C&C platforms is situational awareness, or a holistic approach to comprehensive facility management through converged subsystems, giving security personnel a birds-eye view of all alarmed events on a location. To see how this ideal is embodied, we spoke to several vendors about their solutions to find out what makes management software tick.

Security Management

Keeping an Eye on Video

Milestone prides itself on having an open IP video platform, capable of integrating products from third-party vendors. This allows customers to have more than one hardware vendor, freeing them from "proprietary jail." Milestone's easy-to-manage video management software comes in several versions for different user needs, from a single server solution (for less than 25 cameras) to a fully distributed, multi-server solution that is scalable for an unlimited number of cameras. "The solutions monitor for events, linking servers, cameras and inputs from third-party products like access readers, fire alarms and points of sale," said CEO Lars Thinggard. Security personnel, thus, have a real-time overview of alarms and technical problem alerts, with live verification to deal with any possible issues.

Genetec offers a scalable solution, capable of integrating 50,000 cameras, said Michel Chalouhi , Director of Product Management. "Omnicast is an enterprise-class, IP video surveillance solution that provides seamless management of video, audio and data across any IP network." In contrast to a DVR or matrix solution, the Omnicast solution is distributed over the network, ensuring layout flexibility and high-fault tolerance. Through proper SDKs, Omnicast may be linked to other security or building automation systems.

Designed to run on a standard PC platform and control up to thousands of surveillance and security devices such as cameras, microphones, text channels and electronic locks from all leading brands through one interlinked recorder cluster, the Mirasys V/N solution offers versatility and scalability. It can monitor a small business with four security cameras, or an interlinked security infrastructure consisting of both digital megapixel cameras and analog devices. " The latest version provides tools for combining alarm responses to automatic event sequences," said Susanna Carlstedt, Marketing Lead. "For example, motion detected by one camera can automatically activate other cameras or microphones, change camera resolutions, disable electronic locks, set sound thresholds for multiple microphones, send automated alarm signals, or move cameras to target pre-specified positions." As a result, higher security and lower operational costs are achieved through real-time communication among different systems, shared databases and common user interfaces.

Nice Systems also specializes in video surveillance. The Israeli provider supports distributed architecture with integrated analytics that can run either at edge devices or be processed centrally. While the system can integrate intrusion signals or fire sensors, the core of it remains video. "Video provides you the visual insight that is not provided by any other means," said Nir Hayzler, VP of Marketing. ¨It enables you to understand what is happening in your facility by displaying not just the alert, but all the relevant visual information required to understand better the context of such an event and take an informed decision.

Real-time Responses
Remote access, for users wi th multiple locations, is made easy with Milestone's solution. Video can be streamed to multiple users once they log in. If users are not in front of a monitor, live or playback video can be transmitted to mobile devices. For live feeds, security personnel can even manually adjust PTZ cameras from their PDAs to focus on areas of interest. The solution also integrates video analytics, such as motion detection. "Historically, video had not been connected with other information systems . Now we can combine other information sources, such as emergency audio communication with video, so that when events happen, the folks on the ground can not only see what is happening, but also hear the corresponding audio," said Mariann McDonagh, VP of Corporate Marketing, Verint Systems. ¨In the event of an emergency, the system sends alert notifications and corresponding video images to consoles, Web browsers, pagers, cell phones and so on.〃

The Nice video management solution supports collaborative event management, which enables a group of operators to handle events effectively, whether they are in the same control room or at different locations. "When managing events in a complex environment, such as an airport, a transportation terminal or a critical facility, you may have more than one event to handle at a time," Hayzler said. " The management system should be sophisticated enough to propagate the next alert that comes in to an available operator, for effective resolution of multiple events in real time." This management solution enables users to investigate both the event information recorded, as well as the way operators have managed the events by keeping logs of all actions.

Having a flexible and customized inter face gives Lenel an edge. For example, in an art gallery, a customized response to events governs how guards will react to events, said Jeffery Ross, Director of Marketing, Lenel (a UTC Fire & Security company). Should a piece of art be removed, Lenel's solution brings footage to the nearest guard's PDA, sounds audible alarms, alerts the administrator and sends an e-mail to the police when necessary. "It depends on how far you want to use the system. Our solution helps drive business productivity results."

The system allows for scalability from two doors to 20,000 or more. To provide the most well-suited solution, Lenel ha s a range of customization options with its software, including integration with government databases or medical registries.

Integrating Assorted Hardware

Genetec' s solution is vendor-agnostic, allowing users optimal flexibility in selecting hardware. This flexibility, however, presents challenges when integrating products from different vendors to one platform. "Coordination between different vendors is definitely the biggest challenge in providing an integrated solution," Chalouhi said. "We typically help our customers isolate the root of the problem by closely cooperating with hardware vendors in order to offer a first-class service to our customers."

The Genetec open architecture supports multiple devices and has an SDK available for third-party vendors. Its metadata engine accommodates third-party applications, such as access control systems, video analytics and point-of-sale systems. "The different systems will not talk to each other but will talk back to Omnicast, which will merge and provide a single operation interface to the end user," Chalouhi said. The Genetec solution is tailored for large-scale installations, serving vertical market s such as retail, transportation, education, gaming and enterprise.

Lenel offers a platform capable of integrating all systems and hardware. "The best way to look at our solution is to see it as a platform that supports multiple systems anything from access control, digital video, video analytics, intrusion detection and fire detection," Ross said. "What makes it unique is the majority of those products run from a single graphical user interface (GUI), so it is all one fluid system. The second piece that makes it unique is our OnGuard OpenAccess Alliance program that allows for suppor t of many third-party software and hardware systems."

With biometrics, Lenel supports Bioscrypt's technology and other recognition techniques, such as fingerprint, hand geometry and iris scanning. "We want to protect as much of the customer's investment as possible," Ross said. "Open architecture and leveraging existing infrastructure really make us unique in the industry."

"There is a growing demand for all of our product offerings," said Matthew Bogart, VP of Marketing at Bioscrypt, "which include logical and physical access control solutions that can be combined to create a unified authentication strategy that brings together several aspects of security under one umbrella." VeriSoft is a single- or multi-factor authentication solution that provides enterprises with secure access both physical and logical to systems, helping companies meet compliance regulation requirements.

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2007 Prime Product of the Year: Part II

Your Wish is My Command? Not So Fast...