VIVOTEK awarded the Best Mobile IP Camera at Brazil

Editor / Provider: VIVOTEK | Updated: 4/23/2014 | Article type: Security 50

VIVOTEK is honored to announce its achievement in “Digital Security Awards 2014" at ISC Brazil, the international exhibition and conference for security held in Sao Paulo in 2014. VIVOTEK has won the Best Mobile IP Camera Award. The award was bestowed on VIVOTEK's fixed dome network camera MD8562.

At ISC Brazil 2014, Digital Security, the publication in security industry in Brazil, promoted its 3rd edition of Digital Security Award. Key players in the electronic security industry have joined the competition under different categories, such as equipment and solutions for video surveillance, VMS software, biometrics, access control solutions, and RFID. A dedicated website for this award has been especially established. Readers of Digital Security voted directly online, determining the award winners.

VIVOTEK's MD8562 is a compact, 2-megapixel network camera, which is especially designed for transportation applications such as buses, trains, and other vehicles. Featuring IK10-rated IP67-rated design, the camera can effectively resist from humidity, dust, vandalism and temperature fluctuations. Besides, being compliant with the EN50155 standard, the camera can withstand shock and vibration, delivering stable and reliable video during vehicle movement.

Designed with WDR Enhancement technology, the MD8562 can cope with challenging lighting conditions, identifying image details in extremely bright or dark environments. Video footage of in-vehicle activities or vehicle accidents can be fully and explicitly captured, ensuring passengers' safety during transit. With intelligent tamper detection feature, MD8562 can keep security staff or administrators notified once suffering video loss from being blocked or spray-painted.

MOBOTIX supports UK Morrison Supermarkets upgrades surveillance

Editor / Provider: MOBOTIX | Updated: 4/23/2014 | Article type: Security 50

MOBOTIX, a manufacturer of digital high-resolution and network-based video security systems has released details of a project at Wm Morrison Supermarkets that is helping to secure access and reduce management complexity across 40 critical sites supporting the retailers “farm to fork” business strategy.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets is a major UK food retailer with over 500 stores across Britain and subsidiaries including Farmers Boy, a manufacturer and distributor of food products; Woodhead Bros, a meat processing business; FlowerWorld, a wholesale flower business and other business interests including multi-channel online retailing.

The company prides itself on its hands on approach to the food distribution chain and in 2008, the newly appointed Data Centre Services Manager, Darryl Shears, began a program to strengthen the resilience and security around its critical IT infrastructure as part of a wider software migration from legacy systems to a unified Oracle based platform.

“We have sites that range from northern Scotland, to Bridgwater in the south west and Sittingbourne in the south east and managing this estate from a centralised team in Bradford is a logistics challenge,” explains Shears, “We need to be able to monitor key comms rooms and IT equipment remotely both proactively to stop any issues from escalating and to react quickly to ensure any problems are dealt with effectively.”

To this end, Morrisons decided upon a strategy to upgrade each of these vital IT and comms rooms with environmental monitoring, remote surveillance and remote access control technology. With a requirement for an ultra-reliable, easy to manage yet flexible system, the firm turned to Express Data, a trusted and long serving technical adviser and installation specialist for assistance.

Following an extensive evaluation programme and based on a number of strong reference site examples, the supermarket group selected a solution including MOBOTIX CCTV cameras, Panduit environmental monitoring and access control technology. “The MOBOTIX solution, especially the hemispheric technology allows us to use just one or two cameras to cover single or multiple rooms with the resolution and reliability we required,” explains Shears, “In addition, the built-in flash storage support means that we can still record the site even if we have a network connectivity issue.”

The team based in Bradford can use the MOBOTIX cameras to view anybody requiring access to a secure room and remotely open doors and monitor any activity within the room. The system has the option for fully bi-directional audio and requires only 5W per camera which aligns with the company's stated aim to use low energy technologies across its operations.

Over the last 24 months, Express Data has worked with Shears and his team to implement upgrades at an additional 11 sites and created a standard blueprint for the resilience and security at each of the critical sites.

The build includes power redundancy and best practice access procedures with a full visual audit trail. In total, the supermarket has deployed around 140 cameras and, “…as we roll out new sites or make any changes, we now see MOBOTIX as part of our standard build and the system has proven extremely reliable while seamlessly integrating into our other operational systems and processes.”

MFNE and AES to co-host Secutech ASEAN 2014

Editor / Provider: Messe Frankfurt New Era | Updated: 4/23/2014 | Article type: Hot Topics

Secutech ASEAN, formerly known as Secutech Thailand, is officially scheduled to take place from 26 – 28 November 2014 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). Known as Thailand's leading and largest professional event for the security as well as fire and safety industries, Secutech ASEAN 2014 is expecting to welcome over 150 exhibitors, showcasing the latest innovations in security technology for government, commercial as well as private use.

Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd (MFNE), and its new partner, Asian Exhibition Services (AES) Ltd will be organising the 2014 show. Commenting on this new partnership, Mr John Shi, General Manager for Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd said: “It gives me great pleasure in announcing our new partnership with Asian Exhibition Services Ltd. The firm is well-known for their expertise in managing industrial-based trade fairs in Asia. With its headquarters in Bangkok plus an expansive network in the region, AES possesses the expertise in bringing professionals from the private sector and granting support from government bodies. Our show is quickly proving itself to be an invaluable component to the growth of Thailand's security market.”

Commenting on the local market, Mr David Aitken, Managing Director of Asian Exhibition Services (AES) Ltd added: “The Thai government recently announced its plans to invest USD 70 billion in regional infrastructure development, which is expected to aid the commercial and residential construction boom, starting from the last quarter of 2014. Under this initiative, extensive opportunities will be created for Thailand's professional security industry, and will further consolidate its status as the largest security market in Southeast Asia. I believe attendees to our next edition will not only find a wealth of next generation solutions, but also have a chance to make a number of valuable industry contacts.”

While visitors are expected to come from a range of backgrounds, industrial, government and building professionals are the top three groups attracted to the show. Security products and solutions which these and other professionals can find at Secutech ASEAN include IP cameras, access control systems, HD SDI cameras, industrial and occupational safety systems, vehicle security systems, associated security components and much more.

In order to highlight the most in-demand areas in Thailand's security market, four specialty sections are being arranged for the 2014 show:

Surveillance Systems:
According to IMS research, the Thai market accounts for 29% of the video surveillance market in Southeast Asia, and is expected to experience double-digit growth over the next few years. The Surveillance Systems section was designed in order for brands to showcase their latest solutions in IP, HD-SDI, IR as well as hybrid surveillance technology. Newly-developed transmission and storage solutions as well as customised video analytic and control management software will also be on display at this section.

Home Security & Automation:
Thailand expects a 6.4% growth rate in its housing market for the foreseeable future, particularly as demand for second homes increases in resort destinations like Phuket. This section aims to showcase the latest in digitally-integrated home security and automation systems, while also educating buyers and end-users on the unique benefits the growing technology offers.

Building Automation & Access Control:
Commercial properties are increasingly utilising automation technology and sophisticated access controls in the operation of buildings. This is meant to offer developers, contractors and other building professionals with a comprehensive outlook on intelligent building solutions they can apply to existing and future properties.

Fire & Safety:
Known as one of the biggest sectors of the security market, fire and safety regulations are increasingly becoming stricter in Thailand. Building and factory owners in Thailand are now being required to make greater efforts in installing fire prevention devices in their properties. Additionally, greater demand for fire and safety solutions in Thailand is being driven by the country's growing construction market. This section will feature products and solutions to meet Thailand's increasingly sophisticated fire and safety market.

For further details about Secutech ASEAN, please visit http://www.secutechthailand.com/en/

With twelve events, Messe Frankfurt is one of the world's leading organisers of fairs and congresses for the expanding international field of safety and security technology. Nine trade fairs and three high-grade congresses in Germany, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the Russia Federation provide optimum opportunities for gaining a foothold in these dynamic growth markets. Further information is available at www.intersec.messefrankfurt.com

Assa Abloy solution for the largest German municipal company

Editor / Provider: Assa Abloy | Updated: 4/22/2014 | Article type: Security 50

Customer
Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM) is the largest municipal company in Germany. With over 7,500 employees, SWM supplies the regional capital of Munich and the surrounding area with public services such as electricity, gas, water, district heating and cooling.

Via its subsidiaries SWM also provides telecommunications services and operates the public passenger transport network in Munich.

Challenge
SWM is responsible for several thousand objects. These include buildings, shafts and electrical mains transformer stations to name but a few, some of which are over 100 years old. Its responsibility also covers installations using new and old locking systems, different organizational set-ups including employee shift work and on-call services, the widely different environmental conditions in district heating systems, damp and high dust exposure in the underground and temperature deviations in power stations.

Due to the requirement by the Federal Ministry of the Interior for the protection of critical infrastructures, a standardized and sustainable locking and access solution was urgently needed.

Solution
The VERSO CLIQ system from ASSA ABLOY met the system requirements and also contained the essential software enhancements to meet SWM's demands. VERSO CLIQ became a special solution offering a quantum leap forward in terms of functionality, security and range of use.

Its benefits include on-key programmable access rights, authorization of up to 20,000 locking cylinders per key, the possibility of up to 1,500 freely programmable groups per key, multi-client capability with decentralized allocation of rights and new procedures for a clear and comprehensible allocation of access rights. As of November 2013, 14,000 cylinders, 3,000 keys and 50 authorization terminals had been installed. The scope of the completed project will be for 40,000-50,000 cylinders.

Standalone NVR is on the rise

Editor / Provider: Tevin Wang. a&s Asia | Updated: 4/21/2014 | Article type: Hot Topics

Many brands are offering standalone NVRs, preparing to send first timers to IP solutions. These bundled packages not only offer clear images, but also are affordable and hassle-free solutions.

Dahua Technology
Ice Wu, Storage Product Director
Despite analog systems still take a large portion in Southeast Asia's security market, the IP migration pace is fast and furious with 2- 300% growth per year. Currently the analog-IP ratio is 7:3. Singapore and Korea have comparably better economies, IT infrastructure, plus their prevailing of 3G/4G networks; for them, the ratio is nearly 50/50.

Dahua's standalone NVRs are going great in various market segment ranging from top to entry-level. For instance, due to increased security awareness and city surveillance projects, highly reliable series like NVR6000DR, NVR724-256DR are wining projects after another for their supporting channels, large storage space, scalability, and intelligent video analytics.

Our project-based NVRs such as NVR7064-RH, are designed for banking, airport, train stations, and power stations for their HD video storage. Fisheye cameras are also a booster for NVR selling as DVRs do not support these 360-degree cameras. In this case, retails & malls are showing great potentials. Home surveillance market are also promising as bundled NVR package are easy to install even for an everyday family lacking IT knowledge. Compared with analog systems, network cameras offer clearer videos and remote monitoring capability.

It is clear that the whole security industry is migrating to HD. The path to HD varies though: one is via analog signals; another via digital ones. For analog upgrades, Dahua's HD-CVI solutions have advantages in costs, easy to install, plus no need to rewiring. A simple replacement with HD-CVI cameras can achieve HD.

IP solutions are more suitable for new projects, and customers have continuous demands for scalability. These segments tend to have IP-friendly environment, which saves a lot in wiring. PoE and WiFi NVRs, on the other hand, are more favorable to families for its plug & play setups.

Dahua's advantages include:
Total solution provider: Our complete product lines ranging from cameras, NVRs, VMS, and apps for smartphone viewing.
* One-stop solution offering high-, mid-, and entry-level solutions
* Future-proof and third-party supportive
* World-famous branding with reliable quality and fast service
* Exclusive codes offer clear Images

EverFocus Electronics
Benjamin Lee, Regional Sales Manager
Singapore has been well-positioned to achieve significant IP growth in Southeast Asia for its economics and IT infrastructure, followed by Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Singapore's mid- to high-end segments have steady requirements. Its IP-friendly infrastructure and strong demands for network cameras attribute to continuous requirements for NVRs. Transportation projects, commercial buildings, and hotels are major verticals adopt NVRs.

Our NVRs are largely deployed in commercial buildings in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Vietnamese government projects prefer NVR solutions as well. Our mobile NVRs in Thailand are largely adopted as well. Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia has been slow to pick up IP migration and NVR pace. Major verticals in Indonesia deploying NVRs are retails. Myanmar is showing great potentials in manufacturing and retail segments. Our targeted verticals in Southeast Asia are retails, commercial buildings, and SMBs, which usually are small projects and require fewer cameras.

Despite small systems, they usually request IP networking for remote monitoring and management. Standalone NVRs not only make IP solutions easier for smaller installers and operators, but also economical in costs. Standalone NVRs are often designed for 32 channels and under and require no additional IT training, making them affordable and easy to use.

Our long-term analog system users are showing great interest in IP and EverFocus has always looked highly on these established customers. We have been putting a lot of efforts for customer relationship maintenance by offering solutions catering to their needs. As for new customers who already have IT knowledge, it is always much for easier to promoting them IP-based solutions than those without IT know-how. Seeing this issue, EverFocus just launched plug & play standalone NVRs (ENVR8304D, ENVR8304E) targeting analog users who crave for one-stop IP migration. We believe that features like plug & play, easy to set up, and intuitive GUI are best weapons to win market share.

We will continue satisfying customer needs by fast offering the most suitable solutions with high interoperability. We will work more closely with local SIs this year by offering more solution-based packages with easy setups and scalability.Software is another area that we will add extra R&D efforts. Prompt urbanization in Southeast Asian cities brings out more mass transit system projects. There are going to be huge demands for mobile NVRs. Our reliable and innovative solutions definitely provide added values to customers.

Hikvision digital technology
Eric Shen, Product Marketing Manager
The network infrastructure in these Southeast Asian countries is very different, so does the IT knowledge of local system integrators. As such, the developments of embedded NVR in these areas have big difference. For example, Singapore is with good network infrastructure, and the local SIs are also proficient about network projects, this in result accelerates the development of embedded NVR in this country. Whilst in other Southeast Asian countries, due to the unmatured network environment, the NVR adoption will be a little bit delayed.

Actually, there is no specific vertical for NVR application. With IP adoption becoming widely accepted by users, embedded NVRs will also get applied in various verticals, such as financial institutions, city surveillance, transportation and retails, etc.

Embedded NVR is mainly adopted in newly established projects. Since for already existing analog applications, usually users are reluctant to transit from traditional CCTV system to IP system since IP surveillance needs more IT knowledge and higher cost associated with installation and maintenance, as well as higher requirement for network system. However, with IP security continues to boom, the requirement for HD surveillance improving, the IP products price is also getting much favorable than before as more and more manufacturers join in the competition in this area. Accordingly, NVR connection to IP cameras becomes much simpler, this allows convenient plug & play installation. Eventually, embedded NVR will be the main stream especially in new projects.

We promote the simplicity the combined NVR+IPC solution brings. As well, to note that embedded NVR will take the place of PC-based NVR in terms of ease of use, system stability and decoding capability; of note, plug and play NVR would play a more practical role to make easy installation and configuration.

Hikvision is always dedicated to the innovation of embedded NVR. As of now, we have developed NVR product supporting up-to 256-ch IP camera inputs and 24 HDD, with total throughput of 960Mbps (640Mbps for input / 320Mbps for output), specially designed for large-scale and high-end applications. This is the first in the security industry to compete against conventional NVRs.As mentioned before, we also address on the ease-of-use of products — the freedom, and comfort without hassles of cablings, configurations and complicated settings.

Coupling NVR with IP cameras is another method for promotion. Recently, we've put Hikvision Smart IPC in connection with our Netra-platform NVR to deliver a total Smart Solution, with front end camera delivering images of Smart Detection (instruction detection, face detection, line-crossing and much more), and backend NVR doing Smart search according to different period of time or locations, providing you with total control over the system.

NVR products will have increasing market share in SMB application, since the price of embedded NVRs is getting lower compared with PC-based NVR(with VMS software); in high-end applications, embedded NVR will also play a key role since it can well meet the requirement of system stability, compatibility and expansibility.

PC-based NVR still has its own stage, especially in large-scale projects; thus, it places great potential for embedded NVR to participate in this area. Embedded NVRs have overcome their perceived shortcomings in terms of storage capacity and types of storage medium through use of devices including IP-SAN and eSATA, etc. Furthermore, embedded NVRs can support interfaces for other surveillance devices which can be conveniently integrated with alarm systems and access control systems as well as PTZ remote control systems. This is very practical in large-scale applications. The benefits an embedded NVR offers over PC-based NVR — reliability, stability, complex decoding, low power consumption, ease of use and more — will eventually allow custmers to maximize the value of what they already own.

[GDSF Secutech 2014] VMS works wonders for verticals

Editor / Provider: William Pao, a&s International | Updated: 4/18/2014 | Article type: Hot Topics

VMS is demanded by any vertical market that needs video surveillance to keep facilities and premises safe and secure. Operators from different verticals, however, look for different things in their VMS based on the specific demands and needs of their respective industries. The topics of VMS and its applications in different vertical markets took the center stage during this year's Secutech Taipei and were a main theme discussed by panelists in the Global Digital Security Forum (GDSF) held alongside the exhibition. During the event, industry experts shared their insights into VMS requirements for different verticals and what they considered to be good video management software.

Airports/Public transportation
Scalability is one of the first things operators of airports and public transportation facilities look for in choosing the right VMS solution. As the number of cameras increases with the construction of new airport terminals or new subway stations, the ability of VMS to grow with the system becomes critical.

“When we first did the Taipei subway system, we had 1,000-plus cameras and 17 stations, but the numbers have increased to more than 10,000 cameras and more than 100 stations,” said Isabella Lin, Sales Manager of Overseas Sales Division, Instek Digital, which was chosen as a partner of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. to deploy video surveillance solutions. “Scalability has become an essential thing.”

Reliability, or the ability of a system to maintain stable, steady operation even in the event of system failure, is also crucial. Every piece of video is vital in accident prevention or post-event investigation and is too precious to be lost during any time. Management software that enables continuous system access and uninterrupted video streaming is therefore another important factor that airport and public transportation operators look for.

Finally, video management software nowadays must include a certain level of intelligence, which analyzes abnormalities in videos and responds to those abnormalities accordingly. When someone intrudes into an off-limits area or loiters on the subway platform, a solution with good analytics will detect those scenarios and send an alert to the security personnel. This way, tragedies may be prevented, and lives saved.

“Analytics is becoming a lot more mature, and we're seeing new applications,” said Justin Schorn, Co-Founder of Aimetis, which has deployed VMS solutions in major international airports in the world, including those of Brasilia, Munich, and Perth. “With no analytics, a solution is a very much passive, not a very reactive one. But with analytics, it's more of a proactive product.”

Safe city
Surveillance plays a critical function in keeping cities safe, livable and responsive to crime, terrorist threats and attacks, accidents and disasters. According to a previously released whitepaper, Milestone, a leading VMS provider, said after a city in Brazil installed a video surveillance system, it noticed a 6 percent reduction in crime. A Nevada police department installed cameras in a high crime area, and within a year research showed that 52.7 percent of the residents felt there was less drug dealing in the area and 77 percent felt that the surveillance system had enhanced their quality of life.

“A safe city project aims to protect citizens and assets. It involves technologies providing situational awareness to various stakeholders, and enables overall operational picture to all relevant agencies,” said Sunny Kong, Director of Sales of Asia, Milestone.

Yet meeting those objectives entails more than installing a bunch of cameras on street lamps or traffic signals. It also has to do with monitoring a gargantuan amount of video footage and identifying people, objects or behaviors that are suspicious. Again, this is where analytics comes in, said Wilson Chin, Marketing Vice President, Verint Asia Pacific.

“It's not so much about (the solution) identifying a license plate. It's more about recognizing that the license plate is supposed to be assigned to a white Honda minivan, and now it's on a black four-door sedan Toyota. That's an alert that someone has switched the license plate,” he said. “As the analytics gets more sophisticated, that's when its value in a big city solution becomes apparent.”

Chin also mentioned the importance of open web monitoring in a safe city solution, which relies on the collective wisdom of the people to identify suspicious individuals or fight crime.

“For those of you who followed the Boston Marathon incident a couple of years ago, you know that one of the ways they tracked down the individuals was analyzing thousands of thousands of photos taken by people through their smartphones,” he said. “It wasn't just the monitoring points of the cameras that was deployed by the city. It was people with smartphones. They would put things on Facebook or Twitter, which greatly expanded the number of images available for analysis. This is the power of crowdsourcing.”

To enable that kind of connectivity between citizens and government agencies through smart devices, an enabler is needed, and according to Milestone's Kong, that enabler is the open platform.

"An open platform enables the use of best-in-breeds in technologies,” he said. “It allows freedom of choice, future-proofs investments, and ensures third-party integrations easily."

Banking
No vertical needs security more than the banking industry, which processes a tremendous amount of money on a daily basis. Yet a surveillance installation can get complex and sophisticated when it comes to banks, which operate different sites including corporate buildings, branch offices, ATMs and cash depots. Monitoring these sites to ensure that they are always safe has thus become a priority for security operators.

“The main purpose for a bank in having a video surveillance system is two-fold,” said Jukka Riivari, CEO of Mirasys, which has done business with five out of the top 50 banks across the world, four out of the top six Nordic Banks in Europe, and three central banks. “One fold is to make sure that the premises are intact; there is no intrusion to the premises after the office hours or during the office hours. The other is how can you reduce the false alarm rate so you only have real alarms.”

To manage videos from different locations the VMS must have strong centralization features that can, for example, alert local authorities on irregular banking activities at a specific branch office. Intelligence must also be included in the video management software to reduce false alarms. A complex alarm list, for instance, may be built into the system to make sure that people suspected of intrusion or loitering match the criteria on the alarm list.

At the same time, banking VMS should be able to interface with other technologies, for example access control, intrusion alarms and transactional systems, to prevent and reduce fraud and other financial-reduced crimes. According to a survey conducted by the European ATM Security Team, ATM card skimming resulted in losses of nearly 111 million Euros across Europe during the first half of 2011. Meanwhile, a study released in 2011 by the Aite Group estimates that card fraud costs the U.S. card payments industry US$8.6 billion annually. Against this backdrop, VMS integrated with transactional systems allows instant revelation of transaction irregularities that may result from card skimming.

“It's the specific solutions, not just the DVRs and cameras, that keep the hundreds of branch offices safe,” Riivari said. “You need to be able to detect someone trying to put a skimming device into the system. That is the purpose of one of those solutions needed, not just tools.

Safe and sound
While VMS works differently across verticals, experts at GDSF all reached the consensus that VMS should allow scalability, reliability, integration and intelligence no matter which vertical it is deployed in. These requirements help ensure normal and safe business operations, which are ultimately needed for the end user's sustainable growth.

Tyco discloses expanded security Global Center of Excellence

Editor / Provider: Tyco | Updated: 4/17/2014 | Article type: Security 50

Tyco announced the expansion of its Global Center of Excellence (GCoE) in Birmingham, Alabama, that enables multinational companies to streamline and standardize their security systems around the world. The GCoE develops standards, technical specifications and detailed work plans that enable consistent security installations globally, while also providing customers with remote system audit services to verify functionality and compliance to corporate standards.

With the increasing number of global clients supported by the GCoE, the expansion of the center will allow Tyco to better serve clients with a single point of contact for their global security needs. Fortune 500 customers are seeking to streamline and standardize their global integrated security systems by consolidating the number of local system integrators they work with worldwide. Managing multiple integrators across hundreds of locations can lead to operational redundancies, quality degradation, compliance issues, and increased costs. The center will also play a key role in the company's effort to create comprehensive solutions for customers that encompass a range of building systems.

"Integrating systems and technologies to solve customers' problems is at the heart of our future, and this center brings us a step closer to that vision," said George Oliver, Tyco's Chief Executive Officer. "We are driving toward bringing not only security systems, but also fire and other building systems together on a common platform to provide customers with unprecedented insight and control over their operations."

"The Global Center of Excellence offers a lot of value to our customers by providing a single point of contact for all global security needs, saving time and resources while allowing access to multiple competencies in a centralized location," said Renae Leary, Vice President of Global Accounts at Tyco. "As companies are driving out costs and consolidating real estate and operating expenses, many are now realizing the huge benefits that come with standardizing on IP-based security solutions and partnering with a global integrator. This alignment delivers consistent execution of technology in terms of quality, timeliness and most importantly a higher standard of security to protect their people and assets."

The new 24,000 square foot facility currently houses 90 employees, including certified design engineers, computer-aided design operators, program managers, system engineers and other specialists, who design and document global security standards for enterprise-level intrusion security, access control, video management, fire systems and integration. The GCoE's diverse team has multiple competencies, including fluency in 14 languages, and is well-versed in the business and cultural nuances required to successfully conduct business in the 38 countries the center supports, so customer standards and technical specifications can be maintained and updated as needed.

The new facility is located at 1800 International Park Drive in Birmingham, Alabama.

Vicon introduces Mike Hallford as Regional Sales Manager of Georgia and Carolina

Editor / Provider: Vicon | Updated: 4/16/2014 | Article type: Security 50

Vicon is pleased to introduce Mike Hallford, Vicon's new Regional Sales Manager for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Mike is a 30 year veteran in the Electronic Security Industry working for such companies as United Technologies Corp., GE, Johnson Controls, and Siemens. Mike has familiarity working with a full range of security professionals including architects, consulting engineers, national and regional systems integrators and end-users. Mike is well versed working with Enterprise Networks, Access Control, Fire, Fiber Optics, and Intrusion products.

IP based video surveillance enjoys high market penetration in Middle East

Editor / Provider: Jill Lai, a&s International | Updated: 4/15/2014 | Article type: Hot Topics

The video surveillance market is greatly influenced by government rules. HD and megapixel has become standard for video surveillance cameras and 180-day video storage is required for almost all market sectors. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) also updates the rules every year. The government regulations usually include where the security cameras must be placed, several details about its specifications, and also, how to make sure they are able to produce good quality video. "In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, it is important to make sure that your IP-based video surveillance system meets all legislation and governmental standards, which should be the key elements of business here," said Peter Biltsted, Director of MEA at Milestone Systems. According to an industry expert, some IP-based video systems might have the problem of losing images, which would cause the end users and systems integrators to get fined afterwards. Therefore, high reliability of IP-based video surveillance systems is required for this region.

HIGH ADOPTION OF IP-BASED VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
Due to regulations from the government, the trend of full IP-based video surveillance starts from the U.A.E. such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and then spreads the rest of the Gulf countries. The IP-based video surveillance trend also leads to high adoption of some innovations in this region, such as multi-megapixel, low-lux, and intelligent video analytics.

In the Middle East, people usually want the best technologies. For surveillance, the standard would be around 2 to 3 megapixels with WDR, because of the strong sunlight. ANPR and facial recognition are also usually required for infrastructure projects.

In large facilities, such as stadiums, hotels, campuses, and city surveillance projects, end users look for a more cost-effective way to have better coverage over a large area. “Multi-megapixel cameras are proving their worth here. Using multi-megapixel (1,080p for example) cameras, end users receive a minimum resolution more than seven times better than standard definition (VGA) or analog cameras. Megapixel cameras provide detailed information for capturing license plates and faces, said Scott Schafer, Executive VP Sales, Marketing and Service at Arecont Vision. “We have examples of customers that use 75 cameras to cover an area that would have required about 2,000 analog or standard definition VGA cameras delivering 40 pixel-per-foot resolution, which is enough to identify faces in a crowd. In campus settings, we have used eight multi-megapixel panoramic cameras to replace 24 standard definition cameras and the new system delivered superior resolution at a lower price.”

Intelligent Video Adoption
The local requirement of up to 180-day storage for HD megapixel video in some cases drives the need for more intelligent management of data, especially in large-scale projects such as infrastructure. "To provide an efficient forensic search after events take place, and also meet the challenges of managing so many cameras and data in a large environment, there is a need for intelligent video. And since people here are quite open to new technologies, they are starting to use intelligent video analytics (IVA) for marketing and management purposes," said Hakan 畤yi?it, Regional Director of Middle East at Bosch Security Systems.

Intelligent video is commonly used for high-end retailers and some large retailers deploying 160 to 200 cameras for people counting and heat maps. "In some five-star hotels, it has become common to have people-counting features to see who gets inside of the hotel building, 360 fish-eye camera at main areas like lobby/restaurant, heat mapping to analyze customers flow, and missing-object analysis for the retail stores inside. Some hotels provide the live-streaming video online for marketing.

Samsung also provides such solutions for retail/commercial markets controlled by Samsung security management platform," said Ali Boussi, Regional Sales Manager at BASS/Samsung Techwin. Due to the demand for intelligent video in this region, “Kedacom launched its latest NVRs, with the latest video analytic technology to do smart searching and quick location of the event as soon as the alarm is triggered. Besides, Kadacom also has a complete solution of centralized chain-store management and HD video surveillance solutions for courts,” said Zhiqiang Liu, Marketing Director, Kedacom Technology.

IP for SMB
The small-to-medium business (SMB) sector is also adopting IP technologies, starting from the U.A.E. “I would say in the MEA market, especially in GCC countries, there is very high percentage of SMB market using IP. Even small retail shops — usually requiring six to eight cameras — still need to meet government requirements for megapixel resolution. The analog system can't reach that standard.

All the shops need to be approved by the government. If they are not satisfied with the evidence, they will ask you to shut down the shops or replace the system entirely. That's why convergence comes there. I would say, in the next two to three years, GCC countries will not allow video that does not supply a certain level of video quality,” said Biltsted.

“Even for small customers here, they want integration. They usually want access control to be integrated too. If they have 25 cameras in place, they also want a perimeter solution to be integrated with their systems," said Biltsted.

"What I also found in this region is people have more awareness about security and they use surveillance for more than just for security. They will use the surveillance video to check if the store is clean. So, customers would choose cameras with a corridor view. We also bundle it with our software," he continued.

COMPETITIVE IP-BASED VIDEO SURVEILLANCE MARKET
 IP-based video surveillance technologies have penetrated to different market sectors here. Intelligent video is commonly used in a five-star hotel and even the small shops want an integrated system for video surveillance and access control. The Middle East has become a competitive market for IP-based video surveillance technologies. To satisfy end users' desires for new technologies, more and more integrated solutions will be introduced to the market for different applications.

March Networks NVR integrated Software House access control solution

Editor / Provider: March Network | Updated: 4/14/2014 | Article type: Security 50

March Networks, a global provider of intelligent IP video solutions, announced the integration of its 8000 Series Hybrid Network Video Recorder (NVR) system with the Software House C-CURE 9000 Security and Event Management System. The integration provides customers worldwide with a centralized video surveillance and access control solution that enables faster incident response, improved risk management and more efficient security operations.

"In collaboration with Software House, we are proud to offer our customers this seamless integration, which supports the convenient, remote monitoring of dozens or thousands of locations and the fast visual verification of incidents when needed," said Dan Cremins, Director of Product Management, March Networks.

The certified integration delivers everything organizations need to manage their video surveillance via the C-CURE 9000 system. Analog and IP video feeds are all incorporated into the access control software, allowing customers to instantly monitor, review and access live and archived video from any 8000 Series Hybrid NVR or previous generation 4000 C or 3000 Series recorder. In addition, the integration enables users to control surveillance camera actions associated with C-CURE 9000 triggered alarms, including multi-view video popups, PTZ movement, and video tagging. They can also monitor alarms appearing in the C-CURE 9000 interface, including those represented within maps, and react swiftly to disconnected recorders or camera video synchronization loss.

"We're pleased to be working with March Networks to bring customers an important tool to keep their people and property safe," said Jason Ouellette, Director of Product Management, Tyco Security Products access control solutions. "Integrating the C-CURE 9000 with the March Networks hybrid NVR system gives customers visibility to critical security events, allowing them to react quickly."

March Networks' comprehensive video management solution provides the unparalleled reliability, centralized management and performance organizations need to maintain the highest security standards and operate more efficiently. Able to support both analog and IP surveillance cameras, or run as a pure IP platform with as many as 32 IP cameras, the 8000 Series Hybrid NVRs enable businesses to make a smooth transition to advanced IP video networking. Combined with enterprise-class management and powerful investigation capabilities, the solution saves customers time and resources and is proven in installations worldwide, including more than 450 financial institutions and some of the world's largest retail organizations.

Software House's C-CURE 9000 security and event management system utilizes IT- standard tools and innovative distributed architecture. It offers advanced integration capabilities, advanced alarm routing and remote access for system administration and monitoring via a light client. Leveraging Microsoft's sophisticated .NET 4 technology, C-CURE 9000 provides native encryption and XML data transfer, making it one of the fastest, most secure systems in the industry.