Assa Abloy Turning Profits From Emerging Markets

Editor / Provider: Hayden Hsu | Updated: 6/21/2012 | Article type: Security 50

A key element of Assa Abloy's rapid expansion has been identifying and building up relationships with potential acquisitions, successfully acquiring them, and equally successfully integrating them into the group. The company has now made over 150 acquisitions. The company's journey can also be described as one from mechanical locks to complete door-opening solutions that meet increasing demands for personal and physical security as well as user friendliness.

In Q1 of 2012, revenue grew 25 percent; profit also went up 22 percent, with key contributing regions being Asia, Eastern Europe, South Africa and South America. “The U.S. is also doing quite well, but Europe is a bit slow,” said Johan Molin, Head of Global Technologies and President and CEO, Assa Abloy. “We are simplifying the world, with one single credential that reads and accesses all. It's an important message for the industry.” To make things even easier, Assa Abloy also has a new wireless lock cylinder that is powered by the key's electromagnetic energy and requires zero batteries, saving resources in both installation and maintenance.

Molin was confident in reaching this year's targets with his global teams, and his only concern was that he could not grow this company even faster.

How NOT to Go Viral in Security

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 6/20/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook — there are only so many social media accounts a company can handle and maintain. The online services chosen reflect the company's target audience. Adding a business contact on LinkedIn is far more palatable than “friending” a potential customer on Facebook, only for them to find one's drunken weekend exploits. Professional networking sites tend to be more focused and, therefore, provide a better chance of reaching a desired audience. “Generally, LinkedIn members are mature individuals who have numerous years of industry experience under their belt,” said Joshua Kwai, CEO and President of JK Consultancy. “About 60 percent of them assume managerial roles, and more than 20 percent of them are entrepreneurs like me. Perhaps, only 20 percent of the members tend to be young. Overall, approximately 80 percent are decision makers.”

Developing an online presence helps build a brand, especially with manufacturers that want to further strengthen their brand recognition. “Social media is part of our brand personality,” said Amanda Sung, Public Relations Specialist at Vivotek. “For a business, its presence among social media networks does not necessarily translate into dollar signs. However, it's an excellent way to let people know more about us on a personal level.”

The social media audience is becoming more diverse. “It's true that many of the decision makers are not on what you would define as typical social media — yet,” said Lena Heden, Public Relations Manager, Axis Communications. “A 2011 report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project showed that while in 2008 only 9 percent of 50- to 65-yearolds used social media, this number had increased to 20 percent by 2010.”

Axis's target audience includes influencers in the security business, opinion makers, journalists, analysts, existing and potential customers and partners, Heden said. However, LinkedIn narrows the field. “The statistics for our LinkedIn retail surveillance group show that we have more than 33 percent senior- or director-level members, as well as 8 percent C-level members.”

The Web means anyone and everyone can find your content. “Any one of our websites can usually fulfill the information requirement of an individual or organization that is looking to recommend, implement or upgrade a video surveillance system,” said Aleksey Berezin, Online Marketing Manager, Arecont Vision.

Social Media Benefits
Instantaneous communication is a key advantage of social media over traditional media. “The most important categories are customer engagement, brand awareness/ranking and sales,” Berezin said. “The ability to communicate live with an Arecont employee can make the difference between gaining a sale and having it go to the competition. Key words and phrases can help drive customers to our sites with minimal expense and maximum potential.”

Targeted communication also yields more productive conversations. “Social media allows us to directly engage with our audience,” Heden said. “We get fast responses, and we can get them directly from our user base.” Social media is more flexible and versatile. “You can do 3-D media and hyperlinks,” Sung said. “But you don't know who might comment on your item.”

Instant reach means information reaches readers rapidly through the Internet. “Information pertaining to my company can be read anytime, anywhere and by anyone throughout the world,” Kwai said. “This is something that traditional media cannot achieve.”

Social Fallout
Not everything is rosy on the social media landscape, though. One disgruntled customer can air his or her grievances to the world online, whether the criticism is fair or not. “I pay close attention to any negative feedback,” Berezin said. “When applicable, this information is forwarded t o sales support , technical support, engineering or other related departments for their action . If possible, I also try to connect with the writers to let them know their concerns or problems have been elevated to the right people in our company.”

Image quality is one of the biggest gripes, with bad video causing virulent outbursts. “It's harder to do damage control with viral content,” Sung said. “The only extent damage can be controlled is to distract people with something ‘shinier.' With online conversations and dialogs, it comes and goes quickly.”

Overall, social media has no major drawbacks. “As long as you are honest and address feedback received, I think social media is a great platform of engagement with your audience,” Heden said. “We welcome both positive and negative feedback. What we learn through social media is fed back into the organization.”

Negative feedback can result in positive improvements, which benefit everyone. “I don't see negative online feedback as negative in nature,” Kwai said. “If this feedback is genuine, one should be thankful that someone out there actually cares and bothers to provide feedback to the company to improve its services or operations.”

Social media is in its infancy, with limited uptake in physical security. “We see the move to social media as a process, and the security industry still has a long way to come up the curve on fully utilizing these new engagement platforms both from a vendor and a customer perspective,” Heden said. “If it's done right, social media can enrich the vendor-customer relationship and provide fruitful feedback to our organization.”

From Good to Great
The effort to establish an online presence pays off when virtual feedback is translated into change. For Axis, it looks at online conversations from a more regional perspective, as its international footprint encompasses offices in more than 20 countries. “We want to look at online buzz more granularly and see how this can feed back into regional teams to improve products, customer services as well as provide valuable insights to our sales departments,” Heden said.

More vendors will pay close attention to what customers are saying online. “Social media has provided customers with the ability to influence others to a much greater extent than was ever possible,” Berezin said. “This transparency demands that site comments, likes and blogs be viewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that healthy relationships are built, and brand imaging is favorably maintained.”

Going viral is the best buzz a vendor can get. “At the beginning of the year, Bloomberg wrote about our 60-percent sales growth, and several LinkedIn groups started talking about it,” Sung said. “People asked why we made more than our competitors; then others mentioned we have strong R&D. It gets the conversation going naturally.”

Social media can transform a brand's reputation. “It makes people see you as a celebrity,” Sung added. “It's a way to package a brand.”

Mobile devices and QR codes are blurring the line between the virtual and physical worlds. As the flow of information streams fast and furious, no one can turn back the tide of social media. No matter how a company positions itself, it has to consider social media. While online flames are difficult to control, there is no question that instantaneous communication increases dialog and speeds up the feedback cycle.

IMS Research: For IP-Based Video Surveillance, Future is Actually Now

Editor / Provider: Submitted by IMS Research | Updated: 6/13/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

The trend to IP-based video surveillance is, by now, firmly established. The question is no longer “will IP-based equipment sales overtake analogue equipment sales?” In fact, IMS Research forecasts that 2013 will be the tipping point when world network video surveillance equipment sales overtake analogue video surveillance equipment sales.

The arrival of IP-technology has instead bought its own questions, and simultaneously changed the shape of the market place. With the emergence of IP-based technology, IT distributors and IT integrators are now, increasingly, competing with traditional security distributors and security integrators.

IMS Research recently published a report, IP Trends in Security – A Survey of Systems Integrators and Installers, which found that currently 80 percent of North American systems integrators and installers purchase some IP-based video surveillance equipment from IT distributors, and that this was expected to increase to 90 percent of systems integrators and installers in three years' time.

This finding compliments the fact that increasingly IT distributors are looking to add video surveillance products to their product range in the next 18 months. This could be good news for the traditional IT integrators who are also looking to enter the video surveillance industry, as they will already have the established relationships with their IT distributors. However, many IT integrators are not looking to their distributors for the security knowledge they lack but are instead going directly to the manufacturers of the cameras they are using.

The available bandwidth for these IP-based technologies is still a limiting concern. Within North America, the USA has an average broadband speed of around 5.8Mbps, and is ranked 12th in broadband speed for the world. Despite the concerns with available bandwidth, broadband speeds are likely to continue to increase, leading to greater capability and greater expectations from the technology.

A key finding from the recently released IP Trends in Security – A Survey of Systems Integrators and Installers, is the influence IT managers have in the decision of what IP-based video surveillance products are chosen. IT managers were ranked ahead of other key influencers such as physical security managers, chief security officers and consultants in their ability to influence which IP-based video surveillance products are chosen.

One reason for this influence may be the fact that IT budgets are typically larger than the associated security budgets. Instead of security managers buying an IP-camera and speaking with the IT department about how to incorporate it into the network, increasingly the IT department will buy the security equipment from their budget and incorporate the device into their network.

PSA Network: New Vendor Director, Renewed Focus

Editor / Provider: Hayden Hsu | Updated: 6/13/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

PSA Security Network, a system integrator cooperative in the U.S. with members responsible for more than US$2 billion annually in the design, installation, integration and maintenance of access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, fire and life safety systems, named its new Director of Vendor Management last week. Craig Patterson brings 20 years of security industry experience, including extensive vendor management expertise, to his new role. Prior to joining PSA, he served as Director of Franchise Relations at Stanley CSS, supporting the Sonitrol franchise network in all phases of its business from management, to sales and marketing, to operations and franchise standards.

Patterson talks to asmag.com about his top priorities:
● Face-to-face meetings (business reviews) with our top 25 vendors
● Remote meetings (business reviews) with next 50 to 75 vendors
● Detailed analysis of performance and product offerings of all 200 vendors
● Continued promotion of our Premier Partner Program to our key vendors
● Review new potential vendors and their offerings

In recruiting potential vendors, initial dialogue starts with Patterson and will only move forward if the vendor can successfully answer the following:

● Do you offer something similar to what PSA already has?
● Is there a need with PSA's integrator base?
● Can you offer PSA the best price?
● Do you have unique technology that PSA does not already have with another vendor?
● Can you offer PSA integrator leads?
● Can you bring PSA new customers?

For Patterson and the entire PSA organization, staying up-to-date with the technology and services requirements of all the integrator members is a primary objective. “As a group, we collectively discuss and address how to stay at the forefront of the convergence of physical security and IT/IP infrastructure solutions.”

Verint Stays Intelligence Driven

Editor / Provider: Jill Lai, Staff Editor | Updated: 5/29/2012 | Article type: Security 50

The proliferation of IP and internet bandwidth has brought new technologies, applications and business models to the security industry. As one of the leaders of networked video security solutions, Verint provides comprehensive networked IP video portfolio to mitigate the possible threats in different market verticals along with strong service and technical support for system integrators to address problems and challenges for a variety of customer environments and installations. Leveraging cloud-based technology, Verint has started to forge partnerships with new and existing players to offer new products and services.

Verint Systems, ranked as the top 13 in 2011 Security 50, focuses on providing IP video intelligence solutions and value-added services. It has an extensive portfolio of enterprise intelligence solutions and security intelligence solutions. In the following, asmag.com interviewed Debjit Das, Vice President of Global Marketing, Verint Video Intelligence Solutions of Verint Systems to explore Verint's Security Intelligence Solutions and find out how Verint maintains its sustainable growth with its solutions portfolio and go-to-market strategies for the Asian markets.

Annual Sale Revenue and Market Breakdown
Das: If you look at Verint's global IP video product sales in 2011—IP cameras, encoders, NVRs, video and situation intelligence software, and analytics--it is about $138 million with an additional $207 million from communications and cyber intelligence solutions which is unique compared to other companies in both the security intelligence market as well as the physical security market.

If we break down the sales revenue by market region, we achieved some significant results in Americas, 53%, EMEA, 27% and APAC, 20%. APAC is definitely among one of the regions with the highest growth. With continuous focus on innovation and value, we not only aim to get the sales growth in some emerging markets, but capture more market share in our more mature regions.

As IP Video Intelligence Solutions is being highly adopted across various security markets, our performance acknowledges Verint as one of the leaders in IP video and security intelligence, and we are pleased with that. Many market research firms and analysts project high growth of IP video adoption in APAC - we get our growth from both wider adoption of IP video as well as expanding market shares. We are also focusing on several emerging Asian countries, such as India, South East Asia, Australia, and China, which are experiencing high growth and adoption of IP video solutions for security and surveillance.

Targeting Critical Infrastructure & New Business
Das: We sell our solutions/products to primarily system integrators and provide specific solutions for different market verticals – Retail, Banks and Financial Institutions, and Enterprise and Critical Infrastructure. In APAC, our primary focus is on critical Infrastructure--airports, sea ports, rail and subway-- public infrastructure for city surveillance, and law enforcement. In addition, we also serve customers in the retail, banking and finance, and enterprise verticals.

An interesting trend that we are seeing is interest from telecom providers to provide video intelligence – both security and business intelligence, as a value added service on top of their networks to their customer segments such as Retailers. They partner with us to create the value added service or application. Video analytics is also embedded in our video hardware solutions such as IP cameras, encoders and NVRs, that are internet and cloud enabled. The cloud market is not big right now. But about five years later, it will definitely attract more telecom providers or other system integrators.

Product Differentiation: PSIM, Business Intelligence and Surveillance Analytics
Das: Verint is a global leader in IP video intelligence solutions. When it comes to product differentiation, Verint has PSIM solutions, integrated with VMS software. Verint video management software supports ImmerVision Enables?, offering Verint customers a 360-degree viewing technology to complement their video security applications. We also have NVR and HVR solution, embedded with video management software as well.

Besides security intelligence, our IP video solutions provide business intelligence solutions that customers can use to capture and analyze shopper movement with people counting, queue management and retail traffic analytics. They are used for store performance management, workforce management and optimization, understanding and enhancing the customer experience, and improving marketing and merchandising effectiveness.

In the video surveillance analytics space, besides basic motion detection based analytics such as people loitering, flow control, etc. we also provide integration with cutting edge technologies such as license plate recognition.

Partnership with System Integrators to Achieve Success
Das: We rely on strong partnership with system integrators to achieve success together. We provide education and training to strengthen their awareness of the value and strength of our product portfolio, business strategies and understanding how IP video is important for their target market sectors. Verint has a high touch sales force and is able to provide universal services, technical support and advice to assist the system integrators during the installation and maintenance and co-work with them effectively in worldwide projects.

Open IP Video Platform
We provide an open IP video platform for our integrators. If our customers want other functions, we will look for new partnerships for integration. Other than that, we provide SDK and API which allow capable systems integrators and other manufacturers to build integrations with our solutions platforms.

Top 3 Principles of Industrial Design in Security

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 5/30/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

- Quality, innovation, aesthetics and ease of use are essential to establish a brand.
- Ergonomics are a major focal point within our industrial design process. This takes into account the needs of typical end users and specialized customers equally.

Industrial design unites form with function. Aesthetics, ergonomics and marketability are evaluated with the product's exterior design, which may affect the innards of the product. It is a simple concept to understand, but notoriously difficult to execute. Good industrial design ensures that product development is consistent with the brand image.

Defining functionality is part of product development. “Developing brand identity starts with a vision,” said Ellen Cargill, Director of Product Development for Scallop Imaging. “At Scallop Imaging, the vision is to deliver cameras that ‘put you there.' The camera industrial design is clean, self-confident, and does not draw attention to itself. We utilize a similar and consistent design vocabulary to achieve a consistent and recognizable look among our line of products.”

A consistent design requires continued effort. “Most notable is our enclosure — used for external camera designs — which is stylistically shaped like an eye to immediately identify it as an IQinVision product,” said Ed Suski, VP and CTO at IQinVision.

Quality, innovation, aesthetics and ease of use are essential to establish a brand. “Our design has been specifically developed to visualize the values of the brand,” said Nelly Lopes da Silva, Brand Management for Bosch Security Systems. “These attributes have been distilled and systematically translated into industrial design constants that will recur over the long term in every product. They permanently characterize the face of the brand and communicate the brand message: Invented for Life.”

Product Priorities
Branding and aesthetics are all well and good in product development, but are ultimately trumped by function. This is especially true in physical security, which requires 24/7 operation in most cases. Consumer electronics like smartphones may crash at times and be tolerated, but an access control system at a military base cannot afford any downtime. In developing a consistent brand message, it is essential to determine priorities.

User needs are a priority for design. “The starting point for product development is people,” Lopes da Silva said. “Ergonomics are a major focal point within our industrial design process. This takes into account the needs of typical end users and specialized customers equally.” Requirements include the right product for each application, product reliability, efficiency for the user, practicable and comfortable user operation, and product performance.

Reliability and image quality are key for video surveillance. “After all, the safety and security of the customer depend on the equipment working 24/7 for several years without fail,” Suski said. As assurance, IQinVision offers a three-year warranty — one of the longest in the industry.

One aspect of surveillance is to not draw attention to the camera, which almost defies the brand mindset of industrial design. “Our other design cues or characteristics are followed across other product lines to help make our products pleasing to look at in even the most glamorous surroundings, as well as being as unobtrusive as possible,” Suski said. “While some of our camera designs blend into their environment as much as possible, others are intended to be noticed so as to provide a deterrence effect.”

Along with being unobtrusive, cameras have to be easy to operate. “In the design process, we work very hard to make the camera design simple, elegant and discreet, knowing that a product with great features, but awkward or unattractive design, will not be successful in the marketplace,” Cargill said.

Immersive imaging is a trend, offering situational awareness. “The No. 1 Scallop Imaging priority is to create cameras that are modeled on the human visual system,” Cargill said. “That means the cameras simultaneously deliver 180-degree situational awareness and zoom detail windows in a video frame. In effect, rather than looking at video, the camera takes you into the scene.”

Incorporating Design into Development
Product design is part of the product development process early on. “We have contracted one external product design agency for all design projects worldwide, which enable us to develop products all with one signature look-and-feel and to streamline our design costs,” said Nelly Lopes da Silva, Brand Management for Bosch Security Systems. “With local design studios over three continents, our agency creates strategically positioned designs for both global and local markets.”

Usage guides product development and the final look of the product. “We integrate customer requirements and input into our design and then work with industrial design experts to craft our products to meet both the customer's needs and the needs of the equipment to function in the given envelope,” IQinVision product,” said Ed Suski, VP and CTO at IQinVision. “For example, accommodations are made in the design to allow for cooling, or in cold climates, heating. Also, environmental needs are factored into cameras that are used outdoors, and more aesthetic needs are factored into our indoor models.” Good industrial design should be baked in, not added on, to a product design. “The trade-offs between product size, manufacturability, performance and industrial design are determined early in the product development process to ensure that the results meet our requirements,” Cargill said.

Secutech 2012: HD Remains Strong; HD-SDI still in Early Adoption Phase

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 5/22/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

With relatively weaker markets in Western Europe and North America, and first-to-market opportunities forgone in BRIC, the next gold rush lies in CIVETS. In these price-sensitive markets, it is easy to become engaged in price wars when Chinese competitors offer hard-to-beat prices.

Manufacturers should be aware that channel partners are changing their business models, shifting from dumb box-moving to solution-oriented packages. Compared to the consumer market, volumes in physical security is much smaller and requires much more customization, communication and technical support — a margin of 10 percent is simply not good enough.

Fortunately, the industry is refocusing on helping channel partners adjust for increasingly complex technologies while also maintaining sustainable profits. Simplifying installation and configuration processes is an effective way to help systems integrators control their costs.

Diffusion of Innovations
The diffusion of innovations explains how new ideas and technologies are adopted over time. In this theory, five characteristics of an innovation influence a person's tendency toward adopting an innovation: relative advantage of the new technology, compatibility with existing systems, simplicity compared to existing implementations, the ability to test the new technology and the visibility of the change.

Currently, around 90 percent of video surveillance systems are still analog. In terms of units shipped, analog systems will still out-ship IP-based systems for years to come. While there is little doubt that HD is the future of video surveillance, the transition has not been as quick as anticipated. Not only because of the increased complexity and additional required skillsets, but also the fact that many channel players still have a lot of analog stock to clear up.

With HD-SDI still in its adolescence, network cameras remain the Primary means toward HD video surveillance. That sales revenue for network cameras will outsell analog ones is mainly driven by demand for better image quality, which has not been an easy demand to satisfy. Besides the difficult transition from the elegantly simple analog world where everything just works, other headaches appear when considering HD video, such as transmission, storage and compatibility. Multiple solutions have been proposed to help ease adoption of HD video surveillance by reducing complexity. This year they appear to be more mature, marching forward at a steady pace.

HD via Coax
Sony's money is on SLOC, a technology advocated by Intersil Techwell and marketed by Sony as "IP over coax." SLOC allows SLOC-enabled network cameras to run through existing coaxial cables, along with the analog cameras that are already in place. Products are finally coming to market that combine the low latency and simplicity of analog with HD video, all while allowing existing infrastructure to be reused.

HD-SDI is another alternative path toward HD. Manufacturers have significantly improved performance and reliability of their devices and it seems like total solutions are finally materializing, with DVRs now capable of recording 16 channels at 7 to 10 fps, up from four channels at 2 fps. Companies like Calsys are also beginning to boast total solutions and large-scale installations. Adoption for HD-SDI is picking up and prices are expected to drop in Q3 or Q4.

Something new popped up as well. ccHDTV is another technology that allows end users to capitalize on existing analog wiring infrastructure to deliver 1,080p video. New it may be — indeed, a Google search does not bring up anything — it is another response to the market, which demands simplicity and maximizing value of existing investments. ccHDTV claims to be "the best… HD solution without all the network hassles and HD-SDI infrastructure limitation." It also attempts to resolve storage issues seen in HD-SDI by compressing images at the camera, sending full HD video through coaxial cables via the DVB-T standard. The main markets it wishes to tackle are large-scale installations in South East Asia.

For the time being, many manufacturers are riding on both the IP and HD-SDI trains, waiting for the fog to clear. In any case, much emphasis has been placed on simplifying things for users and channel partners. When it comes to system architecture, installation, operation or maintenance costs, simplicity is something all parties appreciate.

In terms of education, training the SI on how to use products effectively is critical, since they are the ones that are pushing the products to the end user. On the end user's side, the increasing collaboration required between IT and security departments means that both parties must be equally informed of how a particular product will affect other components in the system.

Tides of Change
Never say never when it comes to technology. Even Apple's iPad was heavily criticized before it took the world by fire. IP-based video surveillance, HD over coax and many other technologies were all at some point "crazy ideas" (some still are). While disruptive products and services generally experience slow uptake due to caution or lack of understanding, it takes time for awareness to trickle down the distribution chain.

However, what is most important is the value delivered by these new technologies to the customer. While innovation is appreciated in any industry, not all innovation is equal. Manufacturers must get their heads out of the sand if they wish to develop compelling solutions that truly cater to their customers. At the end of the day, those who value and provide value to customers are the ones that walk away with a big smile and a fat check, while those who fail to adapt to new demands from the market will ultimately suffer.

Integration Drives Stadium Security

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 5/14/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

- Integration helps to minimize security loopholes.
- Mobile security, connected security and expanded security networks are key features of upcoming security technologies.
- Stadium security is extending beyond the gates of the stadium and into the surrounding city.

The coming few years promise to be filled with exciting sports competitions. The technologies that are protecting stadiums are rising to the security challenge. Current trends are pushing security technologies to be better integrated, expand their area of protection and have better mobility.

Recent advances in stadium and sports event security technologies are seeing greater integration, expanded protection areas and increased mobility. The first trend is linking of security efforts. Integration helps to minimize security loopholes. Putting in automatic processes or procedures uses security technologies in a more efficient manner.

The second trend is the expansion of security efforts outside of the event venues and into the cities. More coordinated and comprehensive security strategies are possible now with innovations in networking, integration and communication.

The third trend is mobile security technology that can move and adapt to changing security needs. These three trends will emerge again as different sports event security technology is discussed.

Integrated Approach
The arrival of PSIM technology allows connectivity between disparate security systems. “The PSIM software system enables city agencies to connect and leverage any number and variety of disparate physical security and information systems available across multiple agencies and private organizations into one common operating picture, including legacy security systems, without having to purchase new or additional hardware or implement custom coding,” said James Chong, founder and CTO, of VidSys.

This connectivity stretches security networks beyond traditional stadiums. “In the past, security was only configured within the stadium,” Chong said. “With PSIM, security now extends beyond the stadium to areas within the vicinity that are impacted by the event. Any physical security device — video cameras, sensors and so on — in the immediate areas can be integrated with the system, extending the security zone to increase situational awareness and management capabilities.”

Outside the arena, PSIM can manage traffic flow in cities by integrating with advanced traffic management systems. Organizers can see where congestion is, look at other security and event factors and react accordingly.

PSIM also demonstrates great security mobility. Since PSIM is software-based, it can be used to establish mobile command centers. Traditionally, only the fixed command center would receive all security feeds, but now mobile command centers can act as backup command centers to provide redundant coverage and additional eyes on the event as needed, Chong said.

Mobile security, connected security and expanded security networks are key features of upcoming security technologies. Finding ways to further push security technologies in these directions may help to further strengthen security efforts at stadiums

Network Backbone
Wireless networks are easily deployed without major infrastructural changes, as opposed to wired networks. In the past few years, advances in wireless technology allow networks to be more stable with greater capacity. Often, these wireless networks are designed with video surveillance in mind, and can easily extend surveillance networks. For large-scale events, as there are usually several layers of security before reaching actual event venues, wireless networks can extend security into the city.

“The fact is that wireless is becoming more widely adopted and more recognized globally as a very fast, cost-effective way to deploy cameras around stadiums and transportation arteries,” said Geoffrey Smith, VP of Business Development and Strategic Accounts, Proxim Wireless. “It's one-tenth the cost of running fiber, and they can deploy it immediately, versus having to wait months and months for all the permits to be done, to trench the equipment and dig up the streets.”

For the 2010 Winter Olympics, wireless networks were deployed around Vancouver to backhaul video surveillance footage. These wireless networks were not only deployed around the Olympic venues, but throughout the city to keep an eye on the influx of people. In particular, transportation routes, like traffic signal controls, needed to be outfitted with security technology. In preparation for the 2010 Olympics, Vancouver also deployed an intelligent video solution into its public transportation system. Such security measures helped city management to keep an eye on crowds, congestion problems and evacuations from a venue, in the case of an emergency.

As networks extend into the city, they make it possible to implement security measures and catch threats before they reach the stadium. “We're seeing a big emphasis on safety and security around stadiums, but mostly around providing surveillance connectivity outside of the stadiums even throughout the city,” Smith said. “There is a lot of focus on the ports, on the cities, to prevent anything that is trying to get in. The city tries to address problems before they get there. That's why people are trying to secure the roadways, also related the stadium security — to control things when an incident happens. It's a coordinated effort between the city, transportation and the stadiums.”

At these large events, security is a national issue, and security is deployed far outside of the realm of a traditional stadium. Prior to an event, names of potential disturbances are solicited from other countries. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the North American Aerospace Defense Command monitored the skies for unusual activity. For the upcoming London Olympics, biometric information in the form of fingerprints and facial scans are being taken from more than 10,000 Olympic athletes and coaches for identification. Prevention is key for sports event security, which is exactly what extended networks help to do.

Integrating Physical and Logical Security in Pharmaceutics

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 5/3/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

- RFID technology has been increasingly implemented for tracking
- Manufacturers are integrating access control and video surveillance systems to provide better watch and control of their facilities
- Converged physical and logical security practices are becoming commonplace.

The idea of integrating disparate systems to provide a holistic approach to security is not foreign to the pharmaceutical industry. Manufacturers are integrating access control and video surveillance systems to provide better watch and control of their facilities, said Paige Prechter, Global Account Manager of Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls.

Access control and video surveillance are mostly used to guarantee the security and safety of staff, visitors and general public, as well as providing personnel with tools that allow them to work more efficiently in their work area, explained Vincentius Liong, Director of Integrated Security Systems Solutions, Elektrodata Sistem Integrasi. “Electronic security and building management systems are usually put in place for ensuring compliance with all government regulations and legal responsibilities throughout the manufacturing facility. Another goal is to maintain access control of people during construction and expansion of the facility and monitor on-site maintenance schedules.”

Card readers are installed at all critical points, and cameras are placed to provide documentation of the entire manufacturing process, Liong continued. “Various biometric devices add an extra layer of security for extremely sensitive areas. Data from these systems is transmitted to a central security command center, where it can be closely monitored round the clock.”

Intercoms are typically integrated into the mix, allowing security personnel to communicate with employees appearing to engage in questionable activities, Prechter added.

RFID technology has been increasingly implemented for tracking. Drug identification is a required ability because it is difficult to know who made the drug or what the drug is after it is removed from the original packaging. While RFID may be effective in tackling this issue, it may not yet be sufficiently cost-effective for industry-wide deployment.

“Track-and-trace initiatives around the world are driving the need for standardization of technologies, and the use of 2-D barcodes for authentication is becoming the technology of choice," said Brian Johnson, Senior Director of Supply Chain Securityfor Pfizer, in an interview with Pharmaceutical Technology .

The large number of M&As in this industry has resulted in a company having multiple facilities with a variety of security systems, Prechter noted. “These companies are looking to standardize on one system moving forward, and are adopting open-architecture software applications that allow for integration of multiple technologies.”

Physical + Logical
Converged physical and logical security practices are becoming commonplace. Physical security keeps stakeholders safe by allowing only authorized individuals into the building, while logical security protects their computers and data from unauthorized access, said John Carney, Senior Manager of Government Practice, Cisco Systems.

However, the department s managing the technology for these types of security are generally separate and often do not collaborate with one another, Carney cautioned. “With the proliferation of IP convergence, this separation can dramatically impact both of these departments as well as compromise the safety and security of an organization.”

Logical security depends greatly on physical security, Carney explained. “A compromised network allows access not only to business-critical data, but also to all of the security sensors, video cameras and access controls. Unauthorized access to a single security sensor such as a video surveillance camera can be bothersome, but compromising the control of all sensors can be disastrous.

” Many technologies that help secure the network against various threats already exist. One possible solution that has minimal impact on the human-engineering side is to ensure that only trusted users access the network, Carney said. “To enforce this, a user should badge into a building prior to being allowed to access the network.” Through simple process re-engineering, the user does not have to change their behavior of swiping a badge or logging into the network.

This now creates a multifactor authentication: something you have (a security badge) and something you know (ID and password), Carney continued. By tying building access to network access, security increases for not only the network but also network resources.

Using multifactor authentication, gaining entrance to the building no longer guarantees access to the network, which makes it more difficult for an unauthorized person to take advantage of an unattended computer, Carney explained. “This addresses the common issue of tailgating.” This also ensures that the number and names of people in the building are known to the security team.

Badge use has minimal impact on people because most already swipe their badges for access to buildings; all that is required is to make the practice mandatory, Carney said.

Stakeholders Unite
The physical security team must track all users, to which areas they are allowed access, when they are allowed to access those areas, and so on; the logical security team must track those same users, the computers and servers they use, data access rules, and so on, Carney said. “Combining these two administrative functions into a single system allows for a more efficient change management process and minimizes the potential for an out-of-sync situation between systems.”

However, combining logical and physical identity management is no small feat. This is where the concept of a single governance body for security becomes vital, Caney continued. “This governance body needs to determine who can make changes, what changes they are allowed to make, and when they can make them.” A key priority is to keep the identity data accurate, since all policies and procedures use this data for enforcement and compliance.

Promising Verticals in Italy

Editor / Provider: the Editorial Team | Updated: 4/27/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

The most promising verticals in Italy for video surveillance are green energy sites. Blessed with the sunny Mediterranean climate, Italy has many photovoltaic parks that need to safeguard solar panels. Other hot applications include public video monitoring; critical infrastructure such as transportation, airports and ports; traffic control and health care.

Technology upgrades and life cycle replacements of security systems will promote the steady expansion of the Italian physical security market, particularly in the airport and critical infrastructure including mass transport, roads, subways, tunnels and schools, said Frost & Sullivan in a prepared statement. Upcoming events, such as the World Expo in 2015 in Milan, will spur spending to boost passenger throughput at airports, railways, seaports and along roads.

The Italian market is expected to grow from $173.6 million in 2010 to $352.5 million in 2015, reaching a peak of $432 million in 2012, according to Frost & Sullivan. Market opportunities revolve around critical infrastructure projects with a total investment of more $822.9 million over the forecast period for this domain, followed by a total of $513.5 million for airport security and $512.8 million for oil and gas.

Made in Italy
The Italian security market is characterized by high fragmentation of products and a mixture of manufacturers and integrators. This hinders data gathering. Usually, brands target installers — around 2,500 in Italy — through distributors or wholesalers. While major brands choose a "polarization strategy" to acquire greater market share, innovation-oriented players move from integration to OEM for the very same brands.

Nevertheless, several brave “Made in Italy” companies independently manage the whole manufacturing process. It is not by chance that the Italian security industry relies on a long-lasting tradition of techno- logical excellence, exported all over the world.

These companies exhibit innovation, high quality and functional performance. An emphasis on design and usability makes these solutions unique. The sum of these elements defines “Made in Italy” quality and the pursuit of continuous improvement. This is influenced by the 1970s school of thought for electronic safety, with an emphasis on simplicity, usability and the actual needs of the user. Such focus is reflected in excellent design, conceived as more than aesthetics. It is aimed at functionality, with user- and installer-friendly software applications. The use of eco-friendly components and materials with reduced energy consumption is now the emerging trend of Italian security, thanks to a greater awareness of environmental issues and government incentives.

Recession Redux
Italy's debt crisis is in the global spotlight, as Italians and European investors hold their breath. As a consequence, there is widespread uncertainty chilling the investment climate in the short term. From this derives the need to collect payment. More small and mid-size business owners have postponed electronic security purchases in favor of immediately profitable investments.

In order to tackle this situation, vendors are diversifying both their offerings and target markets to compensate for losses. They are trying to maintain investments, stay flexible and preserve company liquidity. Manufacturers who target the professional market strive to ensure the best performance with high technology and quality brands. Other vendors who serve the residential market highlight extreme simplicity and competitive prices. It is clear that the two markets will not develop in the same way.

The ability to innovate for the professional market with distinctive products offers a competitive advantage that enables recovery of a margin against mass production. Moreover, it is necessary to start aggregative policies: creating consortiums, temporary company associations similar to short-time joint ventures and purchase groups. It is imperative to form strategic alliances with vendors who were considered competitors. Bringing in expertise from ICT, electronics and BA leverages the benefits of an integrated approach.