Looking at the past ten years, it's obvious how much this industry has evolved. But here's something a little more nostalgic: In 2004, Genetec believed that IP was the direction of the future. Access control and license plate recognition solutions were not part of their product portfolio.
Looking at the past ten years, it's obvious how much this industry has evolved. But here's something a little more nostalgic: In 2004, Genetec believed that IP was the direction of the future. Access control and license plate recognition solutions were not part of their product portfolio. But the IP video surveillance solution, Omnicast, was just beginning to take the industry by storm, introducing customers to never-seen-before flexibility and scalability. And unification through Security Center was only a concept that brought excitement.
In 2014, here are some technologies and trends that Genetec thinks will keep fueling good discussions:
* Mobile Access: More security teams want to access their security platforms from a mobile device because at any moment, they need to know what's going on. The same customers will be driving more demand and development for mobile apps. This might include tailoring apps to specific uses, accommodating a greater number of devices and device technologies and dealing with constraints inherent to mobile networks.
* Collaboration and Data: Sharing. Many metropolitan areas and cities are driving this trend forward, as they look for greater synergy between agencies, law enforcement, schools, hospitals and other public entities. Businesses are also seeking more efficient and secure ways to share with police. Secure methods of sharing that protect data and track chain of custody will continue to pique interest.
* High-Definition, Megapixel and 360-Degree Cameras: Organizations want more clarity and visibility of their environment, but sometimes this comes at the expense of their infrastructure. The evolution of H.264, new devices with 360-degree panoramic views, and enhanced video management features will continue to solve this dilemma. These technologies can provide improved awareness and evidence, but also curb costs by offering more efficient network streaming and storage.
* Wearable Cameras and Leveraging Smartphone Capabilities: As mobile technology evolves, it brings about new opportunities for mobile applications. Examples include leveraging a smartphone's camera as a mobile edge device or deploying wearable cameras to security personnel, where video can be streamed back to a security system for a live viewing, recording, and eventual playback.
* Unification and Command & Control Applications: Having multiple systems under one platform can speak volumes to customers in terms of heightening efficiency. Platforms that can combine common functionality and that consolidate the maintenance and management of all kinds of systems into a single application will continue generating interest. The next phase of these platforms that take internal policies, processes, and decision-making into account for better response efficiency will be what to watch for. Offering an out-of-the-box solution at a fraction of the price of highly customized solutions is a key requirement for greater adoption.
* Metadata and Video Analytics: As devices become more powerful in collecting and processing greater amount of data, so will the software that manages them. More video analytics will be pushed to the edge, and we'll likely see improved software functionality to compute more data in less time. Analytics will help operators detect events faster so they can take action.
* Security and Privacy: Security and privacy protection are still an ongoing concern. Security vendors recognize the importance of features that keep critical information and access to the system secure. Data encryption methods and other network security features will stay top of mind.
* PoE, Wireless and IP Access Control: Wireless and PoE electronic locks are getting lots of attention for the installation and labour savings they offer. And some IP-enabled locks are also much easier to install because they come as one single piece of hardware including the reader, lock body, etc. These new devices will continue to get a lot of customers taking a closer look at IP access control.
* Hybrid Cloud for Enterprise Systems: Security applications have only begun to scratch the surface of capabilities enabled by the cloud. With the potential of facilitating installation and maintenance, improving collaboration and data access across an organization for investigations, and reducing hardware costs, a variety of opportunities exist for Enterprise customers that look to keep their on-premises system, while taking advantage of certain cloud-enabled functionality.
* Simplicity: From commissioning to operations, users want simple and easy-to-learn applications. For this, defining new or updating existing usability and interface design concepts, and looking at an operator's complete experience with security applications are essential and ongoing steps on the road to greater simplicity. Providing powerful tools presented in a way that's not cluttered or cumbersome will continue to define a security software's strength.