Jason Spielfogel

2019 was a big year for the Expert Panel Roundtable. The range of topics expanded, and we had more participation from more contributors than ever before. In closing out the year of contemplative discussions, we came across some final observations to share. They can serve both as a postscript for 2019 and a teaser for a whole new year of industry conversations in our Expert Panel Roundtable in 2020.  

The new year comes with new opportunities for the security industry, but what technologies will dominate our discussions in 2020? Topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) and HCI (hyperconverged infrastructure) became familiar in conversations during 2019, and they are likely to dominate our thoughts again in the new year. But other buzzwords are also gaining steam, such as “blockchain” and “frictionless access control.” Connectivity and the cloud will also be timely technology topics as the industry evolves. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What technology buzz will dominate the security industry in 2020?

“Open systems” has been a security industry buzzword for decades, although reality has sometimes diverged significantly from the ideal. The current state-of-the-art in open systems provides a multitude of benefits to increasingly complex physical security systems. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable to elaborate: What is the impact of open systems on physical security?

The obvious reason to buy security systems is to promote greater security. But in some cases, there are more specific and/or immediate motivators that lead to a security purchase. Everybody wants more security in the abstract, but how willing are we to pay for it? Security is sometimes seen as a “grudge purchase,” competing for tight corporate dollars with other investments that may seem more appealing or urgent. But other times an event occurs that moves security to the top of the list of priorities. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What motivators compel customers to buy more security systems?

Higher pixel count is better. It’s a basic tenet of the video surveillance market, or at least it is the implication as manufacturers continue to tout their latest products offering ever-higher pixel counts. But the reality is more nuanced, as our Expert Panel Roundtable panelists explain this week. Pixel count shouldn’t be seen as an end unto itself, but rather as a factor in determining what camera is applicable to which application. Pixel count is just one factor of several to consider, and the needs of the application must rule all decisions. We asked this week’s panel: How many megapixels are enough? At what point does additional resolution not matter, or not make economic sense?

Software drives video solutions in the IP environment, but often that software is a pre-installed component of a purpose-built network video recorder (NVR). In other cases, software solutions are sold separately and then installed (usually by the integrator) on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) server. But how can an integrator or end user decide which approach is best for them? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a pre-configured video appliance (such as a purpose-built NVR with preinstalled software) versus software running on an off-the-shelf server?

One obvious benefit of an NVR appliance compared to software VMS system is ease of configuration and installation A quality networked video recorder (NVR) and software-based video management system (VMS) both do an excellent job of safeguarding valuable video data. But there are a number of pros and cons for both, along with specific applications that will do better with one option over the other. These can easily be broken down into five topics: ease of setup/install, support, scalability, usability and migration. Ease of setup/install One obvious benefit of an NVR appliance compared to software VMS system is ease of configuration and installation. Since there’s no software to install except for maybe a light client on a PC (and sometimes not even that), deploying an NVR system is faster and easier than the complexities that can occur when you install a VMS system on off-the-shelf servers and other hardware.  For smaller systems with fewer than 200 cameras, this reason alone is often why customers choose NVRs over VMS software. The tradeoff is that you have no choice but to buy the complete NVR solution. Considering hardware can be well over 60 percent of the cost of the solution, this might pin the customer into a corner for their overall budget, and can limit the future usability of the product. Software solutions, on the other hand, benefit from being able to leverage existing hardware, or relatively cheaper commoditised hardware. This is especially true as system sizes scale. A 2,000-camera system, for example, would almost assuredly be less expensive in a software and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution than it would to buy 10 200-channel NVRs. The tradeoff is that installation and setup are inherently more complex and takes longer on software and COTS then on a typical NVR system, though a lot of work has been done in the industry over the last few years to thin this gap considerably. Support When a customer buys an NVR, they’re buying everything from one manufacturer, with hardware that was hopefully designed and optimised specifically for that use. This means the solution is easier to support – including everything from installation assistance to troubleshooting problems. The warranty on an embedded solution is almost always better than a solution of software and COTS. When a customer buys an NVR, they’re buying everything from one manufacturer, with hardware that was hopefully designed and optimised specifically for that use If there’s a tradeoff here, it’s also that the support can be more limited, because the expectation is that it just works out of the box, and therefore the manufacturer many not have a large or sophisticated support infrastructure for embedded devices if something significant goes wrong. Also, because of the portability of embedded systems, the risk of having to send the entire unit back and losing whatever storage had been on that device is significant – a support risk that almost never occurs on a software and COTS deployment. Scalability If support weighed more towards choosing an embedded NVR system, then scalability does the same for software and COTS. While many NVR systems have scalability designed within them, this scalability is step function and limited. This means that if an NVR supports up to 200 channels, and you need 203, you now need an entire additional unit for three channels. Yes, you can expand that up to 400 someday, but what if you won’t do that for another five years? That’s a large capital expenditure investment for very little additional return. Also, with an NVR, you scale everything as a complete system. What if you don’t need more channels, and you just require more storage? What if you just need more transcoding? In all of these cases, NVRs force you to add more of everything, even when you may only want to add a little of one thing. Scaling storage is a big one in this regard, and is one of the places where software and COTS specifically shines relative to an NVR. As you get into even larger systems, NVR scalability takes another hit in that the user experience generally isn’t designed for this. NVR solutions are usually easier to support – including everything from installation assistance to troubleshooting problems Usability Usability is a broad topic, because it covers everything from intuitiveness, immersiveness, support and scalability, and more. The thing to keep in mind for usability as it relates to NVR versus VMS is that NVRs have a usability generally designed for smaller deployments with the benefit of more casual use. VMS usability, on the other hand, is generally designed for larger systems, with multiple users, all of whom are using the system more often. So the pros and cons here really depend on the size of your system and how you plan to use it. If you’re looking for something like access control integration into your system, a VMS will generally have a far better story to tell than an NVR system That said, VMS systems definitely suffer on learning curve relative to NVR systems, but at the same time they offer compatibility with third-party systems and plugins that are either very limited to NVR customers, or that don’t exist at all in an NVR environment. Thus, if you’re looking for something like access control integration into your system, a VMS will generally have a far better story to tell than an NVR system. Monitor environment is also a significant factor in usability comparisons, because very few NVR systems support more than a two-monitor environment, whereas most VMS systems support high monitor counts. That’s not to say you can’t make a “monitor wall” environment work in an NVR deployment, it’s just that most NVRs weren’t specifically designed for monitor wall use, and their implementation is usually smaller scale and more “clunky” than the seamless experience that commercial VMS software offers. Migration Migration in this context refers to migrating your system to newer hardware. In an NVR system, this is usually not possible, meaning that if you ever want to upgrade to newer hardware, you may be starting all over, and may not have a path to connect your old storage to your new storage. This forces many users to install an all-new NVR system, and keep their old system around long enough to manage the required retention policies until the new system has recorded enough video to meet the retention requirements. A software-based VMS system, on the other hand, has a lot more migration portability as components can usually be upgraded and swapped in and out as needed, because it’s simply software installed on COTS hardware. The long-term “future-proof” nature of software and COTS has more potential versatility than on an embedded NVR. Making the final decision At the end of the day, there is no right choice, because it depends on the size of the system, future scalability of the system and, most importantly, how the system will be used, that determines if an embedded NVR or a Software VMS solution is right for you. Save

“Open systems” has been a security industry buzzword for decades, although reality has sometimes diverged significantly from the ideal. The current state-of-the-art in open systems provides a multitude of benefits to increasingly complex physical security systems. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable to elaborate: What is the impact of open systems on physical security?

Pelco by Schneider Electric, a provider of surveillance and security products and technologies, is showcasing the latest enhancements to the company’s powerful, VideoXpert Enterprise and Professional Video Management System (VMS) solutions at ASIS, Booth 2309. Designed to deliver control with confidence, VideoXpert incorporates the latest advancements in system navigation to ensure simple set-up and ease of operation for any size deployment, along with numerous integrations that allow the powerful management and control platform to be highly customised to meet users’ specific needs. Comprehensive and scalable solution “VideoXpert is the most intuitive VMS available, as it effortlessly displays what users need to see, when it's needed, so they can comprehensively control surveillance operations with complete confidence,” said Jason Spielfogel, Director of Product Management, Pelco by Schneider Electric. “Designed as a comprehensive and infinitely scalable solution, VideoXpert Enterprise and Professional VMS solutions cater to the specific needs of large and small to medium size systems users.” VideoXpert dramatically improves centralised management and control of integrated surveillance and security solutions on a highly flexible and infinitely scalable platform. This provides users with greater situational awareness so they can make more timely decisions and execute decisive action. Third-party applications Built on a powerful open architecture platform, VideoXpert enables third-party applications including video analytics, licence plate recognition (LPR) and Point of Sale (POS) to be cost-effectively integrated for highly specialised deployments. To ensure high reliability, VideoXpert eliminates single points of failure through fault-tolerant software, distributed architecture, and multiple levels of redundancy. VideoXpert incorporatesthe latest advancementsin system navigation to ensure simple set-up and ease of operation forany size deployment New and enhanced VideoXpert Enterprise VMS features include: an improved user interface for faster, more effective awareness and action; incident management functions to easily and quickly correlate related video files; improved customisable event alerts with real-time visual notification; and immersive viewing of 180°, 270° and 360° panoramic images from Pelco Optera Cameras. VideoXpert Ops Center Also on display at ASIS 2017 is the VideoXpert Ops Center which is the operator console for VideoXpert Enterprise that provides an intuitive and powerful interface for users to easily access and investigate video. The Ops Center supports up to six, uniquely configurable monitors, each capable of displaying up to 16 video streams simultaneously. VideoXpert Professional VMS seamlessly bridges the gap between mid-size and enterprise platforms by providing a superior user interface and robust features previously only available in enterprise versions. Tailored for small to mid-size installations of up to 100 cameras, VideoXpert Professional is designed for easy installation and provides IT-friendly windows and menus for setup and maintenance. With all non-client functions on a single machine, easy access to actionable information, and pre-defined roles for easy user creation, this exciting new offering gives mid-level installations more capabilities than ever before. Visitors to Pelco’s ASIS booth will have the opportunity to witness how VideoXpert VMS solutions improve overall security and surveillance operations by amplifying situational awareness across the enterprise.

SourceSecurity.com’s Expert Panel covered a lot of ground in 2016 about a variety of topics in our Roundtable discussions. The very most-clicked-on Roundtable discussion in 2016 was about how to choose between a cloud-based system and a server-based system. Other hot topics that made the Top-10 list of Roundtable discussions included edge-based video storage, the challenges of commoditisation, and mistakes customers make when buying and installing security systems. Here is a listing of the Top 10 Expert Panel Roundtable discussions posted in 2016 at SourceSecurity.com, along with a “sound bite” from each discussion, and links back to the full articles. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Expert Panel Roundtable in 2016, including the quotable panelists named below! 1. What factors should a customer consider when choosing between a cloud-based system and a server-based security system? "Invariably the choices will be driven by security processes in place within the corporate environment and by ensuring the remote system is as impenetrable as the corporate network. Both options potentially leave the corporate network vulnerable to a determined cyber attacker, so the systems and access points to the network need to be sufficiently hardened to deter or prevent attacks.” [John Davies] 2. What is the most unusual application of surveillance cameras you have seen recently? "The most unusual application I’ve seen is the use of 360-degree fisheye cameras mounted on mobile poles for security along a marathon route. The poles were mounted on mobile units that contained power and communications infrastructure. Multiple mobile units were driven and placed along the route so that the entire route was constantly under surveillance. " [Jumbi Edulbehram] 3. What is the biggest mistake you see your customers make when it comes to buying or installing security or surveillance systems? "Too many businesses fail to take full advantage of the breadth of services available for maximising tools like remote diagnostic services, for example, which allow customer service teams to regularly and proactively check equipment quality and make repairs remotely." [Joe Oliveri] A number of major security companies are offering cloud video surveillance solutions apart from the traditional server-based systems, but which is best for the customer? 4. How many megapixels are enough? At what point does additional resolution not matter, or not make economic sense? "The industry commonly holds that 20 pixels/foot is enough for general surveillance, 40 pixels/foot is the minimum for facial recognition and licence plate identification, and 80 pixels/foot is used for higher detail like reading logos, names embroidered on a shirt, etc. " [Jason Spielfogel] 5. What is the value of edge-based storage and in what specific applications? "Recording at the edge frees up network bandwidth and PC processing power, allowing users to view and manage video feeds and store applicable images for later use or transfer to the network when necessary. " [Dave Poulin] 6. How can security integrators replace revenue in the age of commoditisation? "The integrator community needs to learn to embrace what hundreds of other contractor businesses have. They need to improve their predictable cash flow and margin by offering contracted services. Call it what you like – RMR, managed services, monitoring – the description makes no difference. The integrator community simply needs to get off their butt and make it happen. " [Bill Bozeman] 7. How successful was ISC West 2016? Did it meet your expectations? "It was unanimous that 2016 ISC West was the best show we have participated in Arecont Vision history! Activity on the first two days was especially strong with Systems Integrators, Dealers, Distributors, End Users, and A&E/Consultants. These people all came to see our new product line and were especially interested to see the product performance improvements and ease of installation and setup." [Scott Schafer] More of us are depending on social media smart phone apps as a source of information, providing new levels of immediacy that dovetail well into security, specifically in areas of emergency notification 8. What are the physical security challenges of "safe cities" applications, and how is the market meeting those challenges? "One of the challenges is, of course, to make systems from different manufacturers work together. Interoperability is important not only from an operator’s point of view, but also in how cities and their internal divisions should respond to incidents reported by the security systems. " [Per Björkdahl] 9. How should integrators/installers differentiate themselves or make themselves stand out in today’s market? "In today's market, it's all about customer service. Almost every integrator has good product – and most of these products do a lot of the same things – but what sets integrators/installers apart is the level of value-added support they are providing to their accounts. Increased support through training, follow-up, open communication and keeping them informed on emerging technologies can really speak to the needs that end users have and why they will remain loyal.” [Mitchell Kane] 10. What role can social media play in the security marketplace and/or as a tool to promote better security in general? "Social media has weaved its way into our daily lives and is an integral part of our interaction with customers in the marketplace. Social media outlets bring the human element to interfacing with our communities and customers. This humanization allows us to address sensitive topics like the recent events in Orlando and how to take preventative measures in the future." [Melissa Stenger] See the full coverage of 2016/2017 Review and Forecast articles hereSave Save