Security monitoring system - Expert commentary

Organisational resilience takes all appropriate actions to help ensure the organisation’s continued viability In this day and age, the traditional components of security officers, cameras, access control and alarm systems aren’t enough to protect a company or organisation. No matter how good your preparations, security sometimes breaks down, and bad things happen. That can take a toll on a business. Today, security’s role extends to organisational resilience...

The focus of Fusion Centre is all about video - surveillance, analytics, verification, license plate recognition, VMS, wearable cameras and more Growing demand for surveillance that offers better quality video continues to fuel growth in the IP camera market. According to Transparency Market Research, the video surveillance market will realise a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 percent by 2019, surpassing $42 billion in sales. High-definition video and network-connect...

The smarter the grid becomes, the more risks it will encounter Hollywood collided with couch-dwelling gamers this Christmas because of the hack on Sony’s computer system, allegedly committed by North Korea. Immediately, security experts began to wonder if a nation state or a terrorist group might try and hit the U.S. electric grid. The answer is likely yes, but it wouldn’t be the first time or the last, and the grid, smart or not, is extremely complex and interwove...

Check out the research available from the ASIS Foundation. It is proving to be right on the button.When the Guardians of Peace hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment late in 2014, they crashed the studio’s email, leaked films and scattered personnel data across the Internet.  By mid-December, four class-action lawsuits had hit Sony, claiming that the company had not taken adequate cyber-security precautions. How about your company? Are you prepared to withstand a cyber-att...

A growing number of users look to add cloud-based functionality to their surveillance toolkits In today’s market, both end users and resellers seek new technologies to make security programs more effective, while also helping business and employees be more efficient. Cloud-based monitoring services are gaining a significant amount of attention as an emerging solution to meet these needs. Maria Cambria, Vice President, Technical Center of Excellence, DVTEL says that end u...

Unscrupulous companies reversing positive steps made by security industry to remove stigma of being known as "trunk slammers" ABC news report reaffirms need for industry action For the businesses that make up the electronic security industry, it’s an issue that undermines all the progress we have made to date. It’s deceptive door-to-door sales tactics, and it’s still having an impact on the alarm industry. It affects the entire industry – from lar...

Suffice it to say 2014 was a pivotal year for the majority of alarm dealers and installers. Many have had to change their way of thinking and their method of doing business, while adapting to ever-changing technology. But those who continue to reinvent their go-to-market model prove that the integration business is the place to be – and there’s money to be made, albeit it not in simply installing boxes and hardware. In fact, that mind-set changed several years ago, and...

Right after the Paris terrorist attacks, a headline I read throughout the media asked: “Did intelligence services drop the ball?” The question has a familiar ring, and you’ll find variations on it throughout the last and present centuries concerning events that range from presidential assassinations to 9/11, 7/7 in London and the 2008 Mumbai bombings. But physical security, rather than information gathering, is our scope here. From the moment I saw thermal imagin...

Are network switches really designed for IP video security? The simple answer is no. As video security migrated to IP, a major concern for video security personal was the future of their positions in regard to system specification and control. After all, networks are networks, and they are under the control of IT directors. However, as transition occurred and the demands of IP video security grew, it became apparent that database networks don’t directly translate into IP vid...

Marshall Marinace is on a mission - to continue to infuse value into ESA If you haven’t met Marshall Marinace, you probably will soon. He’s the new President of the Electronic Security Association (ESA), and he’s instantly likeable. He’s a homespun security dealer with decades of service who knows that the new world of systems integration requires change and involvement of every member at the association level. Marinace was sworn in as the 41st Preside...

Dozens of suppliers, dealers, installers and industry organisations participated in our First Annual Security Market Review and Forecast 2014 was a great time to be in the security industry, and 2015 will be even better. This is the optimistic view shared among industry leaders contacted by SourceSecurity.com and asked to reflect on the market in 2014 and to look ahead to the New Year. Dozens of suppliers, dealers, installers and industry organisations participated in our...

Companies embracing new cloud-based technologies will be among the winners, those with legacy business models will struggle Vision Security Technologies 2014/2015 Review & ForecastThe year 2014 was somewhat flat due to a still recovering economy and building industry in our Southern region of the United States. We saw a greater expectation for higher quality video surveillance throughout the mid-market sector. Vision Security Technologies also saw an increase in campus...

The SIA Security Market Index rose to 74.6 in November 2014, up from 72.3 in September SIA 2014/2014 Review and Forecast: The Security Industry Association (SIA) has begun to conduct a bimonthly survey of select SIA members to measure confidence in the security industry through the SIA Security Market Index. Using a scale of 1-100, the SIA Security Market Index reflected growing confidence among security industry business leaders throughout 2014 and into 2015. The SIA Securi...

Companies will resort to cooperation in a mutually beneficial and complementary way Dahua 2014/2015 Review and Forecast:The global economy is in recovery, and China’s domestic market keeps its strong momentum. Politically, the terrorist attacks and uncertain factors still exist; and with years of market cultivation, people’s safety awareness continues to grow. Important trends include the popularisation of HD, intelligence, integration and the increasing impac...

With the entry of more manufacturers and mergers and acquisitions in the security industry, the competition is undoubtedly getting fiercer VIVOTEK 2014/2015 Review and Forecast: Total solutions have become more important than individual products in the industry. Security brands are starting to turn themselves into solution providers instead of product manufacturers. Moreover, with technology advancement, the adoption of intelligent video content analysis is on the rise. I...

Customers look to leverage video surveillance technologies to optimise and monitor operations within their business MicroPower 2014/2015 Review and Forecast: In 2015, we will continue to see customers look to leverage video surveillance technologies to optimise and monitor operations within their business. Solutions that enable organisations to shift from more situational awareness to situational assessment – for example, using images collected from the surveillanc...

Retailers can get more use from video surveillance data, ultimately targeting profitability As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, retail organisations have two primary concerns: making a profit on notoriously slim margins and shoring up potential areas of internal (employee) and external threats, including organised retail crime. According to the Global Retail Theft Barometer 2011, published by the Centre for Retail Research, total global shrink in 2011 cost r...

The security industry can be like a house built on sand if there's a lack of professional standards set in place Picture the scene: You’re suffering from a persistent pain and so decide to take a trip to your doctor to get it checked out. You step into the consulting room but, before you can speak, he looks you up and down, haw and hums, and then writes out a prescription. Would you be happy that drugs prescribed in this manner will cure your ailment when your doctor h...

AlliedBarton actively seeks out and hires family members of veterans through employer assistance groups  AlliedBarton Security Services implemented its program to hire retired service veterans five years ago. “Our CEO Bill (William C.) Whitmore announced one day that ‘we’re going to have a lot of American heroes coming home soon, and I want to give them jobs,’” said Jerold Ramos, Director, Strategic Recruiting and Military Liaison with Alli...

ISPs are often under-delivering on promised network speeds and bandwidth Regardless of where you stand on net neutrality, there’s a bigger slice to the story – how to monitor the health and performance of a network to ensure system performance. While an Internet fast lane for everyone makes sense, the reality is that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are often under-delivering on promised network speeds and bandwidth. And while the Federal Communications Commissio...

Orwell’s 1984 depicts a post-apocalyptic dystopia in which camera surveillance is used to oppress the individual The phrase “Big Brother” has been in our vocabulary for eight decades now. Its use is linked exclusively with negative images of a surveillance state (and, of course, a bad reality television show). But would George Orwell, a non-religious democrat, be happy with the way the anti-CCTV lobby has appropriated the phrase? The fact is, Orwell would app...

Communicating access control information across multiple platforms is simplified with the PSIA's PLAI specification Managing access control across large companies or institutions, including those that span giant campuses or even multiple locations all over the world, is essential to optimum security. Too often, however, the effectiveness of a company’s access control system – or, more likely, of its multiple access systems that were installed in various locations o...

Integrators are embracing the many ways the cloud helps smaller companies succeed Hosted and managed security services aren’t for large enterprises only. SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) are taking advantage of the inherent operational and cost efficiencies of deploying managed services. Web-based or cloud services like access control and video provide convenience, ease of use and lower total cost of ownership. Cloud services are accessed without downloading and main...

Newer concepts and modern security solutions help achieve operational efficiencies in the retail sector Asset protection across retail organisations is sometimes still viewed as a necessary evil. But at a time when shrinkage is on the rise, margins are low, competition is fierce and the economic climate is still somewhat uncertain, retailers need to maximise any investment in technology and consider how it can positively impact their bottom line. Steve Bocking, Sales...

Security standardisation reduces operational requirements Controlling identified risks at all of your sites, anywhere in the world, can be difficult. Especially when taking budget constraints into account. How can you ensure all of your people have a secure working environment? And that all employees, everywhere, adhere to your security policy? Nancy Wanders, Business Development Manager Asia/Pacific at Nedap, states that standardising security gives this assurance and more. I...

The ability to measure and analyse the effectiveness of security operations is extremely useful – not only for identifying and addressing an organisation’s vulnerabilities, but also for demonstrating security’s mitigating impact on overall risk levels along with the higher-level value security delivers to a business. Brian McIlravey, Co-CEO at PPM, explains how security metrics can provide a powerful toolset for accomplishing these objectives. By quantifyi...

In a highly competitive marketplace, where organisations need to ensure they are contracting for the best possible services, value must be visible. This starts with aligning with the right service provider – one that is dedicated to the organisation’s success and has the people and processes to make an impact. Certainly most, if not all, service organisations say that they strive to exceed client expectations and meet the highest standards in their industry &ndash...

Applications that reside in the cloud offer enterprises previously unavailable levels of agility, productivity and vital flexibility – all at a crucially lower cost than ever before. However, with many enterprise cloud deployments now successfully up and running, plus the integration of the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) culture into the workplace, the complex issue of data security and access control have leapt to the fore. Ian Lowe, Senior Product Marketing Manager...

Enterprises have typically focused on securing the network perimeter and relied on static passwords to authenticate users inside the firewall. This is insufficient, given the nature of today’s Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and internal risks associated with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) adoption. Static passwords can be a potential recipe for a security disaster. In this article Julian Lovelock, Vice President of Product Marketing, Identity Assurance HID Global expl...

Heat, connectivity and resolution are just a few of the key criteria to consider when selecting a new CCTV monitor When looking for a new CCTV monitor, buyers want to consider more than just the size. This buyer’s guide highlights some key facts to keep in mind when choosing and comparing different types of monitor units. Power consumption Where ever possible, it is best to choose an LED rather than an LCD monitor. A LED panel uses less power, and is therefore cheaper...