Wireless security - Security beat
Security is among the defining topics at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 this week in Las Vegas. More than 4,500 exhibiting companies are participating, including some 1,200 startups, highlighting the next wave of innovation in consumer electronics – and security. Twenty-four product categories at CES feature solutions to transform how consumers live, work and play. Technologies being highlighted include 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality...
Open Options, based in Addison, Texas, provides a truly open access control architecture that will strengthen the ACRE portfolio and increase the breadth of solutions offered by the global provider of security systems. The acquisition of Open Options is also an opportunity for ACRE to focus on growth opportunities in North America and “balance the scales a bit,” says Joe Grillo, CEO of ACRE, which significantly grew its reach in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with the acquisitio...
One of the biggest recent security divestitures in the news was the sale of Mercury Security to HID Global, which occurred around a year ago. The seller in that transaction was ACRE (Access Control Related Enterprises), also the parent company of Vanderbilt and ComNet. We recently spoke to founder and CEO Joe Grillo, a 30-year industry veteran, about the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, ACRE’s future, and new opportunities opened up by the Mercury sale. Q: What’s new wit...
The last day of Global Security Exchange (GSX) in Las Vegas proved to be the calm after the storm. But a slower third day could not undermine a largely successful 2018 show for exhibitors and attendees. Sometimes the success of a trade show isn’t measured by numbers of attendees (which were reportedly down again this year). Sometimes it’s the individual successes that make an impression. “Just learning about this made the whole trip worthwhile,” said one GSX attendee at...
The Global Security Exchange (GSX) seems smaller this year, which is not surprising given the absence on the show floor of several big companies such as Hikvision and ASSA ABLOY (although their subsidiary HID Global has a big booth). A trend affecting the number of companies exhibiting at GSX 2018, and other trade shows, is industry consolidation, which is impacting the show even beyond the fewer exhibitors this year in Las Vegas. GSX is the new branding for the trade show formerly kno...
Wireless locks offer specific advantages for access control end users and integrators, and some of their value has yet to be realised in the market. Wireless locks expand the range of applications for electronic locks to complement traditional wired systems. They offer flexibility and scalability. They save on integrators’ labour costs. They even provide opportunities for integrators to earn recurring monthly revenue (RMR). A recent Allegion panel discussion highlighted the value, opportu...
The concept of door locks means something totally different in our current age of smarter buildings that house data-driven businesses. Hardware locks and keys are still around, but they co-exist with a brave new world of electronic locks, wireless locks, networked systems, and smarter access control. Locks can also increasingly be a part of a smart building’s flow of data. The opportunities of these new technologies and approaches are significant, but there are also pitfalls. I heard an in...
Security is more-than-ever linked to consumer electronics, especially in the residential/smart home market. CES 2018 in Las Vegas is therefore brimming with news that will have a direct impact on the security market, today and especially looking into the future. Products for the future of security CES is a giant trade show for consumer electronics with 2.75 million net square feet of exhibitor space and featuring more than 3,900 exhibitors, including 900 startups - in cont...
“Mixed reality” may seem like a strange term to apply to the physical security industry, but it describes a new approach to enable the features of access control and video surveillance systems to be used by operators in the field. Mixed or augmented reality technology combines a real-time view of the world through Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, with placement of virtual devices and controls as holograms in a three-dimensional space. Virtual devices and controls In effect, a s...
I have been unpacking from last week’s ASIS show in Orlando. It was a good show, except if you compare it to last spring’s ISC West in Las Vegas, which was especially well attended and generated a lot of excitement in the market. ASIS was definitely smaller, lower key and less crowded. And there were no big product announcements. But there was still plenty of technology on display. In particular, I saw the show reflecting several ongoing trends in the market. Impact of M&As Me...
Creating and accessing intelligence is increasingly part of the mission of corporate security departments, and of Safe Cities applications. Such capabilities were previously the domain of military and government applications, but the same approaches used to provide intelligence from military bases can also be applied to Safe Cities and corporate security projects. Edge360 is a six-year-old company with roots in the military and Department of Defence surveillance. Now, Edge360 is looking to app...
IFSEC International 2016 by all measures was a successful show. Two of the three days clearly met (or exceeded) exhibitors’ expectations. The third day was slower, but is it any wonder? Heavy rains and resulting commuter train complications would have discouraged all but the most determined. And there was another distraction, too: It was the day of the Brexit vote, when the United Kingdom made history. Results of that momentous vote underlined the sense of uncertainty I felt on the first...
Might the future of video surveillance include the use of intelligent contact lenses that incorporate tiny built-in cameras that can record video at the blink of an eye? It seems a little far-fetched, but it’s definitely an idea that’s on the drawing board. Three tech giants – Google, Samsung and Sony – have all sought to patent designs for intelligent contact lenses that include built-in CMOS camera sensors that record video, follow a person’s gaze and are contro...
End users are looking to expand access control beyond its traditional role securing perimeter doors. Innovations such as wireless locks, wi-fi, power-over Ethernet (PoE) and panel-less IP architectures are yielding more flexible solutions for a larger range of locking needs both inside and at the perimeter of an enterprise. Donna Chapman, an ASSA ABLOY Integrated Solutions Specialist, notes that new technologies are increasing how many openings are secured in a building from the current 5 to 15...
ISC West was hopping on its first day, with crowded aisles, packed booths and plenty of news to share. Much of the news consists of product announcements resulting from the rapid pace of technology development in the physical security market. It was enough to cause sensory overload. Educating integrators and end users about security technology Technology is moving so fast that it’s understandable integrators, not to mention end users, might struggle to digest it all and apply it to their...
Product innovation may have slowed in the security market in the second half of the year. On the first day of the ASIS International Show in Anaheim, California, new product introductions seemed few and far between. In fact, most manufacturers were touting small improvements to the products they announced in the spring. Some emphasised that the products unveiled (or “previewed”) in the spring are now fully ready to be shipped. ASIS has historically been more an end user show than an...
Cybersecurity has been getting much more attention lately in the physical security market. One company ready to address cybersecurity of IP video products is DVTEL. The Israeli company’s roots in IT and networking make it a logical choice to take a lead in cyber-defence of IP video systems. DVTEL’s core research and development (R&D) in Israel includes cyber-defence expertise. DVTEL’s cyber-defence plan In fact, DVTEL is moving fast to implement its cyber-defence plan &nd...
