Meyertech Switchers & Switches

In 2017, DITEK saw how power surges from the many natural disasters that took place damaged many businesses. In a natural disaster, or even everyday business operations, a facility’s entire investment in security, life safety and surveillance systems technology can be disabled or rendered useless in a few seconds. Surge protection solutions can mitigate those risks and protect security investments. Proactive Approach To Risk Mitigation Throughout 2017, we also witnessed a change in how enterprises view surge protection, which included how investments are being made in surge protection to protect valuable security, life safety and surveillance systems, while also reducing downtime, manpower costs, liability vulnerabilities, and possibly compliance issues that can force businesses to actually cease operations. Effective security management is about mitigating risks. But risks cannot be mitigated without a proactive approach. Enterprises and integrators, who take the time to assess risk and to develop a strategy to incorporate effective detection, deter and response criteria to protect physical assets will be successful in 2018. 2018 And Beyond That strategy includes designing surge protection into new security systems, while also adding surge protection to existing systems. Enterprises and security integrators who implement a surge protection strategy during security planning processes – or after – will be exercising prevention and mitigation, and they will be successful in 2018 and beyond.  Surge protection devices have an untapped potential for enterprise surveillance and security systems In 2017, Ditek continued to offer security end users a solid surge protection solution. We also successfully educated system integrators, who are seeking value-added products or services to incorporate into their portfolios, on the importance of surge protection devices. Educating Security Integrators We believe that surge protection devices have an untapped potential for enterprise video surveillance and security systems, because they can and do meet safety and security challenges that have been rarely identified in the past. We are looking forward to 2018, when we will continue to develop new surge protection products – including a new product engineered to protect up to twelve individual fuel dispensers, which is critical to the financial operation of convenience stores. We will also continue to educate security integrators about the importance of including surge protection in the design/build RFP, to not only secure an enterprise’s valuable security equipment, but also to help integrators to differentiate their capabilities and knowledge from the competition.

Technology is changing the look and function of today’s security control rooms. Old-school CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitors are giving way to the thinner, flat screen monitors in the control room environment, but the transition is gradual. Randy Smith of Winsted still sees many control rooms that need to make the conversion, which is a boon to his company’s business. Furniture today is designed differently to accommodate the thinner monitors, often with larger screens. Need For Integrated Rack Systems With the increase of IP-based systems comes the need for integrated rack systems that include advanced functionality such as cable management, adds Jim Coleman, National Sales Manager, AFC Industries. Server rooms are environmentally controlled by cooling systems and power systems monitored on the IP network. Low-profile flat screens allow centers to utilize space vertically, thus creating a smaller footprint for the consoles. Additionally, with IP-based systems, workstations will have a smaller footprint because there is less cumbersome equipment. In most cases the servers are stored in a secured, climate controlled environment to eliminate overheating of the servers and maintain their security, says Coleman. This environment also helps with cable and power management. AFC builds technical furniture racks that adhere to the precise needs of computer network server room operators. The company designs and fabricates LAN workbenches with versatile functionalities, and server room workstation racks that are scalable. There is a complete line of IT workbenches, IT computer racks and computer server rack mounts with flexible mounting options. In most cases the servers are stored in a secured, climate controlled environment to eliminate overheating of the servers and maintain their security Flexible Control Room Designs Matko Papic, Chief Technology Officer of Evans Consoles, says the transition from bulky CRT equipment to flat-screen (lower profile) monitors was a major disruption in control room design; it changed the whole dynamic. Another evolution is the use of IP video streaming, which allows more flexibility in manipulation of audio-video content, and requires more flexible control room designs. Another shift, driven by larger, higher-definition monitors, is a shift to fewer monitors that display more information. Instead of a smaller monitor for each information stream, larger monitors now consolidate that information into “dashboard” displays. Looking ahead, control rooms will need to be more flexible, both in the initial design and the ability to adapt to changing technology, says Papic. Legacy customers who are currently using PCs may be moving to more remote applications. Sit-stand equipment will continue to be increasingly prevalent. “There will be more emphasis on flexibility, technology integration, and the ability to change over the life of the system,” says Papic. Consolidation Of Multiple Operations Into A Single System A trend in security is consolidation of multiple physical operations into a single system, says Papic. As a result, more customers are taking more interest in alarm management and situational awareness. How is the technology being used in terms of alarm triggers? How can the systems react rapidly and provide information to a larger audience in the control room? These questions impact how control rooms are designed, and Evans Consoles can adapt lessons learned from other markets to these trends in the security arena. Greater use of technology is inevitable, says Coleman of AFC Industries. “It is virtually impossible for humans to monitor all security data at the street level in our cities,” he says. “As computers become more powerful and their programs more all-encompassing, we will see a greater shift to robotic and technology uses that will provide enhanced monitoring capabilities and safety reactions.” Read our Control Rooms series here

The security industry will continue to see consolidation through acquisition in 2017. At the advent of IP camera adoption, we saw a great decline in large vertically integrated companies, which spurred a new era of innovation within smaller IP camera manufacturers, VMS providers and other hardware companies for storage and managed switches.   We are now living in a new era of consolidation that is taking us full-circle back to vertical integration. Ultimately, the industry as a whole suffers because this consolidation will stifle innovation until the next big technology disruption takes shape. Interoperability Across Different Verticals  This time last year, we noted that the marketplace was moving toward converged technologies and the need for alarm management across multiple platforms into a common interface, turned out to be a popular request. If anything, we are only seeing just the beginning phases of this transition. The biggest surprise is that interoperability is not only confined to security technology, but also extends to parallel systems such as building automation, safety and environmental controls, and even Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Using Video Event Management Software (VEMS) alongside these intelligent platforms proves to be a valuable verification process for many new and exciting vertical markets. Arteco plans to continue the revenue growth and brand awareness achieved in 2016 Event-Based Video Security Software At Arteco, our highest growth sectors tend to be slightly insulated from economic fluctuation in the sense that we focus on securing critical infrastructure (electrical utilities and communications) as well as corporate and education campuses. Unfortunately, the continued growth in active shooter incidents have made physical security concerns top of mind for many organizations regardless of economic impact. The unexpected repercussions are that many new security technologies are emerging that cater to real-time event notification on both the macro and micro level. The exciting part of this trend is that users are leveraging a layered approach with multiple autonomous applications working together toward a common goal to improve security, which will hopefully ensure a high level of protection.  Business Growth And Challenges Business has continued to grow year-over-year, and 2016 was a huge step forward for Arteco not only in terms of revenue growth, but also increased brand awareness in the United States and abroad. Our biggest challenge continues to be the crowded VMS market, which is filled with lower cost or even free substitute products. We are making great strides in overcoming this challenge by having a wonderful team of people, both on the technical and sales side of the organization, who are focused on finding new and innovative ways to advance intuitive, open and affordable event-based and intelligent video security software into 2017. See the full coverage of 2016/2017 Review and Forecast articles here

TRINITY is made possible by the combination of Veracity’s advanced camera code and COLDSTORE Veracity, a leading provider of innovative, intelligent solutions that solve real-world IP video challenges in transmission, storage and display, will be demonstrating the unique benefits of TRINITY™ and its simplified system architecture which records IP video directly from camera to COLDSTORE™, a surveillance storage system, uniquely and specifically designed for video surveillance. The demonstration on booth #5065 at ISC West at The Sands Expo in Las Vegas, 6-8 April 2016 will showcase an increasing number of vendors that allow third-party software applications to be run inside their IP cameras. Examples include models from Samsung Techwin, Axis Communications, Hikvision, AMG Panogenics, ISD, and UDP with many other manufacturers rapidly following suit.   Supports Video Analytics Applications These “open platform” cameras are generally aimed at supporting video analytics applications but are, with the right software, capable of much more. Veracity has developed dedicated software for such cameras which writes video, audio and meta-data directly to a hard disk array. This “direct-to-disk” concept completely removes the need for NVR servers resulting in substantial savings on server hardware and NVR software licences while simultaneously reducing system complexity and increasing system resilience. “The front-end client system can be anything from a simple PC playback system to a full-blown, broadly-integrated PSIM operator workstation” says Alastair McLeod, Group CEO of Veracity. “We call this simple system architecture TRINITY™, and it’s an ideal solution for unmonitored or remote access systems”. TRINITY™ is made possible by the combination of Veracity’s advanced camera code and the COLDSTORE™ surveillance storage system, uniquely and specifically designed for video surveillance. The lifetime cost of system ownership is further reduced, thanks to the increased disk reliability of COLDSTORE by a factor of 20, and its very low power consumption at 0.5W per TB. Simplified Video Management System TRINITY™ recordings can be played back by Veracity’s own VIEWPOINT™ Player utility or, more significantly, by any third-party PSIM or VMS front-end system which incorporates the simple TRINITY™ Media SDK. Example PSIMs which are integrated with TRINITY™ include ISM, Meyertech, Visual Management Systems, i-Comply and Synectics. The result is a simplified, serverless, robust, highly scalable and very cost-effective video management system with innovative features such as camera-level fail-over, optional dual-stream or redundant recording, resilience to network interruptions via internal camera recording, and all the existing benefits of the highly successful and award-winning COLDSTORE™ surveillance storage system. Veracity’s storage products will also be demonstrated at the Hanwha Techwin America booth #14079 and at the Digital Watchdog booth #17089. Veracity is Hanwha Techwin America’s Integration Partner of the Year 2015.

ONVIF will host a Profile Q Quick Install Challenge as well as provide an interoperability demonstration on Profile S ONVIF, the leading global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced recently that it will be an exhibitor at IFSEC International 2015 in London, June 16-18, 2015. On stand D530, ONVIF will host a Quick Install Challenge for its newest profile, Profile Q, and will also provide an interoperability demonstration on Profile S to highlight the functionality of its interoperability specifications for the physical security industry. The Quick Install Challenge For Profile Q “Our Profile Q Quick Install Challenge allows visitors to test for themselves how simple it is to connect Profile Q conformant devices and clients,” said Per Björkdahl, Chairman of ONVIF’s Steering Committee. “With an additional demonstration of Profile S, ONVIF will highlight how interoperability between brands works in everyday applications.” The Quick Install Challenge for Profile Q showcases the easy set-up of the new profile. Attendees themselves set up and connect a Profile Q conformant camera and a Profile Q conformant video management system, with a prize awarded to the participant with the fastest time. 2015 IFSEC International ONVIF Sponsors ONVIF member companies are sponsoring ONVIF’s exhibitor’s booth at IFSEC International, as well as the interoperability demonstrations. The 2015 IFSEC International ONVIF sponsors are: Axis, Bosch, Synectics, Oncam, Meyertech, HIKVISION and Panasonic. Founded in 2008, ONVIF now consists of more than 500 member companies in six continents and more than 4,500 Profile conformant products. With Profile S for streaming video, Profile G for recording and storage, Profile C for physical access control and the Release Candidate for Profile Q for easy installation and advanced security features, ONVIF continues to work with its members to expand the number of IP video integration solutions ONVIF conformant products can provide.