Articles by Larry Anderson

Can we finally relax a little and announce that the pandemic is nearing an end? With all the false starts and stops, it’s understandable if uncertainty continues to be the dominant force. The apprehension that ruled at every stage continues even as the pandemic (hopefully) ends. But what about ‘the new normal?’ How will the industry need to reinvent itself in the post-pandemic world? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: As the industry transitions back to in-pers...

ISC West is back in a big way in 2022, taking Las Vegas by storm with a level of attendance and enthusiasm that makes it seem like 2019 all over again. There are few face masks to get in the way of long-overdue person-to-person communications; no social distancing as the crowd gathers for the show to open on the first day. The only remnants of the pandemic are Reed Exhibition’s stringent health and safety guidelines, evidenced by a more complex registration process and the wearing of wri...

Among the technologies widely used in the world of security, none is more fraught with privacy concerns than biometrics. However, sometimes the privacy concerns are based more on false information than on facts. Privacy must be addressed, of course, but the industry should also promote greater understanding of the technology as a means of combatting misinformation. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the biggest misconceptions surrounding biometrics? What is the impact?

Metaverse is a familiar buzzword today, but few people grasp what it really means. In the simplest terms, the metaverse is an online ‘place’ where physical, virtual and augmented realities are shared. The term, Metaverse, suggests a more immersive online environment that combines elements of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). metaverse Expectations of the metaverse today are largely built on hype. You hear more about future and eventual potential than about the curren...

The last regularly scheduled spring ISC West trade show was held in 2019. The show returned last year with a rescheduled event in the summer, and attendees were largely pleased with the offerings. However, the ‘real’ ISC West, in the spring in Las Vegas, Nevada, will resume a decades-old tradition in 2022 that has been a major driver of industry market growth and innovation. The show is also an annual reunion of sorts for the security industry, and we are all ready for a reunion! We...

Since 2018, an open platform has been developing to enable the security and safety industry to work together smoothly across brands and systems to improve user experience and solutions. Pioneering the effort has been the Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA®). Delivering video-sensing solutions such as cameras and AI boxes, the open ecosystem is a reality. We are turning to OSSA President Johan Jubbega and OSSA Strategy Committee Chair Steve Ma for a progress update. Why is now the pe...

Early in the pandemic, before the mechanisms of COVID spread were clearly understood, there was talk about the disease being transmitted through contact with surfaces. Such concerns created a windfall for manufacturers of hand sanitizer, and broadly changed the perceived risks of touching surfaces, perhaps forever. Touching the same surface as hundreds of other people suddenly became less desirable, thus boosting the fortunes of “touchless” access control and security devices. But wi...

Supply chain issues have plagued the economic recovery during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the problems show every indication of persisting for months or even years to come. Supply chain challenges have impacted the security marketplace in many ways, reflecting the breadth and variety of products needed to secure people, facilities, and assets. Wondering about the specifics of that impact, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How does disruption of the global supply chain...

Audio-video technologies have historically been a silo in the enterprise, separated from the larger network infrastructure by their use of analog, hard-wired and proprietary connections. Software-defined system However, AV devices such as video walls and corporate signage add more value to security and emergency response operations when they are connected to the larger IT network and can interface seamlessly with other systems. That’s the approach provided by Userful, which offers a sof...

We appreciate the variety of opinionated discussions offered throughout the year by our Expert Panel Roundtable. Looking back at 2021, we found some random and uncategorized Expert Panel responses that were not previously published. We have rescued these responses from our cutting-room floor and present them here in the interest of generating even more discussion.

Digital video systems are driven by software, whether it’s in the cloud, installed on an off-the-shelf server, contained inside a dedicated appliance, or even inside the camera at the edge. Like many elements used for physical security, video management software (VMS) is changing with the times and to meet new challenges in the market. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the key trends in video management systems (VMSs)?  

For end-users, a simplified approach to video surveillance has its advantages. Cisco Meraki delivers simplicity, replacing a complex video surveillance system with edge-empowered cameras that connect directly to a web portal. The architecture minimizes physical infrastructure and the software required for traditional cameras by placing storage and processing inside each camera, and by putting the video management system (VMS) in the Cisco Meraki cloud. Additionally, with Meraki’s web-bas...

As security professionals, one of our goals is a continuous improvement when it comes to protecting people, facilities, and assets. A useful tool for continuous improvement is to apply ‘lessons learned’ in the past to challenges in the future. Because 2021 will be remembered as a challenging and eventful year for all of us, let’s consider what we can learn from the experiences of 2021. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What security lessons did we learn during...

Environmental concerns and ‘green’ initiatives have been gaining steam recently with increasing attention to issues, such as climate change and the drive to ‘net zero’ emissions. Sustainability has not historically been a big concern in the physical security market, but the times are changing. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can the security industry be more environmentally friendly and contribute to sustainability?

The intersection of consumer electronics and the physical security marketplace is a fertile sector for growth and innovation. Consumers increasingly have the same high expectations for the operation of their workplace technologies as they are accustomed to in the digital world at large. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How do developments in personal electronics impact customer expectations in the physical security market?

The transportation industry is unique because it plays a role in both the minutiae of everyday life and the overall economy's well-being. Providing uninterrupted and efficient transportation services depends heavily on the safety and security of transportation entities. Due to the vast amount of people frequenting transit stations and the importance of the items on ships and ferries, the transportation sector faces multiple challenges that evolve as the industry advances. We asked this week&rsqu...

Traditionally, security has been seen as a cost center rather than as a profit center or a source of revenue in an organization. Therefore, end-user security managers have struggled to cost-justify their purchases of security systems: How can you assign value to preventing a catastrophic loss unless or until such a loss happens (which you’re trying to avoid!). Even so, security’s return on investment (ROI) picture is changing, with expanded system capabilities and technologies that p...

Here’s a news flash: 2022 will be a pivotal year for the security industry. As we enter the new year, continuing change is a safe prediction for any fast-moving, technology-driven marketplace. Recent history confirms the ability of the security industry to shift and adapt to changing conditions and to provide an ever-expanding menu of technology solutions to make the world a safer place. Given that the new year will bring change, what will that change encompass? More to the point, what sho...

Topics that dominated our website’s Expert Panel Roundtable articles in 2021 included the effects of COVID-19, the benefits of mobile access, the upcoming potential of deep learning, and the future of access control cards. Our website’s Expert Panel Roundtable discussions in 2021 reflected some of the most timely and important topics in the industry. The very most clicked-on Expert Panel Roundtable discussion in 2021 considered the positive and negative effects of COVID-19. The seco...

Our most popular articles in 2021 provide a good reflection of the state of the industry. Taken together, the Top 10 Articles of 2021, as measured by reader clicks, cover big subjects such as smart cities and cybersecurity. They address new innovations in video surveillance, including systems that are smarter and more connected, and a new generation of computer chips that improve capabilities at the edge. A recurring theme in 2021 is cybersecurity's impact on physical security, embodied by a hi...

Mergers and acquisitions are among the most disruptive forces in the security marketplace. However, they are also both a reality and a growing trend. Whenever there is value to be leveraged, companies tend to enter into business transactions to maximize that value. For the security industry, the result is a continually shifting collection of manufacturer companies seeking new ways to provide value to customers. M&A activity continued unabated in 2021, despite residual industry challenges su...

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the task of securing hospitals and healthcare facilities by adding new concerns about disease transmission to the long list of other threats healthcare security professionals face. Hospital security must also crack the code to both allow open public access to healthcare facilities while keeping out violence and other security threats. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the security challenges of the healthcare industry?   

Casinos offer several attractive applications for LiDAR, including security and business intelligence. Using laser sensors, the technology can replace the use of surveillance cameras. For casino security, LiDAR can track player movement and provides complete coverage and accuracy that have not been achievable by surveillance cameras. Massive coverage areas can save on costs of sensor deployment versus other technologies. LiDAR and its applications LiDAR is a method for determining ranges by t...

Newer facial recognition systems are scalable and provide more accurate results, and the end-user selects the parameters of system performance to suit their own application needs. “We have developed algorithms that can be optimized in various compute environments, whether in a small chip inside an edge device or on a large server device,” says Ido Amidi, Oosto’s Vice President of Products and Business Development. “It all depends on client needs. We can do it all withou...

Sadly, active shooter incidents have become so common that they no longer grab big headlines or dominate the news cycle. A near-constant cascade of active shooter events persists in the background of our collective consciousness, a familiar drumbeat that is no less tragic because it is continuous. As more active shooter incidents occur, the security marketplace continues to implement solutions to minimize the impact, including gunshot detection. We asked this week's Expert Panel Roundtable: What...

For security professionals who thought analog systems were a thing of the past, a new approach by Mythic Inc. demonstrates that everything old is new again. Using older technology in a new way, the Mythic M1076 Analog Matrix Processor leverages analog computer chips from a previous generation to drive new levels of artificial intelligence (AI) performance with lower power requirements.  Low power and high speed  Mythic provides power-efficient AI at the edge, including inside video...

Diversity in a company’s workforce is arguably more important now than ever. Societal awareness of the importance of diversity has grown, and many people see diversity as an important factor that reflects positively (or negatively) on a company’s culture and image in the marketplace. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What should the security industry do to promote workplace diversity?

The death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, highlighted to the public, the importance of body-worn cameras. There was no bodycam footage of the Ferguson tragedy. Arguably, it would have shed additional light on the shooting. Since then, body cameras have become a tangible legacy of Ferguson, Missouri. Bodycam footage is seen as providing greater accountability and ensuring an impartial record that can support, or debunk, any claims of police miscondu...

Many of the threats facing the energy and utility sector are related to cybersecurity, as recent incidents have confirmed. Another problem is that operating systems for utilities tend to be outdated, which presents extra challenges in a connected world. There are also physical security demands, not to mention regulatory and social issues. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the security trends in energy and utilities?

It’s been almost exactly a decade since HID Global launched the world's first university pilot of smartphones carrying secure mobile IDs. A lot has changed in the following 10 years. Today’s technology has matured, advanced, and proliferated across a variety of high-value use cases. To catch up on the latest developments in mobile access, we contacted Luc Merredew, Product Marketing Director, Physical Access Control, at HID Global. Q: What has changed since the first pilot implem...