Reinier Tuinzing

For many years, cybersecurity was the unmentioned elephant in the room. Possible vulnerability of IP-connected devices to a cyber-attack was seldom, if ever, mentioned, and even the most basic measures to prevent such an attack were not implemented. For the last couple of years, however, the physical security industry has begun talking more about cybersecurity, in some cases with an abounding enthusiasm typical of the newly-converted. Have our discussions sufficiently addressed the long-standing lack of awareness? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Are we talking enough about cybersecurity? Or too much? (And why?)

Technology is changing at a break-neck pace, and the security marketplace is currently being bombarded by a wealth of new capabilities and innovations. But what will be the impact? Which of the currently-hyped new innovations will have a major impact, and which will fade over time? And even acknowledging the long-term significance of various technologies, what can we expect to be the more immediate effect? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What new security technology is poised to have the greatest impact in the second half of 2017?

Consolidation is a reality in the security and video surveillance market. In the last several years, we have seen a variety of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving scores of companies of all sizes. But what is the impact of M&A activity on the companies involved, on their customers, and on the industry as a whole? We posed this question to our Expert Panel Roundtable: Do mergers and acquisitions have a net positive or net negative impact on the security market (and why)?

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) describes standards as guidelines or characteristics for activities or for their results, aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order. They might include product standards, test methods, codes of practice, guideline standards, and management systems standards. In the security marketplace, there are many standards currently used, including those from organizations such as ONVIF, PSIA and ASIS International. Might the value of standardization be extended to new areas in our market? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What new standards are needed in the security marketplace?

Meeting a customer’s expectations is a key component of success for any business, including the physical security market. However, understanding customers’ expectations is a big challenge, which is made even more difficult because those expectations are a moving target. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How are customer expectations changing in the physical security market? Their wide-ranging answers highlight elements from technology expectations to adaptability to change. 

As security industry buzzwords go, “convergence” is perhaps the best known and most pervasive. We have been hearing about convergence in our market for almost 20 years. We have heard it’s happening soon. We have heard it’s inevitable. And yet, for all the talk of convergence, it has sometimes seemed there has been more talk than action. We wanted to check in with our Expert Panel Roundtable and get their latest takes on this most enduring of industry buzzwords. We asked this week’s panel: Has convergence happened yet in the physical security market? And what exactly does it mean?

Changes in our industry’s technologies are reflected in the language we use. Over the years, more than one industry trend has been tied to associated buzzwords – for better or worse. As the technologies change, so does the language. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the industry’s newest “buzzwords” and what do they reflect about the changing market?

Open systems are great at providing freedom for end user customers. But does the term “open system” mean the same thing throughout the industry? In the bad old days before the introduction and broad acceptance of open systems, security vendors produced proprietary systems that used only their own hardware and software. This locked in a customer to a specific vendor’s product line, and if another vendor offered a better product, the only way to get it was to switch to that vendor’s total solution. Open systems changed all that, in theory allowing the selection of best-in-class hardware, software and other components to meet customer requirements. But is the term “open” understood consistently in the market? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What is an open system? Is there a consensus in the marketplace of the definition of “open?” Although there is mostly a consensus in the panel’s answers, we did notice some variables.

SourceSecurity.com’s Expert Panel covered a lot of ground in 2017 about a variety of topics resonating in the security market.   The most-read Roundtable discussion in 2017 was about a familiar and ongoing debate: What is an open system? Other hot topics that made the Top-10 list of Roundtable discussions included smartphones, buzzwords, standards and product life cycles. Here is a listing of our Top 10 Expert Panel Roundtable discussions posted in 2017, 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 2017 (including the quotable panelists named below). 1. What is an open system? Is there a consensus in the marketplace on the definition of “open?” "Being truly ‘open’ means going above and beyond when designing your product line, keeping in mind the ability for end-users to easily interface your product with other open-platform solutions. That's why offering an open-platform design must be coupled with the ability to provide exceptional support through training, follow-up and innovation as they are brought to market.” [Mitchell Kane] 2. How are smartphones impacting the physical security market? "The security protocols on phones (such as fingerprint readers and encryption) have become some of the strongest available to consumers and are regularly used to access essential services such as banking. With this level of trust and user convenience from mobile device security, it makes sense to produce physical security systems that also take advantage of it." [John Davies] TDSi's John Davies says it makes sense to produce physical security systems that take advantage of trust and user convenience on mobile devices 3. What is the biggest missed opportunity of security systems integration? "Integrators need to be more savvy on how they can meet their customers’ IT and surveillance goals, from both a technology and services perspective. Being knowledgeable about new innovations can help integrators sell infrastructure, keeping that piece of business rather than losing server sales to a customer’s internal IT department. Integrators are tasked with ensuring surveillance customers can benefit from best practices, and solutions proven in the world of IT offer significant benefit." [Brandon Reich] 4. What are the security industry’s newest buzzwords? "End-to-End Security is a buzzword reflecting how cyber threats are increasing and the importance of ‘the security of security systems,’ especially for companies operating in the critical national infrastructure. Convergence has been a ‘hot topic’ for years, but has it really happened? In order to create true end-to-end security solutions, IT and physical security best practices need to be combined." [Arjan Bouter] End-to-End Security is a buzzword reflecting how cyber threats are increasing, says Arjan Bouter 5. What technology will have the greatest impact in the second half of 2017? "Cloud-hosted access control is poised to have the biggest impact in the second half of 2017. Organisations are looking to decentralise IT management and eliminate the need for overhead costs in hardware infrastructure and ongoing maintenance costs. This decentralisation is driving them to migrate their day-to-day systems to the cloud, and access control is no exception." [Melissa Stenger] 6. Are mergers and acquisitions good or bad for the security industry? “On the ‘pro’ side, consolidation is good for pulling together a fractured market, as vendors try to gain market share by acquiring solutions they may not otherwise have in their portfolio. On the ‘con’ side, however, consolidation restricts or limits innovation as the merged vendors strive to develop end-to-end solutions that reduce customer choices" [Reinier Tuinzing] 7. What new standards are needed in the security marketplace? "Do we need that many new standards, or do we need the industry to embrace the standards that are already in place? I believe that current standards like ONVIF and OSDP are sufficient in what they offer the industry. Members of the security industry just need to start thinking outside the box and realise that it is with standards in place that real industry growth can occur." [Per Björkdahl] 8. What will be the big news at ISC West 2017? "Security solutions that capture greater data and utilise analytics to transform the data into useful information, or business intelligence, will be the talk of the industry at ISC West this year. It’s not just about surveillance or access control anymore, but about who can best assess the end user’s interests and deliver an end-to-end solution that provides a value beyond the technology and a service beyond security.” [Richard Brent] When buying cameras, customers are often lured by lower upfront costs, but may end up paying more in the medium- to long-term because of lower quality, says Oncam's Jumbi Edulbehram 9. Why should a customer continue to buy “premium” surveillance cameras? "When buying cameras, customers are often lured by lower upfront costs, but may end up paying more in the medium- to long-term because of lower quality (requiring costly site visits and replacements), susceptibility to cyber-attacks, or lower quality of integrations with video management systems. Customers should certainly be prudent buyers and make sure that they’re paying for actual reliability/features/functionality rather than simply paying a premium for a brand-name product. When functionality and reliability are important, it always makes sense to ‘buy nice, not twice.’ [Jumbi Edulbehram] 10. What is an acceptable life cycle for a physical security system? "The answer to this question clearly depends on the seat you sit in. Manufacturers, integrators, distributors, consultants and engineers all have extremely different perspectives on this question. As a manufacturer, we design systems to have a lifecycle between 5 and 7 years." [Robert Lydic]

Razberi, the intelligent surveillance platform company, has integrated its CameraDefense™ cybersecurity software with Milestone XProtect® Corporate, enabling joint customers to manage and guard their video surveillance systems from a single user interface. Razberi CameraDefense automates and scales industry best practice cyber protections and monitors for risks to IP cameras and corporate networks. Cybersecurity Best Practices “Many of our customers use Milestone XProtect, so merging the CameraDefense events and notification into a single management and operational dashboard creates a more efficient workflow to address cyber threats within their surveillance system infrastructure,” said Tom Galvin, Razberi CEO. “Using CameraDefense, integrators and end users don’t need additional firewall products and special expertise to consistently implement and maintain cybersecurity best practices to protect their cameras and video surveillance platform.” The combination of Razberi CameraDefense and the Milestone video management software (VMS) creates a ‘single pane of glass’ to notify Milestone VMS operators if CameraDefense detects a cybersecurity issue. CameraDefense makes security policies – such as closing unused ports, removing unneeded network services, and enforcing password complexity – easy to implement on tens, hundreds or thousands of surveillance cameras. Automated Notifications These policies are automated with an easy-to-use dashboard to identify vulnerabilities across a system. If a violation occurs, CameraDefense generates an event and posts it in real time to the Milestone Alarm Manager. Events can also be routed via automated notification or other key actions using the Milestone Rules and Events features. “Cybersecurity is an increasing concern for physical security customers and requires proactive defense not reactive, costly fire drills. Razberi has taken a big step forward to interface CameraDefense cybersecurity in conjunction with the Razberi ServerSwitchIQ appliance as a key part of the Milestone Solution Partner integration and ecosystem strategy,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Milestone Systems. “Extending this functionality to Milestone VMS users enables them to monitor and manage cyber threats as well as practice good cyber maintenance from within their video management software.” CameraDefense is embedded into Razberi ServerSwitchIQ™ appliances, creating a video surveillance platform that protects the camera ecosystem with automated camera hardening, a secure appliance architecture, and cyber threat monitoring.

Agent Video Intelligence (Agent Vi), the global provider of video analytics solutions, announces the expansion of savVi’s integration with Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS). New and long-time users of Agent Vi’s forensic search tool, savVi-Analyst, will now be able to conduct searches and view search results directly from within the Milestone XProtect Smart Client. On-premise Video Analytics Software Suite savVi is Agent Vi’s on-premise video analytics software suite that offers a wide variety of analytics functionalities including real-time event detection, video search and business intelligence. savVi’s advanced, automated video analysis tools provide immediate detection and extraction of events and valuable data from surveillance footage, replacing the manual and time-consuming tasks traditionally employed to monitor live video feeds or sift through recorded video. Milestone XProtect Integration The savVi analytics suite has long been deeply integrated and certified with Milestone XProtect with the ability for unified user login, camera data synchronization, analytics detection boxes and routes displayed in the Smart Client, as well as the ability to search stored video from XProtect. Before this updated integration, however, users were required to conduct video searches in a separate Agent Vi-provided graphical user interface (GUI). “It’s all about working with our partners to deliver true ease of use, meeting customer expectations for valuable integrations" Increased Ease-of-use “Agent Vi and Milestone have had a strong partnership for many years now, and an integration which serves countless customers worldwide,” commented Mr. Zohar Adler, Director of Product Management at Agent Vi. “This deeper integration offers a new level of user-friendliness for our mutual customers by allowing them to use the full suite of savVi’s video analytics capabilities through only one user interface, the Milestone XProtect Smart Client.” “It’s all about working with our partners to deliver true ease of use, meeting customer expectations for valuable integrations. In our well-established relationship, Agent Vi continues to expand their video analytics functionality and leverage the evolving Milestone SDK,” confirmed Mr. Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Milestone Systems – Americas.

The companies are able to share innovative ideas, support creativity and mentor future innovators Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD), an innovator in artificial intelligence and robotics, announces it has partnered with Milestone Systems, the developer of video management software, to support the all-girls robotics team Coding Queens. The initiative was launched to promote education in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and robotics fields. The team of six fifth-graders from John S. Malcolm Elementary will compete with their claw-bot, “Zippy,” in the 2017 VEX IQ State Championship on Sunday, March 12, in Pomona, California. Evolving Future Of Industry RAD and Milestone Systems believe that organizations have an obligation to coach and encourage today's youth to pursue technology interests in an effort to evolve the future of the industry. Through this partnership, the companies are able to share innovative ideas, support creativity and mentor future innovators. The Coding Queens team is unique in that they were the youngest team to compete in the 2016 VEX IQ Regional event in December out of 23 teams. Becoming State Champions “We are honored to support the Coding Queens in their quest to become state champions,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager - Americas, Milestone Systems. “It is very exciting to help introduce our next generation of innovators to new and emerging technologies through hands-on learning opportunities.” “It's critical to support young minds in STEM and robotics technology fields and RAD is in a unique position to showcase the opportunities available in this field,” said Steve Reinharz, Founder and CEO, RAD. “RAD is excited to be a small part of the support network that this team has in place, and we hope more companies will emerge as strong proponents of students striving to be successful in the engineering, coding, and robotics fields.” RAD and Milestone Systems will send the team off during an event at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 5, at Ocean Breeze Park in Laguna Nigel, California. The Coding Queens will be presented with the opportunity to name RAD's newest robot, be presented with a sponsorship check and take part in a demonstration of artificial intelligence capabilities.

Milestone advanced IP video and SpotterRF Radar secured venue, ground and air perimeter SpotterRF, a provider of low-cost, compact surveillance radar (CSR), announces its collaboration with Milestone Systems and the NMS SpotterXP plugin that was used to secure both air and ground perimeter at the U.S. Presidential Debate held on October 19th at the UNLV Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the first such debate monitored not only for ground threats but also aerial threats, by using SpotterRF’s new award-winning A2000 CSR created especially for monitoring low-flying UAVs (drones). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deems presidential debates to be National Special Security Events (NSSE), as they may be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. Threat Detection And Rapid Response Law Enforcement Working closely with Las Vegas public safety authorities, UNLV security and federal agencies, the security solution teaming Milestone Systems, NMS and SpotterRF was tasked with threat detection and rapid response law enforcement communications. Milestone Systems advanced video management software (VMS) a solution favoured by many law enforcement officials, has been successfully deployed during previous Presidential Debates in 2012 and 2016. SpotterRF radar supported the latest implementation in Las Vegas with the SpotterXP plugin to provide all-weather, day or night surveillance over wider areas and in the air. “SpotterRF radar helped provide all-weather, day/night surveillance at great distances, over a wide area and in the air,” states Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Americas, for Milestone Systems. “The integration of our IP video management software and compact Spotter radar device provides a wide defense dome around and above the protected venue.” A2000 The new A2000 is the first SpotterRF radar specifically designed for drone detection-and-defeat applications. This innovative and affordable radar has also been named a 2016 Security's Best Award recipient at the recent ASIS 2016 security trade show held in Orlando, Florida. The A2000 can detect small quadcopters at a range of 1,000 meters - the longest range of any other SpotterRF model for that size of target. It is specifically tested in conjunction with drone deterrence technology to provide early detection, tracking and interdiction against drones threatening critical infrastructure such as power plants, substations, bridges, small airports, dams, stadiums and first-responder environments requiring firefighting or law enforcement. “The successful deployment of this solution recognises the potential of combining the power of Spotter radar with Milestone’s advanced video surveillance,” states Logan Harris, CEO for SpotterRF. “The rapid adoption of low-flying aerial drones has increased the burgeoning threats that can endanger people, first responders, and vital infrastructure currently wide open to terrorist and other serious attacks.” SpotterRF delivers its award-winning compact surveillance radar (CSR) systems through more than 60 strategic integrators to a global marketplace in 24 countries on six continents.

The Paxton and Milestone integration associates cameras with doors and displays real-time video footage as video events and access alarms occur Paxton, provider of electronic IP access control and door entry solutions has announced the integration of its networked access control system, Net2, with Milestone Systems. The integration allows the user to display access control events and monitor video surveillance cameras from the, Milestone XProtect Smart Client. Paxton has developed a plugin using Milestone’s MIP SDK 2016, that can be added to the Milestone XProtect (VMS) linking Paxton Net2 access control information to the Milestone XProtect Smart Client interface. The integration associates cameras with doors and displays real-time video footage as video events and access alarms occur. The software can be configured so pop up notifications instantly gain the operator’s attention to an event of interest. Doors can be locked or unlocked directly from the XProtect Smart Client interface, where user information and events can be displayed to provide full visibility to the operator on who is accessing areas throughout a site. Combining Access Control With VMS Paxton provides industry-leading access control systems which meet the challenges and trends of the security market. With over 30 years’ experience, they offer engineering excellence, creating simple, yet intelligent and innovative products with simplicity designed in, ensuring they are straightforward to install, use and maintain. Net2 is their popular access control solution. The security system offers centralized administration and control of sites ranging from one to hundreds of doors, and thousands of users. Milestone Systems was founded in 1998 and is a global industry leader in open platform IP video management software. Its technology is easy to manage, reliable and provides flexible choices in network hardware and integrations with other systems. Integrated Security Solutions Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Americas, at Milestone Systems, said, “We are very pleased to strengthen the long-term partnership between Paxton and Milestone. As mutual proponents of open platform software, this latest integration offers our customers the choice to operate their access control from the XProtect video client.” Chris Wilson, Paxton’s Product Manager, said, “We are pleased to work again with our long-standing partner, Milestone. Integrating with the XProtect Access 2016 plug-in will bring even more simplicity and convenience to our dealers and customers. With the robust platforms offered by both companies, dealers and end users alike can rest assured they have selected a great solution for their physical security needs.” Delivering Assured Quality Video And Access Control Solution The integration between Paxton Net2 with Milestone XProtect VMS using XProtect Access 2016 is a Milestone Certified Solution. This means that the interoperability has been fully tested and documented in four key areas: functionality, usability, performance and partner assessment. This provides the assurance that the integration will function and perform as a proven, certified solution, which delivers confidence to those specifying, implementing and operating the combined video and access control solution. Save

PlateSmart, the creator of award-winning video analytics based on Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR), is proud to announce the successful integration of its ARES ALPR-based video analytics platform with XProtect open platform IP video management software (VMS) from Milestone Systems, the world’s number one open platform VMS vendor by company revenue according to IHS Research. Current and future users of XProtect will now have PlateSmart’s ALPR and analytics features available as an add-on without having to upgrade or replace any cameras or hardware. Easy Access With XProtect Smart Client In this solution’s configuration, all PlateSmart ALPR capture data from ARES is directly accessible through the Milestone XProtect Smart Client, which is the main user interface for the XProtect portfolio of VMS offerings. Milestone users now can have access to complete ARES license plate capture and alert histories through a tab on the XProtect Smart Client. The license plate captures are stored with full-color images of the vehicle along with its make. Also included are time, date, and location data. Additionally, PlateSmart’s next ARES release will be adding vehicle type as well as facial recognition. Any license plates that trigger an alert are stored with alert type and category in addition to the standard license plate capture data. All ALPR captures are also sent to XProtect in the form of metadata, which enables the VMS users to bookmark recorded video by capture event for quicker and easier access. Integration Benefits For Users “This is a perfect example of PlateSmart’s unbeatable versatility,” said John Chigos, PlateSmart CEO. “ARES is designed to interface seamlessly with any VMS and do so without any ripping and replacing of your cameras. XProtect is one of the best-known VMS platforms available in today’s marketplace, and of course Milestone is at the top of the game in the VMS industry. That reflects positively on PlateSmart and our solutions. We’re proud to partner with Milestone to bring the life-saving ARES ALPR-based video analytics suite to their clients worldwide.” “The PlateSmart technology is unique in its approach to capturing the data, and they have put some really good features in this integration with Milestone, in response to customer needs - for example in the reporting functionality,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager at Milestone Systems. “There’s an increased demand for LPR today, and such innovative new solutions can be added easily to XProtect video monitoring thanks to Milestone’s open platform architecture.”

XProtect 2016 leverages Intel Quick SyncVideo technology to save more than80 percent when processing video data Milestone Systems, the open platform company in IP video management software (VMS), announces the introduction of dramatically improved performance using Intel Quick Sync Video technology to vastly reduce the operational cost of Milestone solutions and accelerate data throughput significantly. Computers that include Intel Quick Sync Video use the dedicated media processing capabilities of Intel Graphics Technology to efficiently decode H.264 video streams. The latest version of the Milestone XProtect Smart Client capitalizes on this to achieve more than an 80 percent reduction in processor utilisation. The Intel chipset and instructions decode the video stream – leaving the processor free for other tasks.   Greater Video System Efficiency Requires Fewer Workstations The increased efficiency in video system performance means that Milestone customers can save costs on the number of client workstations required. By upgrading to XProtect 2016 with the XProtect Smart Client, they can handle more high definition (HD) cameras, achieving greater video clarity and fluidity. An increasing number of security installations require 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) camera support. For monitoring large environments, such as city surveillance, critical infrastructures, heavy traffic scenarios, etc. 4K UHD cameras cover broader areas while retaining fine details at higher zoom levels. While the video might be seen on a relatively small screen, the 4K UHD stream lets an operator to zoom into a specific area of interest without losing image quality on the display. It is critical that the VMS and its clients are able to decode and show multiple 4K UHD cameras at the standard frame rates of 25/30 frames per second, as the Milestone software now does. Milestone Collaboration With Intel     (See bigger image) Using XProtect Smart Client 2016 with the Intel capabilities, the same client hardware could handle five times more video streams compared to the 2014 version In testing carried out by Milestone engineers and documented in the new Intel white paper, the same client hardware could handle five times more video streams using XProtect Smart Client 2016 with the Intel capabilities for hardware acceleration, compared to the 2014 version of the client. “Milestone XProtect 2016 software leverages Intel Quick Sync Video integrated into select Intel processors to fluidly display video at full HD from as many as 25 cameras at the same time on a cost-effective, single-socket, four-core client PC powered by a high-end Intel Core i7 processor. That’s equivalent to showing 25 Blu-ray movies at the same time without dropping a single frame!” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Americas, at Milestone Systems. “The solution can also support multiple 4K UHD cameras with fluid video at 25/30 frames per second. These performance parameters make a really critical difference for the security industry.” This means customers can upgrade an XProtect solution to manage more cameras, without the need for new client hardware. Alternatively, the extra capacity could be used for handling UltraHD/4K video cameras to improve video details. For new XProtect installations, more cost efficient PCs can be used, thanks to the more efficient XProtect Smart Client 2016. “Partnerships are important to Milestone in every facet of our business model. When this engenders innovative developments that mark leaps forward in both performance and cost savings for our customers, it is really exciting. This breakthrough was possible through the close collaboration between Intel and Milestone, and it has been a pleasure to work together to boost the XProtect Smart Client capabilities,” said Hans Jørgen Skovgaard VP of Research, Development and Support, Milestone Systems.

ISONAS Pure IP access controloperates at the edge & eliminatesthe need for separate power drops ISONAS Inc., a leading pure IP access control system manufacturer, is proud to announce its participation in the Milestone Integration Platform Symposium (MIPS) 2016 event in Arizona being held February 22nd -25th. ISONAS will be featured as the first access control partner to fully integrate with the Milestone XProtect® Access software module; an add-on capability with Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) that provides central, local and remote management of video and access control. During last year’s MIPS event, ISONAS was the proud winner of the Integration of the Year 2014 Award from Milestone Systems and continues along the same trajectory this year by providing a complete Pure IP solution to customers with a full integration to the Milestone XProtect 2016 platform. Unified Interface For Managing Video And Access Control Uniting access control and video for monitoring access events and controlling access points creates many advantages for customers. The integration creates more efficient work processes, as operators can manage video and access control from a unified interface. With the addition of the deep links functionality in the Milestone XProtect 2016 platform, customers have a direct link from XProtect to the ISONAS EasyWeb 2015 web based platform, which creates an even more efficient workflow by allowing customers to move from one application to the other with ease. “As a member of the Milestone Open Platform Community, we are looking forward to educating our joint customers on the many benefits of upgrading to our XProtect Access integration at MIPS 2016. The implementation of deep links has made the integration of Milestone and ISONAS even more superior and we look forward to opening our customers’ eyes to the infinite possibilities of integrating with access control,” says Rob Mossman, CEO of ISONAS. Pure IP Access Control Last year more than 50% of the video surveillance cameras in the North American market were IP cameras. As our world continues to change, there is a need to see events that occur as well as control how they happen. Now that there is an installed base of IP architecture, users expect their access control to do things like their cameras; operate at the edge and eliminate the need for separate power drops. ISONAS Pure IP access control has the ability to meet these customer demands and is driving access control to the next level. “Our customers can get real-time video verification of ISONAS access control events viewed from the access control tab in the easy-to-use XProtect Smart Client interface. Operators can process the video for fast export with thumbnail searching in the Sequence Explorer, facility maps, bookmarking, storyboarding and Evidence Lock, among other great Milestone VMS functions,” says Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager at Milestone Systems. ISONAS is proud to be the first access control partner to achieve fully documented testing and certification of our integration with the Milestone XProtect Access Control Module. ISONAS and Milestone have combined forces to help customers throughout the world transition to the pure IP revolution with a single-interface video management and access control solution. 

Spectra Logic, the deep storage experts, recently announced that Spectra Verde DPE, the company’s new Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR)-based NAS disk platform, is certified as a long-term video retention storage solution for the Milestone XProtect® archive database. The Milestone Solution Certification verifies that Spectra Verde DPE meets the performance benchmark required to support Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS), and provides the maximum performance available to video surveillance customers. Exceed Benchmark Values “Spectra Verde DPE is the first SMR-based, high performance disk solution to be validated through the Milestone Certified Solution Program, and we are pleased today to announce its inclusion in Milestone’s Solution Finder,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliance Manager - Americas, Milestone Systems. “Spectra’s highly-scalable disk solution exceeded benchmark values by a factor of two in the documented test parameters, and Milestone XProtect customers can expect exceptional performance with our VMS.” Spectra Verde DPE addresses present-day video surveillance storage challenges by easily and affordably retaining video at just $0.09 per gigabyte, 60 percent less than today’s disk-based storage systems. Verde DPE’s underlying SMR-based technology extends affordable long-term retention for Milestone’s XProtect archive database, allowing users to sequentially write and store petabytes of video data at a new market price point. “This accreditation from Milestone Systems also marks the first time that an SMR-based disk product is made widely available to the video surveillance industry. It’s a distinction that confirms Spectra Verde DPE is an affordable, long-term video retention solution for Milestone XProtect VMS, featuring competitive performance well beyond Milestone’s minimum requirement for system bandwidth,” said Brian Grainger, chief sales officer, Spectra Logic.

Pivot3, a pioneer and innovator in the development of Globally Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) solutions, recently announced that it has further enhanced its long-standing partnership with Milestone Systems through the certification of its HCI appliances with the XProtect® video management software suite. The certification ensures that the companies’ joint customers across the globe continue to receive the highest performance and reliability with Pivot3-Milestone installations. Combining vSTAC With XProtect VMS The certification documents how the combination of XProtect software failover with Pivot3 vSTAC OS hardware failover ensures that video data is stored and protected to the industry’s highest standards. The test process details how the two solutions operate together, and provides customers with confidence that the technologies meet maximum performance and integration standards. Each certification project has three phases, beginning with two scenarios of a benchmark test and a maximum performance test. Statistics from the Milestone XProtect recording servers are analysed to determine performance rates. In both optimal and degraded mode, the Pivot3 system configured with RAID6E volumes achieves industry leading throughput while offering unique fault tolerance to ensure continuity of video ingest under the most demanding scenarios. These positive results verify that the integration between Pivot3 and XProtect meets established best practices. Full configuration and performance data are available in the certification report. Fulfilling Surveillance Market Requirements “The Milestone Solution Certification assures that Pivot3’s high-performance, hyper-converged infrastructure solution is characterized for customer requirements,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager—Americas, Milestone Systems. “It provides customers and systems integrators the flexibility to reap the full benefits of their chosen surveillance infrastructure while confirming critical video and business data is not only secure, but available when needed.” Pivot3 is a pioneer in HCI, delivering the first-generation appliance in 2008. Designed for the data-intensive needs of the surveillance market, appliances can be mixed in any combination, and system expansion is as simple as adding another appliance to the vSTAC array. Pivot3’s unique architecture protects against data loss, as well as application and hardware failures. “The certification of our Global HCI appliances with Milestone XProtect ensures the reliability and performance of our joint customers’ video surveillance solutions. Milestone’s flexibility and compatibility with third-party architectures make them a leader in scalable VMS solutions,” said Francois Wolf, Chief Marketing Officer, Pivot3. “We have enjoyed a very strong relationship with Milestone, resulting in a significant number of large deployments around the world. This certification further extends our partnership and ensures our technologies meet the growing demands of today’s sophisticated surveillance customers.”

Leading manufacturer of industrial and embedded computers, Logic Supply, has released the first ever rugged mobile NVR certified by Milestone Systems, the global leader in open platform IP video management software, for use with their XProtect® VMS platform. Logic Supply MX1000 Rugged Mobile NVR The new Logic Supply MX1000 Rugged Mobile NVR offers a dependable alternative to other digital recording hardware, with the advantages of an extended operating temperature range, a completely fanless and ventless chassis, low power requirements and variable power capabilities for transportation applications. “Over the last few years we’ve been seeing surveillance applications move outside the office complex. The dust, heat and shock found in construction, oil and gas, outdoor and transportation installations challenge commercial grade NVRs,” said Logic Supply VP of Sales Brett Mancini. “As the first rugged NVR to be certified by Milestone, the MX1000 finally combines industrial-grade hardware with one of the world’s leading video management platforms.” The Rigorous Testing And Certification The rigorous testing and certification process established that the Logic Supply MX1000 performs as a video display, recording, and storage platform within the Milestone XProtect VMS system at a level that is two to three times higher than benchmarks provided by the Milestone Server and Storage Calculator, even when displaying all cameras simultaneously. The certification ensures that integrators and end users designing, installing and operating surveillance systems can be confident that the MX1000 will record and archive video reliably. “This is our first Milestone Certified in-vehicle storage solution,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Milestone Strategic Alliance Manager, Americas. “We’ve seen tremendous demand for these kinds of rugged edge devices. When combined with the MX1000, XProtect VMS can now go anywhere.” The Logic Supply MX1000 Rugged Mobile NVR The MX1000 is powered by a Quad-Core Intel i7 processor, enabling the system to collect and process video from up to 25 HD cameras simultaneously. The hardened, fully fanless and ventless enclosure protects the system from dust and dirt and helps prevent tampering. Onboard storage is provided by a 2.5” HDD/SSD for up to 2 TB of total capacity with a 1TB SSD standard. The system also comes standard with 8GB of memory with optional wide temperature components allowing for 0°C~60°C operation. Expandability is available via one full height and one half height PCIe Mini Card slot. Onboard I/O options include 4 PoE ports, 8 USB, 6 RS-232/422/485 COM ports, 2x DisplayPorts, dual LAN, 8-Bit DIO, and DVI as well as remote switch and external fan connectors. Milestone Certification Process Details The Milestone Solution Certification provides verification that the MX1000 is optimized for performance with XProtect® VMS software. The certification documentation presents a summary of the results of the testing process. The certification consists of three phases, beginning with two scenarios, where there is both a benchmark test and a maximum performance test. During each test, statistics from the Milestone XProtect Recording Servers are gathered to judge the performance of the system as a platform for video recording. These tests serve to identify that a given system meets minimum expected performance thresholds based on known benchmarks. The certification also measures the maximum number of cameras, at a given frame rate, resolution and codec that can be supported by the server and storage system.

AMAG Technology, a worldwide provider of complete end-to-end security management solutions for access control and video management, has integrated its Symmetry™ access control system with Milestone Systems’ XProtect® IP video surveillance system.  The plug-in is compatible for Symmetry V7.0.1 and V8 for Business, Professional and Enterprise versions, and for Milestone XProtect® Corporate and XProtect® Enterprise 2014 versions. “In continuing our commitment to our customers, AMAG selects best-in-industry partners to align and integrate technologies to offer the best options to our end users,” said AMAG Technology, Senior Product Manager-Video, Jim Murray. “The Symmetry integration to Milestone’s XProtect video surveillance system offers end users the best of both worlds - Symmetry’s robust access control with XProtect’s powerful video surveillance. Customers demanding an advanced feature set for optimum security performance and functionality will find the integration surpasses security requirements for most markets.” “Milestone is pleased that AMAG continues to be part of the Milestone Solution Partner Program to support the AMAG Symmetry 8 integration with our XProtect 2014 release. Customers increasingly request video verification in conjunction with access control events for greater efficiency and visual documentation. When combined with other video enabled applications like analytics for loitering and people counting, or RFID asset tracking or intrusion detection, our open platform provides even broader security coverage for customers,” said Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliance Manager, Americas, at Milestone Systems. The Symmetry / XProtect Corporate and Enterprise v2014 integration delivers many benefits: Ease of installation and configuration Support for Milestone XProtect status updates and events from Symmetry Support for Milestone XProtect analytic events from Symmetry View live or recorded video from Symmetry Virtual Matrix and Symmetry interactive Graphics / Mapping feature Video tagging via commands sent from the Symmetry Command Center, Trigger Commands and Scheduled Commands Video tagging for pre and post-alarms and events Video search and full playback of tagged video PTZ control of cameras using physical or virtual joystick Support for PTZ presets  The Symmetry Security Management System is a solution that provides intelligent networked solutions scaled to manage access control and security management challenges from small, remote facilities to multi-national organizations around the world. Symmetry offers users the next generation of security solutions, bringing the core aspects of building security to intelligent, unified solutions. The cutting edge technology within every Symmetry installation ensures ‘tight integration’ where there is seamless multi-way communication between the various technologies all on one single platform.

The integration of these products provides a unified user interface for a complete video-access control solution ISONAS Inc, a panel-less, pure IP access control system manufacturer, has the first video-enabled integration to be certified with the Milestone XProtect® Access Control Module 2014.The integration of these products provides a unified user interface for a complete video-access control solution, which will be shown at the Milestone booth 1043 at the ASIS 2014 trade show in Atlanta September 29 to October 1. Integration Allows For The Real-Time Display The integration between the ISONAS Crystal Matrix access control system and the Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) allows for the real-time display of the ISONAS managed access control alarms and events in the Milestone XProtect® Smart Client, control of locked doors and access requests from within the XProtect Smart Client, and synchronization of both live and recorded display of video and images with access control events. The seamless integration of the Milestone XProtect Smart Client and the ISONAS Crystal Matrix software lets customers keep the Milestone front end they have and love, while adding access control - there is no need to re-train users: just plug in ISONAS. The integration delivers real-time monitoring with video verification and the ability to respond to incidents, including locking, unlocking or triggering a full system lock down. Eliminates The Need For Additional Power The ISONAS pure IP access control integration through the XProtect interface allows customers to take advantage of their IP video infrastructure. The all-in-one ISONAS PowerNet reader-controller offers a revolutionary, panel-less approach, by using the existing network to bring intelligent decision-making to the door.  The only equipment needed at each access point is a network connection, a CAT5 Ethernet cable, and the ISONAS PowerNet reader-controller. The ISONAS-Milestone integration allows customers to seamlessly deploy access control with the same topology as their cameras. This eliminates the need for additional power at the door, resulting in dramatically lower cost-of-ownership, providing a more flexible and scalable solution while avoiding the need to re-train Milestone XProtect users. “The successful completion of the ISONAS Milestone Solutions Certification demonstrates our commitment to progressive video enabled solutions,” says Milestone Strategic Alliances Manager Reinier Tuinzing. “Customers continue to request the flexibility to respond to alarms and events in addition to viewing the video from within the XProtect Smart Client. The ISONAS integration supports real-time video and access monitoring, with interactive facility maps providing visual camera views of access points - all configured and viewed within the XProtect VMS or, if desired, from the access control interface - even at the same time.”

Milestone has integrated its XProtect video management software with the GuardTrax officer phone app GuardTrax announces the completion of a game-changing integration of the GuardTrax™ officer phone app with Milestone XProtect® video management software (VMS). This solution delivers unique threat alert, identification, video verification, resolution and reporting capabilities for security guarding companies, mobile patrols and in-house units. The relationship between GuardTrax and Milestone Systems is built on the premise that platinum-level security involves physically present and mobile security personnel and surveillance equipment - all brought together via open platform video management software. Guarding companies whose officers use the GuardTrax app integrated with Milestone XProtect video gain entry into the new era of technology-based security. For customers, the connection to the VMS platform expands alerts with video verification and real-time situational awareness, enhancing their security investment. Installing channel partners gain new sales and integration opportunities through close collaboration with the guarding company universe, GuardTrax and Milestone. Rich Pekmezian, CEO of GuardTrax, says: "GuardTrax recognises the significant role of the security officer in providing thorough security with physical response always at the ready. Our app is the connection between the security officer, surveillance equipment and video management. GuardTrax and Milestone see a strong partnership that is critical to provisioning today’s most effective blended security solution.” With this integration, the Milestone Mobile client and GuardTrax app are downloaded to the Android devices used by the mobile officers. GuardTrax alerts are also seen in the XProtect® Smart Client display at central operations or being shared with other security professionals. Officers can also generate incident reports from their devices while on the move. "The GuardTrax/Milestone integration enables new service levels for guarding companies to be on the leading edge, and customers gain the rewards of safer environments" Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Partner Alliances Manager at Milestone Systems, says: “The industry has reached an inflection point realising the need for more than just persons on location. Mobile security officers also need alerts with video verification to substantiate what is happening, where, and how best to respond to incidents.” Every security incident or situation has a beginning and an end. Some incidents can be avoided while those that cannot need to be resolved quickly and properly. The GuardTrax/Milestone integrated solution provides real-time capture and consolidation of critical security threat data that can then be analyzed and acted upon to bring about optimal resolution. In-person interviews with C-level execs in the guarding industry reveal that guard companies today must empower their officers and supervisors in a technology-forward fashion. Gone are the days of just sending an officer to a property with a notepad and flashlight. The research indicates that the GuardTrax app improves officer efficiency while lowering the cost base to provide premium guarding services. The GuardTrax/Milestone integration further aligns guarding companies with technology delivery so they are poised to realize new sales opportunities. “Success for the channel is all about expanding business with new and innovative solutions to offer the customer. The GuardTrax/Milestone integration enables new service levels for guarding companies to be on the leading edge, and customers gain the rewards of safer environments,” says Tuinzing. The GuardTrax/Milestone integrated solution will be demonstrated at the 2014 ASIS event to be held September 29-October 1 in Atlanta, Georgia, in Milestone’s Booth 1043.