Artificial intelligence (AI) - Round table discussions

The holiday season is marked by festive spirit and family celebrations, but it is also the busiest time of year for retailers. Busy shoppers willing to spend money are an upside to the holiday shopping season, and many businesses depend on the holiday rush as a critical element to having a successful year. A downside of a busy holiday season is an increase in retail security threats including shoplifting. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can technology address loss prevent...

Connectivity is literally the difference between products operating individually and those combined into a more powerful system. Many of the devices that connect today’s security products reflect mature technologies that have been proven over time. However, innovation is also driving the need for new approaches to connectivity and networking. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the new developments in networking and connectivity for security?

Machine learning refers to the evolving ability of computer systems to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions. It essentially involves the use of algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw conclusions from patterns in data. In the security industry, when it comes to buzzwords, artificial intelligence (AI) has a higher profile than the more specific related term, although machine learning is a better description of tools that are gaining popularity in physical security...

Integration of access control and video has been a reality for decades. The combination of our industry’s dominant technologies provides a one-two punch when it comes to maximizing the security benefits of a system. Access control tracks ‘events,’ while video provides visibility into those events. But the benefits of integrating video and access control are far from static. Rather, today’s systems are becoming even more valuable as they incorporate elements such as artifi...

Cloud systems faced early resistance from physical security end users concerned about a perceived lack of control of data that ‘leaves’ their premises. More recently, mass adoption of cloud systems reflects widespread confidence in these systems to protect the data they handle. However, there are physical security professionals who remain concerned about cloud-based systems from the perspective of cybersecurity. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can the industry...

Generally speaking, security becomes a topic of conversation among the general public only after something bad has happened. The context in these situations is: What went wrong? Largely absent from awareness by the public at large is how often things go right; that is, how often security systems work as intended to avoid expensive or even deadly consequences. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can the industry communicate the value of security to the public?

Robots have been used in security patrol applications for decades, although developments in artificial intelligence (AI), video analytics, sensors and communications are expanding robot capabilities to new heights. Suddenly, robots are the latest thing in security. In addition, drones have become ubiquitous for numerous applications, including security. We wondered how well the security industry is embracing these newer technologies. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What impac...

The security trade show season is resuming this fall with the GSX show in the United States and Security Essen in Germany, among other upcoming industry events. The return of trade shows is gathering momentum following the COVID lockdowns and cancellations with plenty more shows coming soon. But how useful is attending industry trade shows? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What do you accomplish by attending a security industry show?

With the worst of the COVID pandemic’s impact behind us, most would agree that the security industry was transformed by the interlude, as were most other elements in our society. But what will be the lasting impact on the security market – positive or negative? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Is post-pandemic security more effective than pre-pandemic security? How?

Security is critical in the government sector, as much as any other vertical. Successful systems must promote public safety while also facing onerous requirements when it comes to cybersecurity. From a global perspective, the world seems less safe than ever before, suggesting an even greater role for security technologies. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can security address the challenges of the government market?

Six months can go by in the blink of an eye. In 2022, it almost seems as if it has. Here we are already at mid-year after what has been an eventful six months for the security marketplace. There is still a lot ahead in 2022 for the industry, and our Expert Panel Roundtable has been considering what the coming months might hold in terms of technology change. We asked this week’s panelists: What will likely be the most important technology development in the security marketplace in the secon...

The Metaverse sounds like the plot of the latest summer action movie. In reality, it’s a technology - or, more accurately, a group of technologies - that will likely have a transformational impact on a host of markets. For security, the Metaverse has an extensive list of needs. It also presents some opportunities. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What does the Metaverse mean for security?

The buzzwords in security provide a decent parallel to the technology advancements in our industry. Over the years, our language has evolved to encompass new concepts that have transformed our business. Buzzwords can sometimes be dismissed as overblown compared to the current state of the technology, or even as marketing hype. But the language we use to describe the industry’s technologies often reflect our changing marketplace. Sometimes the challenge is keeping up with the latest buzz. W...

Technologies and trends in the security marketplace come and go with some regularity. But how can you tell which trends are gaining traction and which amount to ‘the flavor of the month.’ For guidance, we asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: Which new security trend do you think is here to stay?

It’s safe to say there has been more change in the workplace in the last two years than ever before. Driven by the pandemic, technology has both allowed greater flexibility for employees and enabled continuing prosperity for many companies that otherwise would have had to cease operation. But have security protocols and practices done enough to enable companies to keep pace with the changes? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Have security protocols and practices kept up w...

The price of a security system and the value it provides are two different things. For end users, the objective is to minimize price, while maximizing value. A system may both have a higher price and provide greater value, but not always. Because customers want to pay as little as they can, it is necessary to make a case that a system provides the best possible value, whatever the cost. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How can customers go beyond price to maximize the ‘...

Any marketplace tends to emphasize the newest technologies and products. Confirming the trend is the perpetual rush to buy the latest iPhone. But some legacy products are so good and perform the required functions so well that users may stick with the “tried-and-true.” But does staying with yesterday’s technology suggest a missed opportunity to leverage new product features and benefits? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What is the security market’s app...

The advantages of security systems as forensic and investigative tools are well understood and demonstrated in the market. However, the new trend is toward systems that are useful in real-time and that even predict a security event, before it happens. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Which security systems are becoming more proactive than reactive?

Arriving at ISC West 2022, it seemed almost as if the last three years hadn't happened. The vibe and the energy seemed just as heightened as in 2019, and it was almost as if the show had somehow gained momentum during the pandemic downtime. For additional insights, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How was ISC West? What surprised you the most?

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...

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...

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.

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?

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...

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?   

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...

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?

Air travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels. COVID and its aftermath have added new compliance and operational concerns for airport security, and social and political volatility around the world emphasises the need for constant vigilance. A range of new technologies are enhancing airport security, not to mention providing new tools to simplify processes throughout the airport. We asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: Which technologies are transforming airport security? 

A new generation of security professional is waiting in the wings. They will be faced with unprecedented challenges, as they seek to transform the security marketplace to the ‘next level’. Technology changes ensure the market will be very different 10 years from now and the fresh labor pool will need to be able to meet the host of new challenges. We asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: What exciting career opportunities in the security industry await the next generation?