Hi-O Doors:
Intelligence At The Door

Assa Abloy, makers of Hi-O technology, are launching Hi-O building access points that are smarter, more intuitive, less dependent on human interaction and cost effective, whether managing access through a single entry or across a corporate campus. Hi-O doors from Assa Abloy bring intelligence to the door.

The Technology
Simple, functional and 100% customizable to meet your buildings’ access needs from a single control point. The Hi-O access system is highly intelligent, interacting with all building entry points and with features installed at each doorway, i.e. an alarm, an IP protocol card reader, keypad, swipe or special access to meet the Americans With Disabilities Act – all controlled at the door.

The ability for Hi-O doors to analyze data and make decisions simplifies access for those granted admission while preventing those without necessary permissions to gain entry – all at the entry point.

Smart doors can be fitted with a variety of specialty devices – special lighting, ramps, HDTV surveillance – whatever the access control need, Assa ABloy’s Hi-O technology simplifies control of who comes, who goes, when and where they went. This data is automatically collected and collated within a relational database to identify patterns and, more importantly, anomalies like forced entry, door ajar, door held open or anticipated component failure.

Predictive System Failures
If a switch is tested for 100,000 uses, you want to know when that switch reaches 90,000 clicks. Why? To address a predictable failure of a system component BEFORE the component fails.

This enables you to swap out the switch under controlled conditions, at your convenience rather than undergoing a component failure requiring an emergency service call. Assa Abloy’s Hi-O access point control system maintains data on number of uses for each system component and predicts component failure before it occurs, saving you time and money on system maintenance.

While more cumbersome access management systems may provide predictive failure data, Hi-O collects data at each entry or egress point within the building, identifying potential component failures across the system, once again, lowering personnel costs and maintaining accessibility without component failure – a big plus when timely access through specific portals is essential.

Hi-O: Access Simplified
That’s what businesses and institutions want – simplicity of access, customization and automated data collection. This lowers personnel costs, enabling fewer security personnel to do more in less time, increasing productivity and lowering access management costs across the life cycle of the High-O system.

Each door automatically syncs up with Hi-O, sending communications back and forth through the connection of simple plug and play wiring.

Each device automatically “becomes” intelligent when integrated into the Hi-O system, understanding its function and its relationship to other Hi-O components without additional, costly system programming. This saves money on both installation and system integration costs.

Assa Abloy’s Hi-O access management is totally interactive so that each connected system device “knows” what is occurring with other entryways and system components such as an alarm or a door held open.

A simple, easy-to use graphical user interface (GUI) adds value to the collected data by creating charts and graphs that show activity, making this data understandable to more stakeholders in the access and security spheres.

Simplified access with Hi-O technology from Assa Abloy delivers:

- complete customizability

- automated data collection

- complete system integration

- ability to adapt to a variety of features at each access point – from an alarm to a
secure controller inside the building

- lower maintenance costs

- predictive component failure alerts to enable you to swap out parts predicted to
fail at your convenience, not AFTER the failure

- simple GUI adds value to collected data

- fewer personnel accomplish more, increasing productivity and lowering access
control costs daily

- simplified installation enables Hi-O access points to do more at the door,
regardless of where that access point is located.

Thinking about upgrading your access control system? There’s only one way to go: Hi-O from Assa Abloy – bringing network intelligence to the door.

Call or click Pro-Tec Designs for more information on Assa Abloy’s Hi-O smart accessibility. Safe, simple, secure and here now at Pro-Tec Designs.

Who's In? Who's Out? IP Card Readers Control Access

Six Reasons To Choose

IP Card-Reader Access Control Systems

In the past, access control systems were cumbersome, complex, and relied on proprietary wiring systems that didn’t leverage existing IT resources. Access control systems do not need to be complex, and can leverage existing IT resources, saving clients thousands of dollars by utilizing current infrastructure and personnel, while improving efficient use of IT assets.

Today, through the use of digital, IP-based card readers, security/access management is simplified, yet provides all of the features of traditional proprietary systems, traffic data by location, date and time, ID number – any number of relational data configurations to better determine traffic patterns, anomalies and utilize capital resources.

So, here’s a quick overview of cutting-edge IP Access Control products, like Edge solo and EdgePlus, and why they belong in any access management system.

At The Door

1. Today’s IP access management system begins at the door. These systems have the intelligence at the door to collect data directly at the access point. IP readers make decisions and execute seamlessly based on access protocols customized to serve specific management and security needs at each security point.

2. Total IP access leverages IT resources. Typically, access control systems rely on a company’s network for access to software and data gathering field hardware such as reader modules, intelligent field controllers and other proprietary equipment. This equipment is usually tucked in a corner of an IDF or other equipment room in the building.

Today, with IP-based systems, all of the intelligence is at the door and uses standard CAT 5 cabling with Power Over Ethernet (POE) switches. This lowers installation costs and reduces the time needed to deploy a reader system.

3. Flexible features enhance the client’s ability to determine the level of security needed. Add a door position sensor, a local alarm enunciator, surveillance cam or any other security accessory as required. Complete customizability is standard and simple using IP card reader systems at the door.

Transmission

4. Simplified retrofitting. No long, expensive cable runs, today’s IP card readers plug directly into the nearest Ethernet link. Use CAT 5 cable or simply stream to a nearby wireless access point. Legacy systems can be updated and upgraded at much lower costs by accommodating different kinds of IP readers.

5. Remote management over internet browser. If you only need one or two readers, use the embedded access control management system to oversee all aspects of the access maintenance system.

With embedded access control management, data is delivered and stored using a standard browser like IE or Firefox. There’s no need to load software on an access control management server or at any PC location. This lowers the acquisition and lifecycle costs for small-sized systems, saving the client year after year.

6. Simplified, less costly topology. Legacy card readers require multiple power supplies, separate hardware controllers, separate IT interfaces and a topology that looks like a spreading oak.

IP reader connectivity has simplified placement of controls, eliminated the need for separate power sources and eliminated the need for proprietary wiring systems.

One glance at the topology of IP access card readers will have you sold. Securing an entire university campus by simply installing a single CAT 5 cable from the nearest network closet demonstrates the huge value of the latest in access management technology.

And that’s just the beginning. Lower installation costs, shorter installation time, easier upgrades and additional functionality, lowered personnel costs, maintenance costs, swap-outs and specific features to suit the access maintenance needs of any client – from single-door entry to global control of access, IP card readers deliver value, reliability, simplicity and complete adaptability.

Need to know more? That’s why Pro-Tec Designs is here. Before you undertake an in-house review of your access needs, call or click Pro-Tec. Save time, lower implementation costs and add value to your access management. Pro-Tec Design shows you how.

Safe At Home

The Department of Homeland Security has been busy since the tragedy of 9/11 – a day we’ll remember forever. The DHS has been tasked with coordinating security efforts among various government agencies – Naval Intelligence, CIA, FBI , Coast Guard and other agencies protecting our security each day.

After 9/11, President Bush issued two directives that changed the way states, counties, and cities respond and prepare for domestic incidents and national disasters. Those Presidential Directives, HSPD-5 and HSPD-12, enhance the abilities of federal and local security personnel to work together.

Through these Presidential Directives, the Department of Homeland Security has been assigned the difficult task of making individual communities safer for citizens through the deployment of community- wide surveillance systems, airport security systems, and changes in America’s immigration and border control measures, of which many are totally unaware. This is “behind-the-scenes” security, unrecognized by average citizens.

Is that camera on a street corner watching traffic, or is it using video analytics to determine if a bag was left behind? Or maybe a boat is traveling too close to a structural element of a bridge? The DHS, through cooperative efforts with state, county, and city officials are helping all communities become more secure, and more prepared for potential disaster.

National Preparedness
The DHS published a simple document on national preparedness. And though the report focuses on national preparedness, it’s clear that national preparedness takes place at the local level. And for this reason, the Department has worked extensively on developing discreet security in small towns and big cities – security based solidly on the latest in security technology such as:

• high-definition video surveillance systems.

• communication systems that send wireless video signals through mesh or municipal-wide, wireless networks.

• multi-agency video management with the ability to provide both local autonomy and centralized management in emergency situations.

• fault tolerant and highly-accessible servers and recording solutions

With these technologies and proper planning, we make our communities more secure and improve the quality of life for all citizens.

All-Hazards Preparedness
The role of the DHS has expanded to include what the agency calls “all-hazards preparedness.” This expansion is the direct result of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the wild fires that burned through the hillsides of California.

To address this broad range of potential disasters, the DHS works with local governments, and first responders at the state, county and municipal levels to provide training, grants, loans and a lot of cooperation.

The Department of Homeland Security knows that the eyes standing watch are found at the local level. Local police departments, fire and rescue, state National Guard – these are the men and women working with the Department of Homeland Security to create safe communities and improve our quality of life through data exchange and non-stop vigilance.

Training and Equipment
While the DHS provides funding, training and equipment to local communities, the experts tasked with making these technologies perform to specification are local security system integrators.

These men and women are the local experts who have the technical and security expertise to make our communities safer. A security integrator who understands the vision of the DHS and the needs of local officials is best positioned to ensure the proper technology is selected and successfully deployed.

It’s these local experts who design, implement and support the network of security technology on street corners, in public buildings and public spaces like malls, museums, and sports arenas, and make the DHS mandates reality. However, there’s more to this than the simple collection of security data through the use of specialized security technology.

Security Data Integration
Security data is collected at the local level – the street level, and as such, this information must be coordinated within the community, within the region and, of course, shared at the federal level.

We’ve all heard the expression “connecting the dots.” Under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, and its support agencies, local communities rely on security integrators to, not only collect the data, but to do so in a way in which the data is shared, analyzed and used to improve the way we respond to domestic incidents and natural disasters.

To the security integrator, tasked with the design and implementation of video management software and surveillance hardware for data mining, this means that a higher level of expertise is often required.

Security integrators need to have top-down knowledge of equipment options, placement, functionality, quality, reliability and an understanding of the specs provided by local first responders. Security integrators must have the means to communicate to multiple stakeholders on the shared goal and vision of all agencies involved.

To accomplish this, a security integrator must have a blueprint, or a plan, that integrates local technology into the bigger picture. This is called “Security Architecture.”

Security Architecture is developed with local goals in mind, but also security integrators must consider the federal goals as well and allow for information to be quickly passed from local communities to county, state and federal officials through secure channels that enable a coordinated response to crisis situations.

Security integrators have the skills required to connect the dots to provide safer communities. These professionals serve and help us achieve our national security goals in our neighborhoods. This not only relates to our physical security but also to our economic security.

The impact of a national disaster, whether Hurricane Katrina, wildfires in California or a bridge collapse in Minneapolis, all affect our economic security as well.

The bottom line for security integrators?

• Understand the strategic and operational reasons to surveille or protect a particular asset.

• Apply your experience and expertise to assure all objectives are met to specification.

• Develop a plan, or a Security Architecture, and execute that plan.

• Cooperate with security agencies at all levels of government – from neighborhood associations to the federal watch dog agencies.

The DHS does a great job keeping us safe and improving the way we respond to domestic incidents and natural disasters. But the security integrator plays a major role in making sure the activities at local levels are aligned with the local, state and federal directives and goals.

Looking into beefing up your business security? How about municipal security? Whatever your security needs, Pro-Tec Designs brings the highest quality products and the highest level of security integration to your project. Drop us a line or give us a call. You’re just a click away from a more secure future.

June 30, 2009, Minneapolis Minnesota

Pro-Tec Design hosted a round table event on the impacts of HDTV on the video surveillance industry. The round table event was held at Pro-Tec Design’s headquarters in Minneapolis Minnesota. During the event, Karl Radke from Axis Communications reviewed the progression of video technology from analog video, to IP video, to the current state of HDTV IP cameras and Mary Dunphy , Pro-Tec Design’s CTO, discussed the impact of HDTV cameras on an organization’s Security Architecture.

In attendance were representatives from Best Buy Company, City of Maple Grove, City of New Hope, Michaud Cooley Erickson, and Prime Therapeutics. During the event many topics were discussed and the group shared experiences on:

The problems with legacy Analog camera technology. Including:

• Interlaced video signals that causes blurring of images at high speeds.
• Lower pixel counts leading to limited resolution
• Limited ability to deal with highly contrasting lighting conditions

The next generation of digital surveillance cameras:

• H.264 compression technology
• HD TV surveillance cameras with 1080p resolution
• The implication of IPV6 on network design and security technology
• Ideal for cash counting, difficult lighting conditions, and locations that need to capture objects at high speed.

The need for developing a Security Architecture (or blueprint) to guide the selection and implementation of security technology:

• Provides a strategic framework for selection and deployment of security technology
• Provides a baseline benchmark to identify any potential obstacles or barriers to implementation
• Improves collaboration between Security, IT, and Facilities
• Documents system requirements and how those requirements map to the other strategic initiates in the organization.

Copies of the discussion material can be obtained by calling Pro-Tec Design at 1-800-553-1104 or emailing info@pro-tecdesign.com

Your First Line Of Defense: HDTV Security Cameras

CCTV has long been an important tool in the security professional’s arsenal. Video is used everywhere, from street corners to gambling casinos, to provide visual data of whatever activities are taking place within the camera’s view. And while video surveillance has been an essential, money-saving tool for institutions requiring “eyes on guard,” the limits of analog surveillance TV have long been known.

Introducing HD Security
The problems with analog security cameras have always been related to picture quality. Grainy. Unrecognizable images. Blurred motion. Camera maintenance – all contribute to less than crystal clear images. Yes, that’s the individual who broke into the warehouse but the image is so degraded, no useful data can be extracted from the analog tape.

But that’s changing – and FAST! With the advent of HDTV in homes, this sophisticated technology is now available to those tasked with maintaining security in virtually any environment.

In 2007, approximately 35% of American homes had HDTV, and experts estimate that by 2012, 85% of homes will be outfitted with HDTV sets. The technology is here today, in millions of homes. Virtually every network broadcasts in HDTV. And now, this digital technology has entered the remote surveillance arena, providing security professionals with high quality imaging, truer color definition and larger monitors to provide the “big picture.”

Megapixel Networks: Work-Arounds
Megapixel CCTV networks remain an option for some institutions and businesses despite the fact that this platform is simply an adaptation of previous generations of analog cameras. Megapixel is not recognized as a “best practices” industry standard. Instead, this technology is sometimes used as a “work-around” to existing intra-nets as a cost-cutting measure.

However, just as VHS became the standard and ate Sony’s Beta format for lunch, HDTV is the platform that has become industry standard for families who enjoy brighter, clearer, sharper images of their favorite TV shows, and professional security personnel who track objects and individuals in high-speed motion, or in cases where identification is critical.

The Growing Use of HDTV In Institutional Security
In order for HDTV to become a viable alternative to traditional video security, a number of technical issues had to be resolved. The most difficult, perhaps, was compression of the HDTV digital signal.

Early on, the National Television System Committee – TV’s tech oversight organization – determined that broadcast TV would be comprised of 480 TV lines running across the TV screen at 30 frames per second (fps). And for decades, this has been the standard despite the demand for higher quality images both for entertainment and security purposes.

HDTV delivers much more data – data that must be stored and maintained. To do this effectively, HDTV signals must be compressed – compacted to take up less storage space. Once the compression problem was solved, the electronics industry quickly recognized the potential for HDTV and digital recording devices, and the sales race was on.

Today, any consumer can walk into a big box store and walk out with a 56” digital HDTV for less than $1,500. Piece of cake.

With effective signal compression technology now in place, vast amounts of HDTV digital data (camera images) can be stored and used at a later date as needed. This has been a great step forward for consumers requiring the highest standards of resolution for identification – even in the case of moving vehicles.

HDTV, as part of any security network, delivers sharper images to identify license plates on moving vehicles or faces that rush by an HD surveillance unit.

The Power of HDTV
In addition to providing improved image clarity and truer color fidelity, HDTV also allows for up to 500% higher resolution than traditional

analog security cameras. In turn, this has enabled manufacturers to produce screens in wide formats while maintaining the clarity required for high-end security.

Today’s security monitors deliver a 16:9 aspect ratio which translates into a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels in large-screen HD mode compared to a 720×486 ratio for out-dated analog security systems.

This enables security screens to be larger, while maintaining clarity and color definition with precision. In turn, this lowers cost of security because fewer personnel are required to maintain 360 degree visual coverage – with clarity.

The Benefits of HDTV for Your Security
Institutions – colleges, hospitals, corporate campuses, public venues, gaming casinos, public schools and public buildings – all require CCTV security coverage, in most cases, 24/7/365.

With HDTV’s capabilities, security professionals are turning to this cutting-edge technology for obvious reasons:

• higher quality imagery, even with objects moving at high speeds

• clarity of colors and truer overall picture fidelity

• larger monitors to provide a broader, integrated view of site activities

• lower security costs because HDTV requires fewer security personnel to monitor activity

• world standard uniformity, enabling your institution to upgrade in the future at lower costs

• lower data storage costs with higher compression ratios, more images can be stored in less space, lowering both on- and off-site data storage costs

• improved accuracy in interpreting visual security data

• value-added data at no additional cost to the institution

Closed-circuit, HDTV has evolved quickly to its current state, yet most institutions are reluctant to switch out their current analog systems because of cost. The fact is, HDTV saves the institution money immediately.

Further, as improvements to this technology are made, as they surely will be, the industry-accepted HDTV format will enable upgrades to be made faster and at lower costs.

If your institution hasn’t made the switch to HDTV, you aren’t as secure as you could be. To learn more about the latest in HDTV surveillance, please visit us at www.pro-tecdesign.com.

You should see what you’ve been missing.

My background is not in the Physical Security Industry. IP cameras, card readers, glass break sensors, motion detectors and all of the traditional physical security technology used by physical security integrators are foreign to me. My background is that of a solution architect. My experiences are within the IT stack otherwise known as the “architecture” or “framework”.

IT professionals use this architecture or framework to answer business process questions like:

• What are my clients trying to do?
• Why is it valuable?
• Who does what when?
• What information do they touch and need?
• Where does this activity take place?
• What does the user experience?
• How do we measure the effectiveness (performance) over time?
• How do we report on that data and how is it used?

This information, once captured, helps business leaders answer where technology and processes fit within the architecture and how that architecture aligns to the strategic needs of an organization. This architecture gives companies the much needed road map to future technology acquisitions, avoiding non-standard, proprietary approaches that lock them out of important advances in technology over time.

This philosophy, while standard in the IT world, is just as foreign to the physical security world as a card reader, IP camera, or video management system is to an IT person.

That leads me to my role at Pro-Tec Design. Ultimately my role is to help create a unified, enterprise class, security architecture or framework that will guide an organization’s purchase of security technology and the security policies they wrap around their business processes. At the heart, this is what convergence is truly about. Developing a unified security framework from which all security policy, security technology (card readers, IP cameras, video management software, access control systems, etc) are deployed within an organization.

The process for creating this security architecture is really the same process followed in the IT industry when doing strategic planning activities. The process is predictable, defensible, and strategic in nature. Here are the highlights.

1. Learn Trends (Understand where you are at and where you want to go)
2. Develop Strategies (Compare, strategize, and design the framework)
3. Select Technology (Evaluate and implement technology to fit inside the frame)
4. Improve Operations (Measure the performance against the baseline and improve the framework)

This process, mapped against an organizations strategic plan, provides for (or creates) the security framework. Security Executives and managers can use this framework to measure the current state against the desired state. This becomes a formal process from which benchmarking can be performed against similar businesses as well as against the desired future state. The security framework is used to analyze future purchases, organizational changes, and ensure the security function is performing as specified. This process can be shown graphically as in the diagram shown here.

All the elements to create a unified security architecture and provision the application called ‘security’ already exists. The term ‘Convergence’ while getting a lot of buzz in the industry, is useful as a verb, but it is really but more important to develop the underlying architecture that can be used to optimize the application called ‘Security’. We call this the Unified Security Architecture.

As you begin to think about security as an application and how to create a framework or architecture for security keep these important questions in mind:

» How do you measure the performance of your Security System?

» Physical Security ?

» Cyber Security?

» When did you last audit your system for:

» Performance

» Placement (Location)

» Usability

» Reliability

» Sustainability

» What is the gap between your baseline system today and the performance expectations from:

» Your company

» Your industry

» Your Regulatory agencies

» Do you have a trusted source for evaluating your compliance with regulatory bodies before you are audited?

» Have you considered a consolidation of budget and resources around the key architectural elements of data, applications, and integration?

» Can you save time and money and resources from such a study?

» How would your business meet its mission better by including the benchmark of business optimization within the Security Mission and Performance Objective?

Pro-Tec’s mission is to understand all these elements and provide strategic direction and, if necessary, the professional services and resources needed to create the collaborative team that will move our client’s to a unified model over time.

Through this evolution in the security function we will move our clients from a non-strategic security function to a unified strategic security framework that aligns with an organization’s mission, vision and values. By creating this security architecture, we are witnessing an inflection point of value. For organizations that recognize it, belong the spoils of a strategic security infrastructure with its underlying implication of competitive advantage. As Steve Hunt, one of the premier analysts and strategists of security said:

“There is a dawning happening that the stuff of security actually is data. And what did we do the last time we were faced with millions of bits of unstructured data? We organized it with computers, software and networking. This is what we do with millions of bits of data. We use a standard, best-practice IT infrastructure. And that’s the revolution.”

And that is what a security framework or architecture does. Are you ready for the challenge?

The report talked about the importance of having a hotline to enable employees to report fraud, ethics violations, and other inappropriate behavior. It was really well written and included data on over 450,000 reports from 1,328 organizations and covered more than 12 million employees.

The real impetus for the report was the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) that required publicly traded corporations to provide a mechanism for reporting financial irregularities that enables employees to report information and remain anonymous.

Here are some of the highlights:

• A hotline report for financial irregularities provides additional ethics and behavior values. Many of the issues reported were related to employee/employer relations.
• 50% of the incidents reported were related to personnel management
• 38% of the reports investigated resulted in corrective action

What is really interesting, or at least proves the value of the hotline, is that 70% of the reports indicated that the participants did not notify management of the concern before using the hotline. To me, this really demonstrates the value of the hotline.

As I was reading the report it became very obvious that the hotline was very valuable and the anonymity of the hotline critical to getting feedback on behavioral and ethical concerns within the organization.

It also became evident that this service needs to be integrated into the unified security architecture. Think of the power of having a hotline number integrated into the standard data gathering tools used by the enterprise! Here is the scenario:

An employee calls a hotline number. The hotline number records the voice mail message. In the background you run a voice to text conversion and create a record in InfoPath. From there the security team can open an incident case record and conduct an investigation. If the incident reporting system is linked to the physical access control system or video management surveillance system, video and audit trail information could automatically be pulled into the incident and documented. Then, when the investigation is completed a complete case history could be saved and top line benchmark data displayed to management in a dashboard scenario.

Sounds pretty cool to me. What do you think?

PS: If you want to download the full report click here: http://www.tnwinc.com/whitepaperregistration/default.asp

Hope you find it interesting. Let me know your thoughts.

]]> http://pro-tecdesign.info/corporate-governance-hot-line-report/feed http://pro-tecdesign.info/the-next-generation-approach-to-security-is-unveiled http://pro-tecdesign.info/the-next-generation-approach-to-security-is-unveiled#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:38:38 +0000 steve http://pro-tecdesign.info/?p=291 Pro-Tec’s IP Security Summit draws technology and consultants from across the USA.

Pro-Tec Design’s first annual IP Security Summit drew a gathering of global security system technology leaders and consultants. Those in attendance included:

• ASSA ABLOY, the leader in door hardware solutions. ASSA ABLOY manufactures a full line of electric strikes, electric locks, and intelligent wireless card readers.
• AXIS Communications the global leader in IP cameras.
• MILESTONE Systems, the global leader in non-proprietary, video management software.
• Pro-Tec Design, a leading security integrator of physical and logical security technology.
• The Sage Group, a value consulting company specializing in the emerging security ecosystem

At the event Pro-Tec Design introduced enhanced IT Security consulting services to provide clients a unified approach to security that leverages physical and cyber security to ensure reliability across the network.  Value offerings such as Microsoft collaboration tools, network security assessments, validation testing and unified system security design will be offered through professional services.

“The voice of the client is demanding a new way to control costs, leverage resources, assets and create opportunities to leverage the business”, said Mary Dunphy, Pro-Tec Design’s Chief Technology Officer. “We are simply responding to pent up demand to help our clients become more strategic as they move to advance their security effectiveness.”

The event was moderated by the Sage Group, a management consulting company working with security industry consultants, vendors, integrators and end users to transform the value proposition for security. It included discussions on new trends in security technology such as high definition television– HDTV network video cameras, 802.11 wireless card readers, intelligent doors, and the new levels of knowledge a security integrator such as Pro-Tec Design must possess to be successful in the future.

“This was a remarkable event. Pro-Tec Design is clearly a leader in the IP security arena. The services and solutions they are offering are right on the mark”, said Karl Radke, Regional Manager for AXIS Communications.

“There are leaders that move markets to the next level of value”, said Ron Worman, Managing Director of the Sage Group. “Pro-Tec Design is clearly advancing an understanding of security that will enable organizations to increase their effectiveness while saving costs that are hidden today. More important, they are partnering with key technology manufacturers on solutions that will drive that value.”

I see this in the security industry all the time. Manufacturers are trying to maximize their revenue and profits. Manufacturers do this by gobbling up competitors and adding the competitors’ products to their offerings and then bundling the products for a complete “solution.”

In my opinion, this is seldom good for the buyer. As I was reading the article in the Wall Street Journal I was trying to see the benefit of a complete Cisco system (server and switches). I know how well the Cisco video management system works (it doesn’t) and I got to believe that the Cisco servers are probably going to work about the same (they won’t).

I understand the quest for profit, but I really believe it is critical that an organization focuses on what they do best. This simple axiom has been proven over and over again in the annuals of business history. Successful organizations focus on what they do best and leave the rest to others.

Don’t get me wrong. I am sure Cisco can build a great server… if they wanted to. That’s the problem. Cisco doesn’t really want to build a great server. They just want another product to offer to try and get more profit. It doesn’t matter if they can build a server as good as HP, Dell, or Sun.

This is no different in the physical security world. That is why a good security integrator is so valuable. A good security integrator can help a buyer see through the marketing spin. A security integrator that is committed to “best of breed” solutions and providing the best solution possible can help a client get the most value out of their security technology.

One of our leading suppliers has a phrase “proprietary jail” and it really clicks. Too often manufacturers want you to buy all the equipment from a single source. Not because that is good for the buyer, but because it is good for the bottom line of the supplier.

Just because a Cisco sticker is on the metal box doesn’t mean the product is any good. My advice, always look for the best products, demand interoperability, and demand best of breed solutions. That is the only way you can get the most value for your investment, stay out of proprietary jail, and reduce your chance of a forklift upgrade down the road.

Well…..you would not believe what we found!  It turns out there was noting wrong with the camera.  The problem, the power supply that was wrapped in a garbage bag and stuffed into a hand-hole at the bottom of the pole.  Yes, it is true.  One of our competitors (name with held) thought it was appropriate installation technique to remove the weatherproof cover of the power supply, wrap it in tightly in a garbage bag and stuff it into a hand hole.  Don’t believe me.  See for yourself…

KTP-24 Wrapped in a garbage bag

Now, in their defense, the unit would not fit in the hand hole with the cover on so what were they to do?

The sad part about this is the KTP-24 is a weather proof outdoor power supply that, if installed correctly, was perfect for this application.  Because the other company took some short cuts they cost this client down time and a service call.  Just goes to show you, it never pays to take short cuts.  Do it right the first time so you won’t have to do it again.

Do you have an example of an installation nightmare?  If you do, please share.