IntegratedCCTV – Tell us what you think!

Seems like our BlogAdmin has been provoking some stimulating feedback recently on Twitter!

Well, he’s gone off on his jolly’s for a couple of weeks, leaving the helm with us instead!

We here at IntegratedCCTV simply want to use this Blog as a sounding board for our OPINIONS regarding the state and position of our industry – sure, as has been levelled at us, we are UK based, we may not be the most advanced country in the World for adopting the latest and greatest technology, but this does not mean we do not have an opinion to offer.

Every country region has its own level of expertise and product take up – this happens in any industry with any technology.

We, as UK residents, have been accused of lagging behind in IP take-up – this is not without foundation and probably quite true. I wouldn’t say that its not without trying, but when a professional installation industry is hell bent on sticking to copper, then IP is always going to be the domain of the IT industry to  move into the Security industry for the technology to gain traction.

Whilst talking about ‘lagging’ behind, we should really exploit our considerably better nationwide ADSL/Cable infrastructure to improve our IP CCTV market – countries like the US are actually lagging behind us with slower and more expensive internet connections, yet their IP take-up is higher than ours.

Perhaps countries like the US are simply able to adopt what’s new and interesting better than we can? Maybe we in the UK hang on until something has been tried, tested and actually reliable?

And, on the subject of feedback, it would appear that we are also criticised about our presentation and grammar here on IntegratedCCTV. For my part, I cannot see the relevance or importance of this within an informal blog – the purpose being to lay down our thoughts and yes, our musings. Whilst some may think we are some form of  ‘authoritative voice’ we are not, we are merely looking to impart thought and word. Unlike many, we do not charge for the information we like to bring and long may that continue.

So, whilst we appreciate criticism, it should be constructive and polite – you know the saying, if you can do better………..

 

SYAC integrated security

SYAC

SYAC is a technology company who have made extensive advancement over the last few years in the fields of CCTV, Access control, Fire and intruder alarms.

Originally founded in 1988 Syac developed DIGIeye and concentrates its projects and products to fit into the ever expanding field of security integration. By positioning themselves as a one stop shop for security and fire they now have a name that is known world wide.

There mission statement is simple and clear, they wish to be able to provide their customers with everything they need regarding electronic security . At the same time they take full responsibility for the total integrity of the systems they provide.

Syac’s propriety software has the ability to allow customers to truly integrate security systems together composed of several different interoperable subsystems.

Syac have of over 90+ employees and have a truly worldwide presence which gives them many different areas of experience to draw from. Fostering creativity and innovation as a core belief means that Syac have achieved commendable growth  and success since their inception.

Airport Security Integrated CCTV

As security professionals we need to be able to give our customers the correct information and the reasons why they can benefit from CCTV access control and some of the newer products on the market such as finger print door entry systems and facial recognition. one of the industries that has a real need for extensive security measures is aviation. In the light of the recent incident at East Midlands Airport, Freight forwarders as well as civil aviation companies are looking deeper into what they need to do to prevent a terrorist incident. Below we look at the procedure they should adopt in order to assess their risk and ensure the safety of their passengers and aircraft.

Threat.

What is the treat well this can be defined as the probability of an attack against a particular target that there is a probability that this will occur within a particular time frame.

Type of threat

This is broken down into 5 categories

Low- unlikely

Moderate- possible but not likely.

Substantial- strong possibility

Severe- an attack is highly likely

Critical- is expected imminently.

Once the above has been identified then we need to think about who may perpetrate such an attack.

Who poses a threat?

Terrorists- fanatics

Criminals- for ransom and financial gain

Mentally ill- this may happen for no reason and is likely to be a random event

Revenge- an ex employee is most likely to be behind such an attack.

Protesters-environmentalists have become more and more determined to get noticed and have upped the stakes.

Refuges- asylum seekers desperation is often a factor here

Insider threat- someone who deliberately joins an organisation in order to infiltrate and cause damage. The most dangerous.

In order to secure down an area we need to know what types of threat may occur. Integrated CCTV and access control systems become highly relevant at this point

Types of threat.

Hijacking/or sabotage

Substitution of air cargo

Disguising air cargo as another product.

An attack at the airport terminal itself.

Relevance of the treat.

The level of security needs to be directly related to the level of threat. However the base level of security in place helps to allow extra measures to be put in place when the treat rises. CCTV cameras allow security staff to monitor any perceived treat as they pass through a terminal and monitor any suspicious behaviour.

It is reassuring to know that within the aviation industry constant monitoring of security solutions are in place however as new technology comes along it’s the duty of security professional to bring this into the public domain. Facial recognition is unquestionably a fantastic tool for the future and at integrated CCTV we see this solution being deployed more and more where security needs to be tightly controlled

However things can go wrong and here is a demonstration of why everyone needs to be vigilant

Honeywell and SureView unite

SureView and Honeywell unite.

Honeywell are actively encouraging collaboration within the security industry as part of its drive to promote the Honeywell open technology alliance. The latest company to come on board is SureView the company behind Immix the central station management software.

The alliance suits both parties and the integration between Immix and WIN-PAK CS 4.1 means integrated access control now has an added level of security and allows other manufacturers equipment to be displayed to the operator through a single graphical interface. This means a response and full management of a an access control system is handled in just one location thus eliminating the need for an on-site guard with all the saving that this can bring.

The whole concept gives companies like SureView the opportunity  to offer their customers more choice when designing there security systems and to ensure integration between different products is made simple. In essence the software captures alerts and alarms from the on-site access control and seamlessly matches this to CCTV images from the cameras on site.

Any integration between access control and CCTV is welcomed and is certainly the way forward for the industry.

CCTV installation,before Xmas,lets wait and see

CCTV for Xmas?


How things turn around. For the last 18 months the CCTV security industry has been eerily quiet. The reasons are obvious. The recession has driven many areas of business to cut back and one of the casualties of this has been the security budget. A make do situation arose where by end users were happy to cancel service agreements and ignore faults that would have normally been rectified as matter of urgency. However the last 2-3 months has seen people seriously considering their security needs again.

CCTV installations start to grow.

CCTV installations have picked up slowly as the economy starts to grow again and there is now signs that with the many bankruptcies that occurred to security installers means there may be a shortage of good installing companies left out there to meet demand.

Can we get installations on the wall before Xmas?

Now it is always the same, Xmas seems to bring mass panic and everyone wants their intruder alarms and CCTV working, upgraded or installed for the holiday period. There are rumours that the “big boys” are already telling their clients that they can’t meet the deadline and intruder alarm and CCTV camera manufacturers are suddenly quoting 2 week lead times for delivery where we have all been used to next day for last couple of years.

Buy cheap buy twice!

So the moral of this story seems to be if you have a fault , fix it sooner rather than later. If you need an installation don’t expect miracles from installing companies who have had to cut staff and prices just to stay in business. And finally those who stuck by their favoured , reliable installing companies instead of shopping around for cheap inadequate replacements, will find that they will have their CCTV and security systems working for Xmas while others are left woefully exposed to crime. It will be very interesting to see how this one pans out.