Nicaragua News

The end of the year is a great time to reflect on what the security industry has accomplished and to look ahead. We invited our Expert Panel Roundtable to weigh in on what they expect looking forward to the new year. Most industry-watchers are familiar with the major trends, but how will those trends play out in 2017? Specifically, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What will be the biggest headlines for the security marketplace in 2017?

With security, as with any business cost-centre, business leadership wants to find savings where they make sense. As a result, one of the trends we are seeing is that security departments are teaming up with other departments - IT, operations, marketing - to maximise their investment in security systems and leverage the data collected by their physical security sensors to inform their business strategies. Rise in cyber-attacks We have also seen a worrying increase in cyber-attacks, like the hi...

The past year has seen growth in the deployment and use of edge analytics, plus a significant emphasis placed on robust cybersecurity. The expectation for 2017 is that these two trends will continue to be a driving factor for value-based decision making of large, influential customers. IP camera product lines from reliable and well-regarded brands that include edge analytics and offer a trusted, secure platform will be at an advantage over those that don’t. Looking back at the expectation...

2016 was a year of fast-paced changes in the market for video surveillance, especially for higher-resolution and panoramic cameras. We spoke with Scott Schafer, Arecont Vision’s Executive Vice President, for his thoughts on 2016 and the year ahead.   SourceSecurity.com: Did your predictions for 2016 match up with what you thought back at the end of 2015? How has the intervening year changed the thoughts? Scott Schafer: Looking back on our predictions for industry trends...

There has been a lot of investment in safe city projects around the world in 2016, particularly in India, where Qognify is currently involved in a number of major initiatives, as well as upgrading of security systems at major public transportation hubs and international airports. At Qognify, we have seen a continual trend towards organisations wanting their security systems to deliver operational efficiency and effectiveness to the wider business.   Here are some notable trend...

The access control industry is now picking up the challenge of embracing new technologies The access control business has, over the last 10 years, completely changed its image from being a rather unattractive slow growth and conservative business to taking up a position as a fast-growing confident business. The access control industry has listened and acted on the needs of the stakeholders in the supply chain and as a result the world market for access control products and so...

New construction has continued to grow as a result of low interest rates in 2016 and that has positively impacted the security marketplace. Yet the limited availability of skilled labour is becoming a large issue as it leads to higher cost of labour. This also creates a challenge in recruiting, training, and retraining a capable staff in building construction and maintenance activities. As a result, there is a continued desire to improve our efficiency in production, commissioning and the manage...

The security market in 2016 saw an uptick in the economy, the introduction of new technologies, increased compliance requirements in key verticals, and rising concerns over the need for greater security. Users interested in upgrading or deploying new systems consistently chose networked system platforms. This trend further drove the demand for adaptive transmission solutions as a means of repurposing existing analogue infrastructure to accommodate IP devices on a networked platform. As this mi...

Access control and video management systems provide much more data than originally intended An organisation is a complex environment that is ever changing and continuously growing to include more servers, more buildings, more systems and as a result -- includes more risk, costs and threats. As a Chief Operations Officer looks at the many objectives across an organisation, he needs to evaluate how to increase profits, manage risk, and provide a cost-effective route for improvin...

If you want more security, you have to give up some privacy. The familiar trade-off will be tested to new extremes in the United Kingdom in 2017 when the recently ratified Investigatory Powers Bill, a.k.a., the “Snooper’s Charter,” takes effect. Based on the levels of high-tech government surveillance of UK citizens ushered in by the bill, Britons should be very secure indeed. Britain’s new law is the latest reflection of the struggle to balance intelligence agencies&rs...

Three key trends will continue dominating the security industry looking ahead to 2017 – cloud video, predictive maintenance and emergency preparedness.   Cloud video The continued integration of cloud and hosted video into security programmes offers a lot of benefits for customers. The convenience of remotely viewing video footage in real-time or historic footage has been a great benefit to our customers and provides significant business intelligence. It helps with ever...

There will likely continue to be high numbers of lone wolf and soft target attacks in the year ahead. The drivers behind these tragedies are a confluence of self-radicalisation, social media, violent extremism, and mental illness. They will require our skills as security professionals — observation, investigation, interviewing, due diligence — like never before.   Looming in the background of these physical attacks is the prospect of combined physical and cyberatta...

OneM2M’s participation in IoT Grand Slam to highlight IoT interoperability and Release 2 Key members of oneM2M will take part in a virtual panel session which will examine standards for Internet of Things (IoT) interoperability, drawing on key features from oneM2M’s latest set of specifications, Release 2. The discussion will highlight how the organisation is playing a vital role in providing interoperability across a vast number of IoT protocols and will outline o...

Pressure from online shopping is making it even more critical for brick and mortar stores to maximise the revenue per visit Analytics is trending hot for both video and data. The problem for many security video acquisition products is the old adage:  bad data in, results in bad data output. The acquisition device has to be able to deliver on the promise to the end user and perform in challenging environments. What products, with what capabilities, are changing the video a...

The single largest group of consumer IoT devices being deployed is for home automation and residential security Business and technology analysts are in unanimous agreement that the number of IoT devices will explode into the many 10’s of billions within the next five years. These billions of new computing devices will produce enormous volumes of data about ourselves, our society, and our physical environment. The security industry is at ground zero of this upheaval. In f...

The holiday season generates 34% of annual sales for retailers but accounts for 37% of annual losses It is that time a year again, when shoppers and shoplifters converge on our retail outlets looking for that all important deal or steal. Peak shopping season This year, the National Retail Federation estimates holiday spending will rise 3.6% from 2015 to more than $655 billion. While the peak shopping season used to be defined as the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Ev...

Innovation is not an end goal but an ongoing process that must be sustained Regardless of market, the challenge of commoditisation is very real for manufacturers as companies producing lower-end products continue to imitate the most advanced technologies. This creates a perception among customers, and the marketplace in general, that even leading-edge products with greater features, functionality, and value are indistinguishable from others on the market. As a result of commod...

Merging objectives into a business relationship requires ongoing communication along with a shared vision and values A myriad of books has been written on business relationships. From establishing and maintaining business relationships to compensation issues and contract terminations, there’s a how-to book out there on most every aspect of business. While I have never published a business “how-to” book, I do have the benefit of experience in successfully navi...

In a fast-moving market like physical security, sharing information is an essential component of growth. However, there often seems to be more information available than an integrator or end user could ever digest and put to use. How does one go about finding the information he or she needs in an environment that can seem to be drowning in information (sometimes the wrong information). We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable to share their strategies and suggestions. Specifically, we...

This executive brief explores the security risks associated with using CSN instead of reading the data protected by security mechanisms. When contactless smart cards are implemented and deployed properly, they represent one of the most secure identification technologies available. However, some manufacturers, in an attempt to sell a ‘universal’ reader capable of reading almost any contactless smart card technology, actually disable the built-in security...

An extensive survey revealed that 72% of paramedics were in favour of wearing BWCs at work Body worn cameras (BWCs) are fast becoming a staple piece of equipment for police officers across the United States. Police forces, such as NYPD, have trialled and adopted BWCs to take advantage of the many benefits associated with greater accountability and transparency, as well as potential cost savings. Yet, unlike the European market where other industries have also bought in to body...

Long-predicted consolidation in the video surveillance market seems to have slowed somewhat lately – no big mergers or acquisitions have been announced. However, the announced “partnership” between industry giants Bosch and Sony this week presents a new variation on the theme. No companies changed hands, but the result is one fewer player selling video equipment into the market. In the latest deal, Bosch will handle the sales and marketing globally for all of Sony’s vide...

Thermal cameras see heat rather than light, so they are a perfect “human detector” Safeguarding outdoor assets in a reliable and cost-effective manner often comes down to a single requirement: Accurate intruder alerts and timely information about the unfolding event. While there are many technologies available for outdoor security, smart cameras with video analytics have emerged as the solution of choice for detecting intruders in real time outdoors. Yet the best...

The security and safety industry has seen tremendous advances in cloud-based access control recently as cloud computing has opened up a world of possibilities for security and access control. Whether controlling access for a single door or for an entire enterprise spread out over multiple locations, cloud-based hosted or managed solutions allow security dealers and monitoring companies to provide end users with cost-effective, fully-functional turnkey solutions. The benefits are m...

Arecont Vision created the category of multi-sensor panoramic cameras back in 2006. Now the market is taking off, and many manufacturers now offer panoramic cameras. I recently spoke with Jeff Whitney, Arecont Vision’s Director of Marketing, on the current market for panoramic cameras, and also about some other hot topics – from cybersecurity to making the installer’s job easier. SourceSecurity.com: Where do you see the category of multi-sensor panoramic cameras going from he...

Vulnerability scans rely on mostly automated tools to find potential vulnerabilities at either the network or application level Security vulnerability in any network can be found and exploited by hackers and others in no time. The only questions are when this will happen and how much damage an individual could do once they’ve gained access to the network. Recognising this reality, most organisations test their own networks for security weaknesses, whether to meet compli...

Iris recognition measures the unique patterns in the coloured portion of the eye (the iris) and compares that ‘signature’ to the one on file Since the late 1990s, iris recognition technology has been used in banks and airports as a means of identity authentication. Today, its use is widespread in government facilities, schools/research centres, correctional/judicial facilities, healthcare and others. There are a number of reasons for its rising popularity, but firs...

Currently some retailers operate two separate speaker systems in their stores: one for broadcasting background music and one for announcements Twenty years ago, IP network cameras launched a revolution in video surveillance. Today, network audio systems are about to do the same for the speaker market. Back in 1996, the predominant video cameras were analogue. They weren’t intelligent. They required an expensive and complex head-end of recording and monitoring systems....

The fully customisable app offers hotels the flexibility to add functionality as required MediaConcepts, an innovative provider of integrated digital solutions for global hospitality organisations, has integrated its mobile application, Priscilla, with SALTO System’s access control system. Optimising guest experience Already a feature-rich application that offers hotel guests a more intuitive way to access information and services throughout their stay, Priscilla&rsquo...

Bosch and Sony aim to set new standards in high-resolution and low light video imaging Bosch Security Systems and Sony Corporation signed a contract to establish a business partnership to collaborate in the development of innovative products and solutions in the field of video security applications. Effective from the beginning of 2017, the two companies aim to combine their technological expertise to set new standards in high-resolution and low light video imaging. As p...