Security access systems - Expert commentary

Sports stadiums and leagues are constantly pushing for higher security standards & best practices to strengthen venues that may be perceived as "soft targets" Terrorism threats have focused the attention of sports security professionals like Paul Turner, Director of Event Operations & Security for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on how to more effectively screen guests and ensure that fans and athletes are kept safe. It has made the sobering reality that stad...

Key control technology and guard tour systems provide a ready-made solution for healthcare organisations to enhance their security & asset management protocols Morse Watchmans, a leading provider of key management solutions explains how to provide top-notch security and manage asset with a combination of key control systems, asset lockers and guard tour systems. The shift from manpower resources to technology as a main line of defence is having a significant impact on...

As we face 2016, identity management has become more critical to successful security operations. Recent acts of terrorism, border security issues, and the refugee crisis are just a few examples that remind us of the potential risks we face today. As a result, identity management is now firmly cemented into prospective security models across the public and private sectors.   In recent years, organisations and government bodies worldwide have begun to rely increasingly on biomet...

Strong electronic access control (EAC) investments by the healthcare and education verticals were a highlight of a very strong 2015 for Allegion. The company saw double-digit growth in multiple categories for its electronics as well as continued strong growth in commercial markets, with further expansion of software provider integration of Allegion-connected devices.   Mobile connectivity & system integration nurture positive trends Demand for mobile connectivity and inte...

Facial and body behavior analytics can identify people “without interferingwith the pace of life” Biometrics companies throughout the security marketplace are expanding the functionality of their systems for a variety of uses. This article will take a look at what several companies are up to. SRI International’s identity solutions seek to bring convenience, speed and security to existing workflows. SRI’s Iris on the Move (IOM) biometric systems ca...

With increased demand for high-security door locks in all the vertical markets we serve, the last year has been very good for Securitech. Looking forward, we expect this across-the-board growth to continue, as we continue to listen and respond to customer demands and closely monitor industry trends.   In recent years, the security industry has witnessed a growing trend towards development of user-friendly access control solutions that enable customers to have complete control...

2015 has been a huge success for key and asset management company Traka. The manufacturer is predicting growth between 20 and 30 percent. It attributes a large part of its success to the extensive work completed in previous years in the U.S. markets, as the foundations set are now coming to fruition.   However, Traka has also encountered a real culture shift within the industry. Where previously key management systems and intelligent lockers for asset management were seen as a...

HID Global is looking forward to a long term investment in a complete range of secure identity solutions. Also, focusing on its global partnership program will be on the agenda. An increasingly global market for identity and access management is undergoing very rapid development due to technological advances, particularly in communications, where digital mobile solutions are experiencing strong demand. The year 2015 was a good one for HID Global, which has a strong global position and is invest...

Farpointe Data started 2015 in newly relocated offices featuring a larger, more proficient layout that added new manufacturing equipment and increased its production and inventory capabilities. Shortly into the year, Farpointe introduced new WRR-22 and WRR-44 433 MHz receivers that use either 2-button or 4-button transmitters to open two or four different doors from ranges up to 200 feet (61 m). Each button outputs transmitter data over separate Wiegand outputs, yet the receiver installs just...

Budget becomes a major constraint for any school and organisation while addressing safety of their students and staff. IDSecurityOnline, the leading provider of photo identification services will provide customers its innovative ID card solutions irrespective of their budget. The development of cloud-based services and mobile platforms has offered more options to organisations all around the United States in 2015. In the meantime, scare tactics have been the go-to marketing strategy for many se...

2015 was a notable year for Quantum Secure, culminating with the company becoming part of HID Global. Growth was seen in several sectors for us, led by the adoption of our SAFE software solutions in the finance and aviation markets, among others. For the industry in general as it relates to Quantum Secure, predictive security became a more prevalent theme as organisations were tasked with not only providing more data but making sense of the data for use in improving security operations. Another...

The security environment is unsettling and continues to require focus and continuing vigilance to increase security measures. Sensors in active technology systems play an important role in situational awareness, which helps in identifying and responding to emergency situations.   As of October 2015, there were 45 school shootings in the United States. There continues to be grave concern about potential “lone wolf”-type events for individuals and businesses. Situati...

In April of 1775, Paul Revere rode fearlessly through the streets of New England warning the town of Lexington that “The Red Coats are Coming!” It was both a warning and an announcement that a powerful force was upon them. If Paul Revere were alive today and in the security and access control world, he would probably be tweeting, posting, and blogging that “IP access control is coming, and it’s coming faster than you’d expect!” Just as in 1775, it is both a...

Although 2015 seemed like the year of data breaches, it was also the year that the Internet of Things (IoT) achieved real traction. Key management systems and most other advanced security solutions can now be integrated with the networked security system (i.e. identity management, access control, IP video surveillance, intrusion and other systems) to strengthen risk management strategies. Specifically, Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher Touch can now be integrated with Lenel’s OnGuard Acce...

2015 was one of the more stable of the last five years. We’re seeing a fundamental increase in confidence that is freeing up capital spend. There’s a good bit of pent-up demand, and larger projects are being funded. We’re seeing more M&A deals, not an explosive change, but a marked increase and more quality deals. These deals reflect an interest and demand for services and solutions. The commoditisation of cameras and NVR/DVRs is putting pressure on long-term players as we...

Overall, 2015 has yielded positive results across the professional security industry due to the global demand for enhanced and expanded security in response to greater risks and threats. Over the past year, Altronix has participated in the industry’s growth with new technology offerings and an expanded reseller channel. The need to effectively respond to system trouble and remotely manage devices has become increasingly important to maintain security around the clock. More large technolo...

Command centres allow physical and IT security to collaborate for greatersituational awareness and responsiveness Conventional command centres focus on video and access control system monitoring. When something happens at a door, the video system reports the event to one monitor in the command centre, while the access control system reports to another monitor. It is up to the operator to imagine the possibilities, draw the right conclusions, decide on a response and, if necess...

While the access control market typically moves at a near glacial pace, 2015 brought quite a bit of news to the marketplace, including the rise in advanced biometrics, the development of more and more mobile applications for access control and important acquisitions that put smaller manufacturers on the map. For Vanderbilt, 2015 was a big year as we brought the Siemens Security Products business into the fold, building our global brand and awareness of our award-winning solutions that have been...

At 2015 year-end, we are continuing to see a trend toward hardening the perimeter for buildings and property. I believe we are approaching a tipping point with respect to C-suite awareness of the perils of unauthorised entry, often called “piggybacking” or “tailgating” in security vocabulary. Top executives are becoming more aware of the threat and the potential cost of such threats, and they’re motivating their organisations to take action. Role of trusted consult...

SourceSecurity.com’s Expert Panel had a lot to say in 2015 on a variety of topics in our Roundtable discussions.   Not surprisingly, the discussion topics that have generated the most interest (in terms of how much visitor traffic they generated) are the same hot topics we hear about every day in the industry. Our very most-clicked-on Roundtable discussion in 2015 was about the impact of video on privacy rights. Other hot topics that made the Top-10 list of Roundtable d...

2015 was a year of consolidations: The spring of 2015 recorded the highest acquisition rate for a six-month period in 10 years. There were single-digit market growth rates reported in video surveillance due to price erosion affecting revenues. Video solution providers are expanding into access control, and both are slowly but steadily moving into the cloud. Users want the efficiency benefits of converging access control with video verification and unified operation. There are more cloud offering...

Rapid expansion of access control into new roles has been fuelled by panel-less architecture Our world has changed and our industry has changed with it.  Data now rules, and the network is king. The Internet of Things has driven customer expectations in how data is received and can be acted upon. Advances in panel-less pure IP technologies have allowed our customers to redefine the applications of access control. These two colliding forces have put us all in the business...

Throughout 2015 the security industry saw the appearance of numerous mobile credential offerings, signalling the “beginning of the end” of card-based identity, and strengthening of mobile offerings in general. Overall, the security industry enjoyed healthy growth throughout 2015, as reflected in the better-than-index performance of most publicly traded security company stocks.  Cloud companies, in particular, saw the market turning their way, as a number of security vendors ha...

Automated procedures reduce manual errors & help meet regulatory requirements End user demands are growing exponentially every day. Whether it is managing who has access to buildings or areas and when, recording events on video, managing incidents, meeting compliance requirements or demonstrating proof of compliance, the list goes on and on as to what end users must manage to keep their buildings, assets and people safe. Physical security equipment and an effective securi...

Prevention makes tailgating impossible or extremely difficult due to the full height of an entrance Findings from the 2014 Tailgating Survey by Boon Edam Inc., Lillington, North Carolina, found that more than 85 percent of the 250 integrator and end-user respondents were not tracking the number of tailgating incidents. In the access control industry, tailgating is when an unauthorised person follows an authorised personnel through a controlled entrance. More than 50 percent...

Dortronics continues to focus on custom solutions in addition to its line of standard devices Security installers have new ways to add value to their specifications with switches and door controls that can be deployed in a wide range of applications to meet emerging needs of end-users. John FitzPatrick, president of Dortronics Systems Inc., Sag Harbor, New York, says the company continues to work closely with security integrators and their end-user customers to provide co...

With every technological advance that canbenefit museum management comes anotherthat may assist thieves  When protecting art treasures, the first instinct for many security professionals may well be to look at recent advances in technology. Hasn’t the advent of IP-addressable devices provided sufficient tools to protect art exhibits from theft in a discreet manner? Apparently not, and entrenched attitudes abound among curators. Consultants who so much as m...

Ethernet switches are often overlooked andsometimes deemed a cheap connectivity pointwith little to no importance The Ethernet switch is a critical link between cameras, network video recorders (NVRs) and computers that need access to video feeds. The Ethernet switch not only provides the data connectivity but often the power to the IP cameras via Power over Ethernet (PoE). Ethernet switches are the fundamental backbone of a Local Area Network (LAN) and the critical connectivi...

The city of the future needs smart, secure and resilient infrastructure solutions According to the United Nations, the world population will reach almost 8.5 billion by 2030. As populations grow, so do cities. Even now more than half of the world’s inhabitants live in urban areas, and more than one million move from the country to the city every week. This trend places enormous demands on people and infrastructures. Because only when communication, energy, safety, s...

Security cameras provide live, real-time videoto assist security personnel in spottingpotential or real problems Efficient security systems for parking structures deter criminal activities and anti-social elements from destroying property. Over the years, security companies have responded to this need and developed a range of security systems for parking facilities, such as audio intercoms, access cards and video analytic solutions. Systems integrators who want to add new ser...