In March of this year in Seattle, The Great Conversation had a keynote speaker who asked a compelling question: "What is your Globe?".

From the April print edition of SD&I Magazine.

A value perspective from the technology vendors

Just recently The Sage Group interviewed a number of technology vendors. Here are the questions and the results of our survey:

By Ron Worman, The Sage Group

The Great Conversation, hosted by Aronson Security Group (the ASG Summit and Expo) in March of 2012 featured a keynote from Mike Howard, the CSO of Microsoft Global Security titled: Why the Cloud Changes Everything.

We are offering a truncated version of his speech to those who were not able to attend. I thought I might provide some highlights to look for as you view it.

ASG recently attended the Secured Cities Event in Chicago hosted by Cygnus Business Media.  With over 150 attendees, the event showcased presentations and technology important to securing our cities.  

If you are a part of a team challenged with securing a city, there is an event next week in Chicago you don’t want to miss!  Secured Cities, hosted by Cygnus Business Media, is the premier conference for anyone part of urban security or municipal surveillance in North America.  This two-day conference runs April 19 – 20 and will be held at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel.  Aronson Security Group will be participating and looks forward to learning more about the critical issues facing our cities and their safety teams.  

Lightfinder technology brings color video to night surveillance

By James Marcella, Director of Technical Services, Axis Communications

As IP video imaging technology continues to improve each day, network cameras will ultimately be able to see better than the human eye, especially in low- to no-light conditions. Historically, your typical day/night camera will automatically remove the IR-cut filter from the sensor at night to deliver a usable black and white image. With the help of IR illumination, this black and white image becomes even clearer. But what if you needed clear color detail? 

Future Proofing Video Surveillance at Orange County Convention's 2.5 Million Square Foot Facility

The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), located in Orlando, Florida, is the nation's second largest convention facility and a world-class destination. The complex is comprised of two separate buildings connected by a 1,500 foot, open-air bridge with moving sidewalks across International Drive.

OCCC sought to increase the effectiveness of their surveillance operations by replacing its analog cameras and video encoders with superior performance IP cameras. During an extensive camera evaluation process, Manny Rustia, MIS Analyst for the OCCC, and his colleagues narrowed the choice down to cameras with resolution above 3 megapixels with H.264 compression and day/night capabilities as a way of “future-proofing” the system. “Arecont Vision was the hands-down standout based on megapixel quality and price,” said Rustia.

From Setracon's President, Jeffrey Slotnick

In the first half of my letter I posed some questions, some risks, and some possible approaches. In this I will try to delineate further the approaches that might be taken to secure your university.

Having a well-trained Crisis management team, well written policies and procedures, exceptional communication ability, and a collaborative environment can assist an institution in eliminating or mitigating most events. Crisis management has four objectives:

•    Reducing tension during the incident
•    Demonstrating corporate commitment and expertise
•    Controlling the flow and accuracy of information
•    Managing resources effectively

The new approach to the door opening that is changing the industry.

By Martin Huddart, Vice President, Electronic Access Control for ASSA ABLOY

We live in a world of constant change. The security industry is no exception.  Every day decision-makers are faced with not only ensuring the safety and security of personnel and property, but are also required to achieve new compliance standards, without the necessary budget or additional resources to do so.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rodney Bosch from Security Sales & Integration about the growing medium security market that’s changing the industry as we know it. In the article, Cracking the Electric Lock Marketplace, we discussed the benefits of electro-mechanical locks and how they’ve become a new player in medium security access control.

Looking at the big picture, access control allows us to enforce policy through technology and apply it on a sliding scale. This means that we don’t have to apply a one size fits all model, especially when many of the openings are non-traditional (non-door) openings.

This sliding scale can be explained by a security technology continuum that illustrates the full range of options, from patented key systems to full-featured, online integrated locksets with many options in between. This allows a facility to upgrade padlocks and gates to support audit and centralized control of access as well as extend the security envelope to include, not only perimeter doors, but interior doors as well, that were typically too expensive to include in traditional access control.  

I believe the middle of this continuum, or the medium security segment, is the fastest growing segment in the industry. A broad suite of products has become available; from $200 mechanical locks up to $3,000-$4,000 online access controlled openings.  

We have found that integrators and end users are seeking assistance with the specification and product selection to meet the right level of security. This assistance would include combining components, leveraging existing network infrastructure, and emphasizing convenience features to create the perfect fit for medium security.

An example would be a facility manager looking to update the openings in a few remote locations that lack an existing wired infrastructure. Old mechanical locks can be replaced by electronic locks and cylinders at a very affordable price, and fulfill new security mandates for industries facing new regulations. This doable upgrade results in a higher level of key control, forensic audit data and boosted accountability. Finding a team to work together to ensure that your needs are properly assessed, products are benchmarked against that need, and, finally, configured and installed properly is paramount.

It would be interesting to hear from you on your experience in dealing with medium security needs and approaches you have taken in response.

By Eric David Scott, ASG Account Executive

At ASG we are hosting a forum around the Architectural, Engineering and Consulting (AEC) Industry to discuss the collaboration of diverse disciplines around whole building design including security. This recent post from one of our ASG Professional Services Consultants is timely and valuable for those involved in this industry.

Some of the issues discussed in our forum have included:
• Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
• Identifying and achieving effective coordination between related section trades
• A model code for security:  when will one be written?
• Specifying and enforcing quality assurance requirements
• The Designer’s Guide to the Security Galaxy:  The Definitive Design Practitioners Handbook

We are looking for interested parties, both end users and AEC providers, to weigh in on this discussion. We encourage you to participate by commenting on this blog below or joining us in The Great Conversation in Security LinkedIn Group.