a&s Adria – Page 148 – a&s Adria Magazine

Videonetics agrees distribution deal with Ingram Micro

December 28, 2021

Videonetics has entered into a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro, the global leader in technology and supply chain services.

Headquartered in the United States and with representation in 59 countries, Ingram Micro has an established network of 35K+ associates and serving 170K+ customers globally. Ingram Micro will distribute Videonetics AI & DL powered Intelligent VMS, video analytics, intelligent traffic management system and Meraface – facial recognition system, through their expansive channel partners network across India.

Having a market leadership as #1 VMS provider in India and top 5 in Asia, Videonetics is all set to consolidate and further expand its market share, through this alliance.

On this appointment, Avinash Trivedi, VP – Business Development of Videonetics expressed, “At Videonetics, our partners and system integrators play an instrumental role in working closely with end customers. We are delighted to engage our distribution relationship with Ingram Micro. This strategic collaboration will boost our presence in the market, by developing strong bond with channel partners & resellers and delivering our state-of-the-art unified solutions to them, hence accelerating our growth plans in India.”

Access control market predicted to hit $13.1 b by 2026

December 23, 2021

The global access control market with Covid impact is expected to grow from USD 8.6 billion in 2021 to USD 13.1 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.7%, according to the latest research from Marketsandmarkets.

The analysts suggest that continued adoption of Access Control as a Service (ACaaS); implementation of mobile-based access control; global proliferation of smart cities initiatives; and increasing urbanisation in emerging countries are expected to provide huge growth opportunities to the access control market players. The growth of the access control market is driven by high adoption of access control solutions owing to increasing crime rates globally; technological advancements and deployment of wireless technology in security systems; and adoption of IoT-based security systems with cloud computing platforms.

Biometric readers to witness the highest growth

Biometric technologies are used to measure different physiological parameters for identification and authentication purposes in access control systems. Within the report, the market for biometric reader-based access control systems has been further categorised into fingerprint recognition, palm recognition, iris recognition, face recognition, and voice recognition. Biometrics is one of the fastest-growing technologies used to secure perimeters. This technology enables identifying a person’s physical characteristics to provide controlled physical access to infrastructure. This technology is being increasingly used in government facilities, manufacturing units, power stations, defence establishments, and enterprises.

The commercial vertical is the largest end user of access control systems. In this vertical, commercial facilities such as enterprises and data centres; BFSI; retail stores and malls; and entertainment areas are considered. Manned security for all physical locations is difficult and expensive. The demand for access control systems is increasing since they reduce the need for manned security to a greater extent, thereby reducing security expenditure. These factors were found to be encouraging commercial facilities to adopt access control systems to protect people and properties by the researchers.

North America largest geographical market

North America, according to Marketsandmarkets, is more advanced than other regions in terms of the implementation of access control systems. Companies in the US, Canada, and Mexico are making efforts to enhance their expertise and develop innovative access control systems and services. This provides them with greater competitive advantage to increase their share in the region’s access control market. The growing number of cyber and malware attacks in the region has compelled several governments and security agencies to enhance security features in their transactions through the deployment of RFID and biometric technologies, which is further contributing to the overall growth of the access control market.

Major companies involved in the development and supply of access control and cited within the report include many large global players such as Dormakaba, Assa Abloy, Johnson Controls, Allegion, Honeywell, Identiv, Nedap, Suprema, Thales, Bosch, NEC, and Idemia.

New President of Euralarm

December 22, 2021

During the 51st General Assembly of Euralarm, the European association representing the fire safety and security industry, the members have chosen Jon Könz as new President of Euralarm.

Könz succeeds Martin Harvey who was President for the past 3 ½ years. Before being elected President Jon Könz was chair of the Services Section of Euralarm. He is head of Industry Affairs at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

The 2021 General Assembly was held in Brussels where the outgoing President praised the work that was done in fostering internal communications in times when more and more people were bound to their (home) office and much of the communications takes place via online communication platforms. Nevertheless, the association succeeded in aligning opinions and developing clear priorities shared across the whole scope of the industries represented by Euralarm: product and system manufacturers, installers, integrators, service providers, and national associations from all over Europe.

Having added more than 10 new members over the past years, Euralarm now represents a bigger share of the industry, allowing the association to exert more influence at European level. Under Euralarm’s umbrella model, different industry disciplines are represented by distinct Sections with separate membership, but they work together in their high-level dialogue with institutional players and other European stakeholders.

The General Assembly also elected Anja Schäfer (JCI) as chair of the Marketing Committee whereas Dominique Taudin (Carrier) will remain as chair of the Advocacy Committee.

On the following day, section chairs and vice chairs were elected or re-elected by their respective section members. Neil Budd (FIA) was elected vice chair of the Fire Section, Milan Ceeh (AGA) will be the acting chair of the Security Section with Oscar Feijo Jimenez (Verisure) as vice chair. Robert Thilthope (FIA) will succeed Jon Könz as chair of the Services Section with Victoria Ferrera Lopez (Verisure) as vice chair. Alan Elder (JCI) and Tornbjörn Laursen (SikkerhedsBranschen) will remain as chair and vice chair of the Extinguishing Section.

Security 50: Top technology trends of 2021 (and 2020)

December 21, 2021

By: William Pao

Technology-wise, many flourished this year. Yet none received the kind of interest, enthusiasm and inquiries than cloud, whose momentum is set to continue in the near term. But is it really the cure-all solution that addresses users’ ongoing security challenges? Is it the perfect technology that makes users’ problems go away? This note discusses cloud and other prevalent technologies of 2021.

Cloud in security, in the forms of video surveillance-as-a-service or access control-as-a-service, is picking up steam. According to MarketsandMarkets, the VSaaS market is expected to grow from US$2.2 billion in 2020 to $4.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 16 percent.

Indeed, a lot of users migrated to cloud due to its various benefits. “The platform-centric VSaaS model reduces user costs, simplifies application management, and makes the infrastructure more flexible and extensible. It is not only suitable for centralized video surveillance, but also for centralized equipment operation and maintenance management and centralized alarm processing,” said Pan Lingyu, VSaaS Product Director of Dahua Technology.

“VSaaS truly allows for end users of all industries and operational sizes to have an advanced surveillance solution that can both meet their security needs and is easy to maintain in the long-term, and which can prove to be the most cost-efficient throughout the system lifecycle. The partnership and service model that VSaaS enables for end users, manufacturers, and integrators also creates much more lasting relationships and retention rates, while also ensuring that customers can access the best features and functions that fit their operation and knowing that a trusted partner is there to support them if any issues or concerns arise,” said Danielle VanZandt, Industry Analyst for Security at Frost and Sullivan.

Further, cloud adoption has been accelerated during the pandemic. “Cloud migration for data analysis and forensics has been pushed faster than I originally expected. The pandemic pushed companies to start looking at occupancy rates in buildings, seating arrangements and many other health related topics. Cloud in general has allowed for faster development of those products and faster distribution and access to those as well,” said Jason Glover, VP of Sales at BCD.

“VSaaS is not a new concept and has been a trend in the security industry for many years. But recently it has become much more popular since the online operations requirement have grown because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the development of mobile Internet, IoT and 5G technologies also accelerates applications of VSaaS,” said Keen Yao, VP of Hikvision. “The cloud-based VSaaS applications enable users to view real-time security events through app and to accomplish remote inspection tasks. This brings vast benefits in efficiency, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and security. From small business markets to enterprise level, we can see the strengthened trend that more and more businesses are leveraging the VSaaS applications.”

Cloud stands out, but is it the panacea to all your security challenges?

Yet this is not to say cloud is the perfect solution that addresses all user needs. In fact, a recent asmag.com “Technologies that Impact Security” survey finds VSaaS ranked only slightly above the average level for suitability and maturity.

“The cloud offerings of established major video surveillance vendors generally form a small part of their businesses. Cloud-specialist offerings from newer vendors are really only just starting to challenge the scale of many of the incumbent vendors. Presently we believe many cloud video surveillance offerings have not yet matured,” said Josh Woodhouse, Lead Analyst and Founder of Novaira Insights, and Jon Cropley, Principal Analyst at Novaira Insights. “Cloud remains a high growth area, but from a small base.

Indeed, there are certain challenges to cloud adoption. Storage in cloud for an extensive period of time, per certain industry requirements, can be quite expensive, not to mention some industries don’t even allow remote storage. There are also privacy and cybersecurity concerns, as well as other issues.

“Cybersecurity concerns that cast doubt over cloud-based video were also compounded when hackers exploited a remote backdoor exposing 150,000 Verkada cameras in the spring of 2021,” said Joon Jun, President of IDIS Global Business Division. “There are practical challenges to overcome, too, since most VSaaS vendors offer only a small range of 2MP cameras that won’t be fit for purpose for a range of applications. For instance, a 2MP fisheye or panoramic camera is not going to give security managers the performance they need to reliably detect, investigate and prosecute crime. A lack of specialist cameras, as well as more popular ‘work-horse’ models such as 5MP and 8MP PTZs, will limit deployments to indoor settings that don’t require wide-area coverage.”

As a result, hybrid solutions have become the preferred choice for many users. “Hybrid solutions make the best use of cloud, on-premise and edge computing environments in relation to the customer need. There are many factors that will influencer a customer’s decision, both internal and external. The specific nature and functionality needed from the security solution, policies and regulation relating to data processing and protection, cybersecurity, resources for system use, management and maintenance, and many more considerations will influence the most appropriate mix of environments. Ultimately, we believe that most surveillance solutions will be based on a hybrid model,” said Ray Mauritsson, CEO, Axis Communications.

“At this point, most of the access control ecosystem does rely on some form of hybrid cloud solution. For instance, device provisioning requires the cloud as does firmware distribution. Control and access management are usually implemented partially local on-premises and partially in the cloud. Low latency and high reliability are paramount, but remote monitoring, control and analytics are also increasingly important. Our platforms are open to support these and other use cases,” said Vince Wenos, SVP and CTO of Allegion.

And this hybrid cloud model is expected to remain popular in the near future. “Cloud is here to stay. I think some of the laws and rules/regulations need to catch up to cloud. There are some areas in the world that won’t allow video surveillance data to be moved to the cloud for example; that does not stop the management of those systems from being cloud-based. I really believe that on-prem management of the directories, users, etc. will all move to the cloud and the on-prem storage will remain intact for the time being,” Glover said.

Other top technology trends

Besides cloud, other technologies also dominated the security scene in 2021. And they are set to influence security in the near term. We discuss these technologies below.

AI in video surveillance

Ranking high, in terms of both maturity and suitability, on the asmag.com survey is AI, which continues to receive inquiries from customers and whose growth is set to continue.

“Interest in AI video has ramped up considerably since 2019. With many facilities shut or partially open security managers had more time to assess AI and deep-learning based software. Early adoption was hampered by premature launches, with some vendors over promising. But today algorithms have significantly improved,” Jun said. “For instance, when we first launched our AI solution we were achieving 96-97 percent accuracy, but today the latest iteration of IDIS Deep Learning Analytics is delivering 98 percent precision. By the start of 2021, our systems integrators and end-users were expressing confidence that AI would not only improve security operations but have the ability to deliver value to wider stakeholders.

“The demand for AI has exploded in recent years, which is expected to continue in 2022. By embedding AI into end, edge and cloud scenes, more and more AI-based devices will be widely applied in related fields and various industries. With the evolution of AI technology, AI-based analytics will gradually be applied to low-end products, and user experience will be significantly improved,” said Yin Jun, VP of R&D Center at Dahua Technology.

“AI – or more accurately deep learning – is definitely an area where we see growth and innovation, and where there is significant customer demand. The benefits of deep learning will not only enhance the capabilities of surveillance solutions designed for safety and security, but open up new use cases in operational efficiency and effectiveness,” Mauritsson said.

And more and more, AI will be moving to the edge, driven by more capable camera SoCs that support complex algorithms. “Increasingly powerful edge computing has become available for security cameras now, and this makes us believe edge computing stands a good chance of ‘putting AI everywhere,’” Yao said. “Automatic number plate recognition, automated event alert, people counting, heat mapping, illegal parking detection, and hard hat detection, as well as a number of other AI applications, are becoming popular in the security market. With increased edge computing and optimized AI algorithms, it will become normal to see security cameras shoulder more intelligent tasks in the near future.”

“The latest generation of chipsets which will become more widely available in the market in 2022 allow for greater edge processing. Some vendors have already integrated these chipsets into their latest camera lines. Other vendors will soon follow suit. There continues to be development in ecosystems which allow for a range of AI-based applications to be installed on cameras. This is not a new concept. Yet, the improvement in analytics performance combined with higher processing capability of the latest chipsets, now make this concept more attractive to integrators and end-users,” Woodhouse and Cropley said.

Touchless technologies

Touchless solutions are still in high demand as impacts of the pandemic are still felt in various sectors. “Increased biometrics integration and touchless technologies remained very popular throughout 2021 as many end users began to figure out their return-to-work strategies and how to restart more normalized operations in the pandemic era,” VanZandt said. “Changing customer sentiments away from shared touch points, as well as a rise in more remote security operations and management solutions also created new operational models for internal security teams via integrated remote and on-site operations.”

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and related solutions also took the center stage. “With the intensification of attacks from ransomware and killware, the entire industry will need to increase its efforts to protect systems, devices and customers. While cloud and network security technologies are advancing and being rapidly deployed, the technologies for device-level security will not be far behind as we head into 2022 and beyond. Embedded hardware authentication, and the technologies needed to provide it, will become much more prevalent in the next few years,” Wenos said.

“There will also be an increasing focus on data security and data protection. Cyberattacks are on the rise and the damage is now enormous. Here, I see MOBOTIX as a pioneer in the industry. Cybersecurity ‘Made in Germany’ is part of the MOBOTIX DNA. We only install high-performance and high-quality electronic components. This principle is consistent right through to the digital world,” said Thomas Lausten, CEO of MOBOTIX. “Cybersecurity enjoys the highest priority at MOBOTIX and is lived and implemented throughout the MOBOTIX Cactus Concept. Data security with regard to the German Data Protection Act (DSGVO) is also elementary for MOBOTIX.”

Digitization and integration

Technologies which augment video surveillance to provide value beyond security are important. “Video analytics are the typical example; yet, specialist IoT hardware have a role to play in the market. For example, environmental sensors integrated into the surveillance system can add new types of data streams to lead to new applications and value creation,” Woodhouse and Cropley said.

This integration trend is also being driven by the pandemic which has forced users to cut down labor-intensive processes and digitize workflows, a trend that is continuing. “It’s hardly surprising that there’s demand across the world to integrate video with a wider range of third-party systems – including intruder and fire detection, frictionless and touchless access control and visitor management, popular databases such as Microsoft Active Directory, and sector specific systems such as Point-of-Sale (POS) in retail and logistics and manufacturing operations software,” Jun said.

You can read the content related to SECURITY 50 at this link

Industry first standard introduced for security fog systems

December 19, 2021

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has launched its latest code of practice, an industry-first for security fogging.

Security Fog Systems: Installations, Commissioning and Maintenance – code of practice is the first of its kind intending to support the design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of security fog systems conforming to EN 50131-8, as well as to serve as practical aid to mitigate risks and reach operational requirements.

Carl Gibbard, Vice Chair of the BSIA’s Security Equipment Manufacturers section, said: “I am pleased that the BSIA have worked with members and insurance companies to deliver a code of practice which closes a gap in the standards arena, can mitigate risks, and demonstrate the working ability of the professional industry who produce quality products.

Simple installation of an EN 50131-8 security fog device is not enough to consider all factors which may influence the effective operation of a system. This becomes apparent when security fog systems need to perform differently in various scenarios including hold up situations or burglaries.”

A significant amount of time and effort has been put into developing this code of practice on behalf of the industry sector, in an effort to provide a framework for designers, installers and maintainers who wish to apply the European product standard (EN 50131-8) in the UK, while addressing the specific needs of the UK market and its stakeholders.”

Security Fog Systems: Installations, Commissioning and Maintenance – code of practice is available on the BSIA website and has also been put forward to the Fire and Security Excellence Awards for Best Contribution to Standards in the Security Sector.

Adria Security Summit powered by Intersec Returns to Zagreb as a Timely and Welcome Guest

December 17, 2021

Having heralded the recovery of security and related industries with the latest live edition of the Adria Security Summit powered by Intersec in Belgrade, it’s time for the Summit to go west, again. This is why Adria Security Summit powered by Intersec 2022 returns to the Croatian capital of Zagreb on October 5-6 2022. This time, the venue is the Zagreb Fair complex, Pavilion 7. On this occasion, the Summit will serve as a business hub for both companies from the Adriatic region as well as for those hailing from other parts of the globe.

During this two-day event, we want to, once again, contribute to speeding up the recovery of the regional and global security and other industries and promote networking, the exchange of experiences and expertise, as well as the forging of new business alliances.

Yes, all of those features that the Adria Security Summit has become known for as a regional and a continental B2B hub. The specific benefits provided by the Summit include contributing to the business performance of regional companies, supporting the entrance and expansion of global companies in the local markets, and boosting the foreign investments made by international companies in the sectors we cover.

This is why we are expecting to see more than 100 exhibitors from the region and the rest of the globe, and 3000+ participants, 3000+ meetings, and 20+ media and strategic partners we have had so far. We want to turn these pluses into seals of quality of our event that has so far branched beyond the borders of security into the equally important worlds of IoT, ICT, smart solutions, and other disruptive and emerging technologies.

The organizer of the Summit is a&s Adria magazine, with the support of the Messe Frankfurt company. It is a monthly publication whose articles cover many cutting-edge topics that come to prominence as part of the live events we organize. Our participants read it to stay up-to-date with the latest in security and related industries.

This is why we are inviting you to keep a watchful eye on all news relevant to the coming Adria Security Summit 2022 in Zagreb, as a place at which we will celebrate our industries and push them forward with smart business networking and the promotion of innovation.

Stay tuned and regularly check our website for more information. Information is readily available at www.adriasecuritysummit.com.

Allegion launches accelerator fund to the tune of $100 million

December 16, 2021

Allegion Ventures – the corporate ventures arm of Allegion plc – has launched a second fund to accelerate technology and software investments in IoT and data security, building analytics, construction lifecycle management and property management. $100 million is allocated to Fund II, double the size of Allegion Ventures’ initial $50 million fund that launched in March 2018.

Bobby Prostko has been named managing director for Fund II. Prostko, who joined Allegion Ventures as a principal in 2018, also serves as Allegion’s deputy general counsel, intellectual property and cyber security, and chief privacy officer. He said the success of partnerships built through Fund I drove momentum for the creation of Fund II, which will write initial checks that are generally in the range of $500,000 to $10 million.

“For more than three years now, Allegion Ventures has taken an investing approach designed both to deliver financial returns and to spur innovation,” Prostko said. “Given the success we’ve had with that approach, we’ll continue to invest in promising companies where Allegion Ventures can be a strategic partner, adding value through our expertise in global markets, commercial and channel relationships, security standards and operational excellence. We’re inspired by and want to explore new technologies and software solutions that creatively solve common problems in an expanded list of targeted sectors – and we’re in a position where we can take bigger bets for the right opportunities.”

President Rob Martens and Chief Marketing Officer Doshia Stewart, co-founders of Allegion Ventures, said the team remains active in its support of Fund I investments.

“Allegion Ventures continues to invest in its Fund I portfolio companies, and our principals and associates are actively involved with them as board members, observers and collaboration partners,” Martens said.

“We’re very proud of the innovation and growth we are seeing from the early-stage companies we’ve already invested in, as they go beyond traditional approaches to bridge physical and digital security and create seamless user experiences,” Stewart added.

Fund I is focused on people flow, seamless access, campus safety and asset management. Its seven active portfolio companies include HqO, Kasa, Mapped, Mint House, Pindrop, Robin and Vergesense.

“VergeSense is proud to be a part of the Allegion Ventures Fund I family, and we appreciate their continued strategic support of our business,” said Dan Ryan, CEO of Vergesense. “The Allegion Ventures team has brought a lot of value to Vergesense through its vast industry knowledge helping us to build a leading workplace analytics platform. We congratulate Allegion Ventures on the launch of Fund II and look forward to watching them expand the impact of innovative software and technologies that create seamless user experiences.”

Allegion Ventures Fund I additionally invested in Openpath Security, which was acquired by Motorola Solutions earlier this year.

Interview: Robin Hughes, Secure Logiq

December 14, 2021

One of my customers approached me and explained that by optimising the server hardware specifically for the HD CCTV application it was being used for you can massively increase the performance. He proved to me that he could achieve over 15 times the incoming camera throughput of the servers and we decided that there was a business opportunity. It is Secure Logiq’s tenth anniversary this year and I am delighted to say we were right.

a&s Adria: Mr. Hughes, for a start, could you present yourself, your educational and professional background, and the role you’re playing at Secure Logiq?

Hughes: I’m Robin Hughes, co-founder of Secure Logiq and known to the industry as an evangelist for the technology we make. As a company that has grown organically over the last ten years my various roles have included pre-sales, sales, marketing, system design and even accounts, in fact anything that doesn’t involve using a screwdriver.

I have worked in the electronic security product industry since I left university nearly 30 years ago, the vast majority of this time in the distribution and manufacturing sector. I have been lucky enough to have been at the cutting edge of CCTV innovation for my whole career, being the first to introduce colour/mono cameras, speed domes, digital video recorders, Video analytics and Megapixel CCTV to the EMEA market. I have been at the forefront of, and consider myself to have played a big part in the transition of the CCTV industry from analogue to digital to megapixel where the requirement for ultra-high throughput, high storage density servers began. Whilst I am by no means a technical person, I have always made a point of knowing a product inside out before I promote it and have an excellent understanding of integration and system design. All of these traits I believe are necessary to get a full understanding of the amazing industry we are part of.

a&s Adria: Since 2011, Secure Logiq has been developing a missing piece of the HD surveillance jigsaw. What is that piece and how did you and your colleagues come up with the idea to fill that gap?

Hughes: The transition from analogue to IP surveillance has been incredibly slow, mainly due to the difference in skill set between the physical security integrator and IT infrastructure specialists. For many reasons our industry has always been a bit behind the curve when it comes to IT expertise. I was working for well-known megapixel camera and VMS manufacturer who were using commercial off the shelf (COTS) servers as the recording medium. One of my customers who was purchasing cameras and VMS software only approached me and explained that by optimising the server hardware specifically for the application it was being used for (in this case HD CCTV) you can massively increase the performance. He proved to me that he could achieve over 15 times the incoming camera throughput of the servers I was selling at the time as an end-to-end solution and we decided between us that there was a massive gap in the market and a business opportunity. It is Secure Logiq’s tenth anniversary this year and I am delighted to say we were right and are now the leading independent manufacturer of servers optimised for HD surveillance globally.

a&s Adria: Users can select best-of-breed IP cameras or VMS, but then select a server that was never designed and optimized for video. What are the shortcomings of that?

Hughes: We have server, workstation and client hardware for every application. In all honesty, for most small to medium sized installations which are not utilising a DVR / NVR solution a COTS server will handle the data just fine. However, when you get larger or more complex projects that is when that deep knowledge of everything involved with HD surveillance kicks in.

The mathematics behind calculating the processing and storage requirements for video is actually quite simple. It is based on a few basic variables such as camera resolution, frame rate and the archive time required. Where it gets more complicated is when you have to start factoring in additional functionality such as licence plate recognition, advanced video analytics, streaming to mobile devices, or thinking about the outgoing bandwidth requirements for a large control room with multiple monitors. Add to this that every piece of software operates in a different way and interacts and utilises different components and you soon discover that specialist knowledge is required. Within the IT world, software and hardware are also completely different disciplines which is why to date most VMS suppliers are content with recommending or rebadging IT centric solutions rather than a specialist optimised product. However, a well-designed hardware solution can offer savings in capital expenditure whilst significantly reducing annual operational costs.

a&s Adria: When we talk about performance, what’s the top speed your servers can achieve? What would you normally use to test it and what tool do you use instead?

Hughes: There is a common misconception in the industry that to increase the total incoming camera throughput of a server you simply need to upgrade the processor. However, with specialist knowledge and the correct selection of components there are much better ways to optimise throughput. In our industry there is a huge and often confusing variation in the way that the processing capability is defined. It could be number of cameras, total number of megapixels, average bandwidth or many more, but this still leaves so many variables that mistakes are often made and the server will underperform or even fail. The only way to accurately represent this number is the total peak camera traffic that the server can handle with certain software and whilst performing multiple tasks but without having to make compromises on camera performance. Our highest performing servers are available today with incoming camera throughputs in excess of 4,000Mbps, equivalent to more than ten IT-centric servers. When we released these numbers to the industry, obviously we were asked to ‘prove it’ which at the time would have involved setting up 1,000 HD cameras with a rack full of switches which was unrealistic so our software development department engineered a solution called Logiqal Benchmark, a software which allows us to create a virtual IP CCTV system of any size.

a&s Adria: Do you use Logiqal Benchmark simulator to optimize the system for different VMS solutions? Can you give us an example?

Hughes: Logiqal Benchmark contains a ‘camera replicator facility’ allowing us to take any number of live or pre-recorded streams of video and duplicate them multiple times on distinct IP addresses to simulate the load of all cameras recording to an IP surveillance system of any size. Additional system features such as multiple client machines, ANPR, video analytics and mobile transcoding can also be added virtually to give a simulation of the overall system and our advanced diagnostics will provide valuable and accurate system data, such as actual and peak throughput ratings, disk read / write speeds, power consumption and temperature readings.

Different VMS solutions can be applied to compare the various software’s efficiency with the specified hardware solution. We use this as a tool to monitor how the data interacts with the server and fine tune components and settings to optimise the server towards a particular VMS. The server we sell for an Avigilon solution might be very different to a server we sell for a Milestone application even with the exact same camera count, resolution and frame rates. Logiqal Benchmark has proven to be a great tool for our internal testing but also for allowing us to prove that we can do a lot more with a lot less hardware therefore minimising cost, power and rackspace requirements.

a&s Adria: Since the law in countries around the world regulate the length of archiving recordings differently, what can Secure Logiq do to offer more storage space?

Hughes: We do have many more options available than traditional IT distributors to offer larger storage on a scale that is not often demanded in typical IT scenarios. There is nothing more storage intensive than real-time video other than multiple streams of HD video recording simultaneously for extended periods of time. As a result, we need much more storage than typical server room applications. At Secure Logiq, we offer the industry’s highest storage density servers and currently are able to offer direct attached storage (DAS) options of over 1.5 Petabytes in a single 4U server. This is of course a large number but remember that different regions demand different storage archives.

Due to data protection laws, large parts of Europe only record video for seven days in a typical installation. In the UK and most of the world 30 days is commonly specified, but in the Middle East it is not unusual to record the video for 90 or even 180 days which would be exactly three or six times the storage required for the same project in the UK. For even larger storage requirements we also offer SAN solutions that can scale to over 12 Petabytes on a single recording server. Most of our customers rely on us to help them determine the best storage solution for their application.

a&s Adria: It’s interesting that you have tested how much storage you need with different industry storage calculators and the same propositions. What results did you receive?

Hughes: In general, industry calculators are poor and often give wildly varied results and partial information. As an experiment I inputted the exact same camera statistics into five different well-known industry calculators, it was 100 x 1080P cameras recording with H264 compression, default quality, medium scene complexity at 12 frames per second for 31 days. Results varied from 49TB to 175TB with the lower numbers interestingly being from VMS brands that did not supply their own server hardware.

Technically the mathematics is exactly the same with the only variables being an individual’s concept of what constitutes an average acceptable image and how they have defined how complex that image is at the programming level. This is where vast experience comes into play. At Secure Logiq we have invested heavily in our design team and offer a design guarantee, if you let us do the calculations for you, we will guarantee the processing and storage necessary and if we get it wrong we make up any shortfall ourselves, free of charge.

a&s Adria: What RAID architecture do you use to achieve greater resilience against data loss?

Hughes: To help redundancy and improve performance the Secure Logiq range of HD servers utilise a number of different RAID architecture levels. The type of RAID structure we use depends on what is best for your application. We can supply any RAID configuration, but our default configuration is optimised for value and performance versus risk. In general terms, the more hard drives we utilise in a system the more redundant drives we have. Our best-selling servers which are the 2U servers do utilise RAID5 + Hot spare which like RAID6 has two ‘redundant’ HDDs but in the event of a disk failure has a significantly faster rebuild time, which is very important when your servers are under as much stress as an HD CCTV application. When correctly configured this will also increase the total throughput of the unit. Our ultra-high density SAN units offer erasure coding which has advantages over RAID in terms of rebuild times and flexibility when expanding the storage of the system whilst retaining the existing archive.

a&s Adria: What are the other features of Secure Logiq servers that increase their resilience? Why do you use enterprise drives instead of surveillance drives?

Hughes: If you are using a VMS and a server rather than an NVR solution, then it is likely that you are in the enterprise CCTV arena, and it is also likely that the solution is for a mission critical application. Based on this assumption, all Secure Logiq servers are built with multiple layers of resilience as standard, so that they do not fail in the field or if a component fails it will not affect the overall system operation.

All of our enterprise server range is hand made in London with a strict quality control process during which all products are soak and load tested before despatch. We only utilise the highest quality enterprise components and all servers feature a five-year, next business day, global onsite warranty. Often offered as optional extras by our competitors, we design in resilience features as standard, such as dual redundant power supplies; the Operating System and VMS applications separated from the main HDD archive on two mirrored Solid State Drives (SSD’s) in RAID1; and Battery backed RAID to ensure the disk array shuts down correctly in case of power failures. As mentioned before, we offer RAID to suit the application, IPMI for advanced remote diagnostics and support and Logiqal Healthcheck for system status monitoring.

Regarding the drives, if you go to any HDD manufacturer and ask what you should use to store mission critical data, they will point you to Enterprise HDDs every time. Our industry is ‘Big Data’, nothing puts HDDs under as much duress as Gigabits of data constantly writing and overwriting, so you want something that was designed for this purpose. Enterprise drives are rated for continuous use with a five-year warranty, they are designed for high throughput (540TB per annum), they have advanced enterprise class architecture which leads to a low failure rate which is ultimately best for our customers but also reduces our support burden.

a&s Adria: You are the only CCTV partner for Stratus everRun in the EMEA region. What are the benefits of having two mirrored management servers?

Hughes: In the VMS world there are two types of system, those with intelligence and functionality distributed between the server estate (Avigilon and Axxonsoft for example) and those with a management server (Milestone and Genetec). Whilst both have their benefits, and all offer advanced failover models, in the second model the management server becomes the single point of failure with the potential to take an entire system offline.

Having two mirrored management servers utilising Stratus everRun eliminates that risk without the need for very advanced IT skills and additional Microsoft licencing. People often forget that even with failover on the recording servers, if you lose a server you lose the video archive on that server so you will not have access to the video from the cameras stored on those servers. However, in tandem with Stratus everRun we can also help design advanced failover models like ‘dual recording’ so that even when losing a management server and a recording server we would have zero downtime and the customer can continue to access the video archive from all of the cameras for the most recent events. We have deployed these systems in multiple high security applications such as banks, airports and datacentres.

a&s Adria: All of your servers come with Logiqal Healthcheck Pro. What processes do you monitor with that tool and can it help to prevent storage failures?

Hughes: Written internally by our software development team, Logiqal Healthcheck Pro is a software utility which is installed on all Secure Logiq hardware and, given permission, will monitor every process and component within our servers. This allows us and our customers to reduce maintenance requirements whilst increasing support performance. Our customers can view their entire server estate globally, either displayed as icons or on a map, and a full set of green lights will give them the confidence that there are no issues on site. A simple to follow traffic light system will alert customers of any potential or actual problems within the server, down to the component level including failed hard drives or temperature issues. The system can also be configured to send emails or SMS alerts depending on the severity of the problem so that an engineer can be alerted within five seconds of any issue arising. This allows our customers to offer a level of pre-emptive maintenance and support which has never been seen before in the industry

a&s Adria: Maybe you could share with us a case study so we can grasp all the benefits of customized Secure Logiq servers for video surveillance systems?

Hughes: Let me give you an example of surveillance solution that benefited purely from upgrading the server element of the solution. A well-known London-based English Premier League football club were early adopters of HD surveillance and immediately understood the benefits of an ultra-high resolution surveillance system which featured large sensor multi-megapixel cameras installed across the entire stadium. Six years ago, storage was a premium and three quotations were offered by the integrator £150,000, £300,000 and £1M, the only difference between these quotes was the total amount of processing and storage that was on offer. The end user opted for the middle quotation.

The IT world moves much faster than the CCTV industry and it is commonly accepted that IT hardware is ‘end of life’ after five years while modern solid state cameras have a lifespan of 10-15 years and VMS software usually has a paid or free upgrade path for the life of the system, though this again is highly dependent on the suitability of hardware being used. When the existing servers began to fail, and the software demanded more modern technology to fully utilise the latest features the integrator approached Secure Logiq for advice. We were able to replace the existing 15 servers with just two, high throughput, high storage density servers but at the same time offer them six times the processing and storage than they previously had.

The end result was that the football club was able to increase the frame rate to its maximum on every existing camera at the stadium and massively reduce compression, therefore increasing image quality. This completely transformed the existing security system by simply replacing the server hardware but in the time elapsed from the original installation the price for the server hardware was a fraction of the top level quotation.

a&s Adria: You recently attended Adria Security Summit in Belgrade as an exhibitor. Are you looking for regional partners and what are your plans for the Southeast Europe security market in general?

Hughes: We are constantly striving to increase our global footprint and our debut at the Adria Security summit this year was a really great solution for increasing our visibility in this region. We currently export to and support products in 42 countries across six continents and we are hoping to attract both integration and distribution partners in Southeast Europe and beyond.

This is one of the main reasons why we hired an extremely experienced and well-known European Sales Manager, Ivan Sval, who is based in Slovenia. We are certain that not just through our product but our extensive knowledge of IP CCTV and our incredible design services, we will be able to add value and help our partners succeed with any project utilising a VMS or video analytics-based solution.

a&s Adria: What can we expect from Secure Logiq in the years ahead, in terms of expansion of the product portfolio, new business strategies, and technologies?

Hughes: Video Analytics is an area we are heavily invested in, which is a really specialist area of server design. As these features become more cost effective and even free in some enterprise VMS solutions the server design will have increased importance even in the small to medium size projects. These applications will nearly always require a custom designed server and returning the designs quickly as well as being able to build and ship the equipment in a short time frame will remain our prime objective in supporting our partners.

As you have heard we have already invested heavily in a software development team, but our product management department are really excited to create hardware elements specifically designed for the efficient processing of HD video. Our primary growth objective is to replicate the success we have seen in the UK and many other regions by attracting a larger global customer base to join the Secure Logiq family.

Dahua technology selected for smart distribution centre

December 14, 2021

A large warehouse and distribution centre is benefitting from a 64-camera video surveillance system from Dahua Technology. The site is the main UK warehouse for Pets Corner, a nationwide chain of more than 150 stores dealing with pets, pet food and pet accessories.

The purpose built 43,000 sq ft warehouse in West Sussex was opened last year and supplies all the UK stores and the company’s online business. The site features solar panels for lighting, heating and electric charging points and operates a zero-landfill policy. The objectives for the surveillance system are to monitor the health and safety of workers, reduce stock damage and shrinkage, and protect lorries parked in the yard overnight.

The cameras – installed by Urban Security Systems & Fire – comprise a mix of Dahua Starlight domes and AI bullet cameras. All have a minimum of 5MP resolution and feature AI analytics, enabling features such as face recognition, ANPR, content analytics, incident detection, people counting and heat maps. Cameras have high image quality, bandwidth efficiency using H.265 compression and edge analytics, and excellent low light performance. Cameras were colour-matched to blend in with the interior of the building by the distributor of the equipment, Oprema. The cameras are installed internally and externally, at the top and bottom of each aisle and at all delivery entry and exit points. The system is monitored out of hours by Southern Monitoring.

Power is delivered over Ethernet cable, so reducing and simplifying cabling requirements. Using ePoE cameras enabled the integrator to run cable over 95m in distance, and in one case as far as 160m. Other Dahua equipment installed was a 64TB NVR, three managed ePoE Ethernet switches, and a 24-port Gigabit L2+ managed ethernet switch.

“Dahua’s level of support to us has been outstanding throughout the project, and we are also impressed with the build quality of the equipment,” said Andy Lloyd, Director of Urban Security Systems. “The PoE type cameras greatly assisted with the design and installation of the cable infrastructure and kept costs down, negating the need for additional PoE switches due to the length of cable runs.”

Graham Denny, Director of Logistics at Pets Corner, said: “When building our new National Distribution Centre, we wanted a system that would not only give us maximum security but assist in maintaining operational and health and safety standards. The results from Urban Security Systems are excellent, providing us with outstanding video imagery, which is simple to use on my laptop, desktop and phone. Therefore I would highly recommend both the Dahua CCTV system for anyone with a similar requirement and of course Urban for their great installation, large parts of which were carried out safely and professionally while we were operational.”

Securitas acquires Stanley Security

December 14, 2021

Securitas acquires Stanley Security, the Electronic Security Solutions business from Stanley Black & Decker Inc. for a cash purchase price of US $3,200 million on a debt and cash free basis.

According to Reuters this will be the company’s biggest acquisition to date and essentially Securitas will be buying back a company that it originally floated on the Stockholm stock exchange in 2006 called Securitas Systems, which, Stanley Black & Decker bought in 2011.

Stanley Security is a highly reputable provider of electronic security solutions with operations in 12 markets globally, expected to generate sales of nearly US $1,700 million in 2021, of which around 40% is recurring revenue.

Significant commercial synergy opportunities with over 500,000 existing as well as new clients, adds significant scale and innovation potential in the attractive US $70 billion electronic security market, and creates a leading platform to accelerate growth.

The acquisition is expected to complete in the first half year of 2022, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions

By acquiring Stanley Security, Securitas transforms the dynamics of the security industry by creating a unique combination of presence, connected technology and intelligent use of data. Securitas’ strategy is to deliver comprehensive, scalable, and innovative security solutions to meet its clients’ increasingly complex security needs. Stanley Security’s complementary offering of industry-leading tech-enabled security, together with complementary geographical coverage, is in perfect alignment with this ambition. The acquisition is a significant step towards Securitas achieving its ambition of doubling sales from higher margin security solutions and electronic security by 2023.

Headquartered in Indianapolis in the U.S., Stanley Security has a 30-year history of protecting its clients world-wide through an industry-leading portfolio of tech-enabled security services, ranging from alarm monitoring to systems integration, as well as a specialised healthcare offering. The acquisition perimeter includes commercial electronic security and healthcare solutions, where Stanley Security has deep expertise and an extensive innovation pipeline, but excludes door automation. Today, Stanley Security is one of the most recognised electronic security providers worldwide, with approximately 7,800 employees operating through approximately 200 locations and 16 monitoring centres in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Ireland.

“This means that Securitas becomes an exceptional player in the security industry. Together with Stanley Security, our largest acquisition in history, the profile of Securitas changes from a leading guarding company with electronic security and solutions capabilities, to a leading intelligent security solutions partner”, says Magnus Ahlqvist, President and CEO. “The future of security is built around the combination of global presence, connected technology and intelligent use of data and, together with Stanley Security, Securitas is perfectly placed to win in this environment. Together, our offering is cutting edge and we will be in an outstanding position to deliver safety and peace of mind to clients and communities around the world.”

Videonetics agrees distribution deal with Ingram Micro

Access control market predicted to hit $13.1 b by 2026

New President of Euralarm