Using these standards allows IT-savvy integrators or campus end users to integrate security systems with other disparate security systems or onto the enterprise platform. As standards continue to evolve in the physical security industry, it will also help adoption by the integrator community. Standards make it easier to train and develop the people responsible for implementing integrated systems.
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How do you think that the convergence of physical security with IT has impacted openness and innovation in physical security products, and what role have end users played versus system integrators?
Underwood: The physical security industry and the IT industry are now sharing the same
infrastructure resources and, in some cases, the same suppliers or vendors. Overall, I think that’s a good thing.
I believe most end users have a pretty decent grasp of networks, which allows them to make more intelligent decisions when it comes to the latest IP-based technology available in physical security solutions.
Moceri: The convergence of physical security and IT has clearly hastened the move toward openness by manufacturers. End users looking to lower operating costs, achieve regulatory compliance and eliminate duplication such as employee credentials in the physical security system and IT system are driving the demand for openness.
The integrator’s need is for a more simplified way of achieving this integration. While a higher skill level is needed for today’s integrator, better customer solutions can be delivered with physical security products incorporating open IT standards.
Single-source buying appears to be giving way to best of breed buying. Under this new approach, how has the selling process/purchasing process changed?
Underwood: While it may have been convenient to purchase all of the components of a system from a single source, it didn’t necessarily mean that all of the parts combined created the best solution. A manufacturer may make a great surveillance solution that only integrates with the same company’s access control solution that doesn’t work that well at all.
I think we saw that trend in the physical security industry a few years ago, and now things are turning the other way. Open systems and products give integrators and end users a broader choice of features and price points to meet their requirements and budget.
Moceri: An integrator’s value proposition moves away from product bells and whistles to that of service in the new open world. If an end user can now purchase the same open solution from a number of integrators, the integrator who demonstrates the best understanding of the customer issue along with the best demonstrated ability to deliver will win business more often than not.
John Moss is CEO of Framingham, Mass.-based S2 Security Corp., a provider of integrated physical security management products. Moss is the founder and former CEO of Software House, now a unit of Tyco Int’l, and a member of the SSI Hall of Fame. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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