Today, in the United States in particular, customers are adopting IP-based video cameras rather than the older analog technology. This shift from analog to IP is changing the buying process along with the technology.
“What I find interesting is the changing dynamic in the marketplace,” said Dave Poulin, director of vertical markets for Physical Security & Mobile Video at Panasonic, in an interview with IFSEC Global. “There has been a similar change in the way products are purchased and handled that corresponds with the shift from analog to IP products.”
The real shift began about three years ago, when IP cameras captured half the market share, said Poulin. The prevalence of greenfield video surveillance projects make IP more attractive to US customers, compared to those in the UK who are often faced with rip-and-replace upgrades.
Now, IP-based technology has a strong lead in North America. In fact, four out of five of North American systems integrators and installers currently purchase some IP-based surveillance equipment from IT distributors, according to a June 2012 report from IMS research titled “IP Trends in Security – A Survey of Systems Integrators and Installers.” That figure will reach 90 percent by 2015, the research firm predicts.
Increasingly, IT managers are making decisions about what products are chosen, and are asking hard questions about network bandwidth, resolutions, and more. “IT managers were ranked ahead of other key influencers such as physical security managers, chief security officers, and consultants in their ability to influence which IP-based video surveillance products are chosen,” said the IMS report.
Poulin confirmed:
IT budgets are typically larger than the associated security budgets. Instead of security managers buying an IP-camera and speaking with the IT department about how to incorporate it into the network, increasingly the IT department will buy the security equipment from their budget and incorporate the device into their network.
It’s important to understand who is at the table and manage the sales cycle accordingly. “As this becomes more of an IT play, the conversation changes,” said Poulin. “We have high resolution cameras, for example, but IT wants to understand the impact when those cameras are put on the network.”
This understanding is critical, particularly in large installations. Hundreds, or even thousands, of cameras running in high definition can quickly choke bandwidth. “We need to speak about analytics, facial recognition, resolution, and the rest, but we also have to be cognizant of dealing with bandwidth issues,” said Poulin.
As the move to IP continues, these technology conversations are only going to become more important. Organizations need to figure out how to leverage video management software. The debates of video processing at the server or on the edge of the network will continue.
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Several years ago we talked about the need for managers from IT, IT security and Physical security to work closely together as increasingly CCTV/video surveillance would be IP based. The approach, resisted by some will soon be, as the survey indicates, more common even here in the UK and in Europe. A key issue is the IT security vulnerabilities of IP video – I have spoken with leading Cyber security professionals who have for many years highlighted these issues. They remain unresolved by some security managers…then we have access control..and transportation systems. Perhaps now, at last, there will be further… Read more »
interesting point, I could not agree more with changes in technology, this days IT and security goes hand by hand… and we should have it soon as result of new technology merge better security…
@James Pike, what do you think is the resistance on the part of these groups? It seems very obvious on paper that IP-based systems are well served with IT expertise. IT can also bring useful knowledge when it comes to other areas (I am thinking of, for example, analytics). Cybercriminals will be focusing on these systems increasingly–anything that is attached to the network is de facto a door into corporate systems… and that’s compelling to those who want to monetize stolen information.
@James Pike I remember being involved in some of those IT, IT Security, and Physical Security meetings and it seemed you had the same questions every meeting from the same side and it was the IT group always asking how much bandwidth the purposed solution would take up and the physical security guys always asking who all would have access and how could you tell? These are two worlds that are inevitably colliding so they really should learn to cooperate.
Hailey I absolutely agree that the physical guys depend on IT and crucially IT Security for the reasons you outline. Unfortunately some of our colleagues (in all areas to be fair) don’t see it this way and there are the barriers. Some like to maintain these at all costs for a variety of reasons. They might want to protect their job/department or believe they know enough and don’t need help. Others are just not aware of the issues or they just like to fight their corner. In many organisations the two have been apart and only forced together by a… Read more »
Jonathan Sure yes they collide but I hope that the more time spent on shared problems the better – as the attacker doesn’t care how they get the data. All security professionals should have a passion to protect the company they work for and so really think about how they can do this together for the benefit of the business. In fact they might be surprised that one of the other team has a great idea to resolve an issue which would not have emerged if they hadn’t had the meeting or formed a team. They might also see… Read more »
Certainly, turf wars slow down forward movement. In the security industry, people have seen headcount being reduced through technology, so perhaps its not an unreasonable fear. It’s too bad that crisis is what it takes to bring them together.
Thanks for pointing us toward the ANSI ASIS PAP Standard. Here’s the latest on the standard:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9554406.htm
It’s got to be all about collaborative working rather than tribal working. It’s tempting to be loyal and negative for the sake of it, whatever your job/team. But as you say, good can come out of listening to each other.