The Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA), an industry body comprised of leaders, influencers and innovative organizations from all facets within the security, safety and building automation space, is celebrating its one year anniversary. Within its first 12 months, OSSA attracted 30+ members ranging from device manufacturers, software developers and system integrators to distributors and system on a chip (SoC) companies — helping lay the groundwork for improved security, safety, building automation and business intelligence solutions.

“Through OSSA, we have competing and complementary institutions reaching across aisles and stepping outside of their brands to work together to push our whole industry into a new, more prosperous and efficient direction,” said Johan Jubbega, president, Open Security & Safety Alliance. “We’re truly pleased at the progress achieved in just our first year by establishing an open security and safety ecosystem comprised of 30+ renown companies, and having a market-changing digital marketplace and first commercially available video security camera offerings underway for year two as the Alliance continues to provide guidance and interpretation of common standards and specifications to promote more intelligent, productive solutions for users.”

Currently, security and safety solutions are fragmented and there is no collaborative approach to systems working together for bigger picture success, according to OSSA. Large amounts of data are left untapped in siloed systems that through cooperation can instead be utilized for better living, safety and security purposes. 

OSSA’s mission is to work with market players so all start from the same ‘recipe’ when it comes to the development, deployment, operation and maintenance of products, software and services. The Alliance’s vision is that the majority of the security and safety industry works with a common, vendor-agnostic operating system (OS) and IoT infrastructure — and agrees to implement or adhere to common approaches defined for common challenges like data security, privacy, product performance and easy consumption of data across multiple solutions. This will fuel usability and trust when it comes to security and safety solutions that are built on the foundations set forth by OSSA. From there, companies can differentiate through apps by way of a collaborative digital marketplace — similar to how we all access/download/use applications between an app store and our smart phones and other digital devices.   

Within its first year, OSSA member companies created the first common Technology Stack specification including the definition of a common operating system for video security devices. They also started to define the common approaches and establishment of a shared IoT infrastructure, including a digital marketplace. This framework allows the trapped — and mostly unused — data captured by any brand of device to be unleashed and available for good purpose. It also reduces friction when conceiving, deploying and maintaining security and safety devices, systems and settings and inspires innovation by opening the doors to data interpretation and possibilities. OSSA believes this will benefit everyone involved.

Significant outputs from Alliance workgroups over the past 12 months include:

• Documentation of a common Technology Stack including the definition of a common vendor-agnostic OS.
• First description of a common market approach to data security and privacy.
• OSSA member Security and Safety Things GmbH (SAST) realized a first version of its OS as set forth in the common Technology Stack defined by OSSA – enabling the creation of prototype cameras. Together with SAST’s first open app store for security cameras, various innovative applications were showcased this year from ISC West 2019, IFSEC 2019 and GSX 2019. The commercial launch of the platform is planned for Q1 2020.
• OSSA members fulfilled their first prototype cameras based on the commonly defined Technology Stack and OS, and showcased them throughout 2019 at ISC West, IFSEC and GSX.

The Open Security & Safety Alliance’s five founding companies — Bosch Building Technologies, Hanwha Techwin, Milestone Systems, Pelco and VIVOTEK Inc. — are joined by 25+ other inventive international players that currently comprise the OSSA member roster. The Alliance is designed to include everyone and offers membership levels to meet the needs of companies big or small. Benefits of joining OSSA include access to the Alliance framework and the ability to connect, discuss, influence and collaborate with other Alliance members to steer change for the betterment of the industry. 

If your organization is interested in taking a more active role in this global movement, learn more about membership benefits and follow Alliance activities at www.opensecurityandsafetyalliance.org.