ASIS International is redefining the show floor experience for Global Security Exchange (GSX), formerly called the ASIS Annual Seminar and Exhibits.

Video is the darling of the dealer-run or third party central station, and while it’s not new technology by any stretch of the imagination it’s a growing category offering innovative ways to bring sight, sound and detailed visual information and data to security monitoring.

With a particular focus on the application of video surveillance technologies in central station monitoring, Video Monitoring TODAY features perspective from industry experts, profiles of leading companies, coverage of trends and issues, and relevant news. This first issue is dedicated to fully exploring the opportunity that video monitoring presents to dealers and integrators, whether you have your own central station or use a third-party service.

COPS Monitoring, Williamstown, N.J., recently announced it is building dedicated mPERS monitoring centers inside its N.J. facility and one other site (to be announced), from which it will be offering mPERS to its dealers. Jim McMullen, president and COO of COPS, discussed the move in an exclusive Q&A with SDM.

Shoplifting has again surpassed employee theft as the leading cause of shrinkage for the fourth consecutive year.

SentryCon, SentryNet’s annual dealer conference held in Biloxi, Miss., was held April 23-26 with more than 225 security industry professionals in attendance. The main focuses for this year’s conference included how to deal with current challenges facing the security industry and how to increase business and RMR.

One of the themes I have been presenting in my classes and speeches is the “professional” products and services that our industry can provide clients. It should be obvious to anyone that the flood of do-it-yourself (DIY) products  combined with the megadollar advertising budgets of their manufacturers are enabling consumers to DIY their alarm and video.

HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, recently announced the next step in its collaboration with Microsoft to deliver solutions that allow users to use smart cards to log into Microsoft Windows, devices and cloud-based apps, eliminating the sole reliance on username and password. A new FIDO 2.0-based authentication solution combines HID’s expertise in authentication with Microsoft’s expertise to add an extra layer of security to protect against more severe, emerging threats.

IC Realtime’s new portal is designed to give security dealers tools and setup guides to add the company’s video search engine, Ella, to any job.

Learning is a lifelong pursuit, and when it comes to security — and the rapid changes in technology and solutions — it can be a daunting prospect to keep up. Three organizations recently introduced some new topics — and new methods — of keeping up with the times.