Integrators are aware that anything they put on the network could be vulnerable to cyberattack, but many are stymied by where to start to create a plan to fix it. Experts from inside and outside the industry know how.
Cybersecurity concerns are everywhere. From Target to Home Depot, to the Social Security Administration, to the recent [possibly foreign] hacks of the U.S. Democratic National Committee, it is almost impossible to turn on the news or read a paper without seeing something about cybersecurity.
Enterprise access control clients are unique — even amongst themselves — in that their problems are often more complex, more difficult to solve and just bigger.
Today’s emergency intercoms are neither simple nor routine, and the security integrator is finding more ways than ever to incorporate them into a facility’s overall security and emergency planning.
The emergency intercom is generally pictured as a metal box — frequently red or blue for easy identification — that allows someone in distress to push a button and call for help.
The connected home space is one of “activity but uncertainty” today. The security industry holds the advantage right now, with a built-in revenue model and expertise in integration; but the challenge will be not losing that edge as outside competition starts to figure it out.
In a market that is historically a code-driven ‘have-to’ purchase, small changes can have big impacts; and 2015 saw the continuing of that trend, with strong performance and a very positive outlook for 2016.
For a market characterized as stable, code-driven and conservative, 2015 seemed to be a turning point for many in the fire detection business, marking the true end of the downturn and the return to growth.
Fire alarm technology doesn’t move very fast, and there are very good reasons for this. Because fire is about saving lives, codes and standards dictate what is allowable, and it takes time to make sure each new development is absolutely safe.
If a security integrator from 15 years ago suddenly found themselves transported to TEC 2016, presented by PSA Security Network from May 9-12 in Westminster, Colo., they would note a whole lot of changes.
Why should the professionally installed security market care about DIY today? Because buyers are asking for it; technology is facilitating it; and proponents say it is good for business.
For years do-it-yourself (DIY) security existed on a parallel track with the professionally installed security system — rarely, if ever, intersecting. Not anymore.