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January 2008

January 09, 2008

Increased Dependence of Physical Security Devices on IP Presents Significant Growth...

LONDON--(Business Wire)--Across Europe, the heightened need for higher levels of security is pushing organisations to opt for multi-layered security that incorporates access control, video surveillance and other security devices into the security infrastructure. Market participants are addressing shortcomings related to network-based solutions even as they move to educate end users and promote the uptake of integrated solutions.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users and other industry participants with an overview of the investment analysis and growth opportunities in the Convergence of Physical Security with IP in the European Market, then send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.    

"Open communications protocols, networks and faster computers have led to the diversification of IP networks to newer areas of the organisation," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Archana Umesh Rao. "As a result, interoperability is being extended to other applications such as security."    As technology advances in the security industry from analog to digital to IP, vendors and customers are reviewing opportunities to secure facilities more comprehensively through multi-layered technology instead of isolated security products. Corporate security services such as video surveillance, access control and fraud detection are increasingly database-driven and network-delivered, leading to IP becoming ever-more tightly tied in with physical security.    

However, implementation has been sluggish due to low end-user awareness about the benefits of integrating disparate security solutions. Also, the use of integrated systems has been restricted to high-end applications due to the high cost of network infrastructure and integration software.    "The convergence of physical security with IP involves a complex amalgamation of security and networking technology," comments Rao. "In this context, superior customer service and technical support will be crucial to gaining a competitive advantage in the market."    

Educating end users and distribution partners and making them aware about the considerable benefits and return on investment to be accrued from integrated solutions should be the key focus for industry participants.

IP Hits the Middle East

North London-based IP consultant UBIQZ has assisted a local installer with a £250,000 Internet-addressable camera surveillance project in Tripoli, Libya.

Forty Sony cameras have been installed over 11 floors of a finance tower block in a project that is one of the first instances of a Middle East building adopting IP on a significant scale.

The location is the Dat el-Emad complex in the heart of Tripoli's financial district and near the site of the old city.  As with other installations, UBIQZ worked with the existing security installer, seamlessly helping them with an IP solution and allowing them to take the lead in terms of client communication.

Since the tower was brand new, suitable structured cabling was already laid out for IT.  Libyan engineers installed the units while UBIQX oversaw the operation and offered advice as necessary.

The cameras are monitoring both workers and customers as they enter and leave the building as well as ATM areas, foreign exchange desks and an underground treasury section.

Staff at a manned control room look for clear-cut incidents or unusual patterns of behaviour. Using the cameras' embedded intelligence, abnormal scenes can be searched for retrospectively.  Sony's RealShot Manager software handles aspects including mapping, scheduling and layout, with the client benefiting from schematic diagrams of camera layouts on each floor.

The Libyan project underlines that UBIQZ is able to help users configure and understand the subtleties of the cameras on their networks as well as providing system architecture.

UBIQZ's other recent projects include two UK health care sites, a faith school in Bromley, Kent, and a network of central London car parks.  Almost alone among security consultants, UBIQZ specialises in pure IP-addressable solutions and systems where analogue and IP components are integrated

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