PSIM: Opportunities and
Challenges for Integrators

By Tom Condon

The latest security hot topic is Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software. PSIM solves a fundamental problem in security today: There are myriad systems for staff to operate, and little or no integration between systems. PSIM links multiple security systems into a single user interface that provides better information and better control for security staff. 

A typical PSIM implementation integrates access control, fire and intrusion alarm systems, and video surveillance with the PSIM software. When an alarm occurs in any of the alarm systems, the PSIM system senses it and starts a series of preprogrammed actions. The PSIM user interface displays a floor plan of the facility showing the location of the alarm, usually with a flashing, color-coded icon. At the same time, the system calls up the nearest video surveillance camera to the location of the alarm (these are programmed into the system during implementation so the proper camera is called up for each alarm). Now the security officer has a complete picture of the incident; he/she knows where the alarm was, why it was going off and can view live video from the scene.

The value of PSIM is that it provides this complete situational awareness of the incident so quickly and in a single user interface, allowing security staff to better assess and respond. Without PSIM, operators must determine the best camera to view the incident and manually call it up. This can be complicated by the fact that the location name in the access control system may not be the same as in the video surveillance system, requiring the operator to 'translate' the location from one system to another. With PSIM, all this is done automatically, usually in less than one second.

Implementing PSIM is a new opportunity for security integrators that promises to grow as more organizations realize its value. Already, there are a number of vendors selling PSIM systems, including Vidsys, Proximex, Orsus, Intergraph, DVTel, Bosch, Siemens, GE, Boeing, among others. And the clients are starting to flock to PSIM as well. The early adopters were mostly public-sector organizations like airports, military installations and a few convention centers. But more and more corporations are rapidly adopting PSIM. These companies realize that they need to be able to react more effectively to threats in this post-9/11 world.

So you have a growing market for an exciting new product. Sounds great, right? Before you rush into the PSIM implementation business, you must know that implementing PSIM is no cakewalk. Connecting multiple alarm systems and video to PSIM can be extremely challenging because there are no universal standards that allow these systems to communicate.

Also, many legacy systems were designed before the advent of open source programming, XML or IP, and use proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs). So the odds are pretty good that no two systems speak the same language, yet the PSIM must be able to understand all of them. The lack of a common language will undoubtedly disappear as newer systems that are IP- and XML-friendly replace older 20th century technologies, but this will take some time. In the meantime, be prepared to do custom work that is fairly complex.

A good example of this complexity is a large convention center where I recently managed a PSIM system implementation. This facility was decades old, and had added new systems as it grew, so we had to design an individual strategy for allowing each legacy system to communicate with the PSIM system, and no two were alike. We had to create middleware for each application that could communicate with ModBus, OPC, RS232 and other formats. To make things even more challenging, some vendors would not release their APIs, so we had to decipher messaging strings from these systems and reverse-engineer them. All this required a whole team of programmers, each with specialized skills, to create the middleware systems.

So before you ride off into the PSIM sunset, here's some advice:

•  If you get to choose the PSIM product, look for one with an open architecture that makes integration easier. Some systems even have built-in libraries of interfaces to the most popular alarm and access control systems. 
•   Before choosing a vendor, send them a list of the legacy systems you want to integrate with PSIM and make them confirm they will be able to communicate with that system. Also, choose a company with a solid foundation and a strong likelihood that they will be around for the long term. The PSIM market is still young, and, like any emerging technology, there will surely be a shakeout at some point; some companies may not survive. Make sure you choose a vendor that has staying power.
• Look for flexibility in configuration so that you can decide how events should be handled. The best PSIM systems allow you to configure a custom series of actions that will occur when an alarm is activated, and let you choose how each individual alarm is handled.
• Move slowly and give yourself enough time...this is not a plug-and-play scenario. PSIM implementations are inherently complex due to the number and disparity of systems that you are trying to interconnect. Start with a single system and test, test, test to make sure the PSIM is performing the way you want.
• If custom programming will be required, you may want to hire a data integration consultant who can manage the interconnections between systems.

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