The showdown over U.S. debt and the continuing crisis surrounding the euro caused instability in a number of sectors, and that instability was reflected in the third quarter 2011 Security Industry Business Confidence Index, which is a report conducted by the Security Industry Association among its members who provide security products and services to the reseller channel of dealers and integrators.
Not too long ago, video storage meant wading through hours and hours of VHS tapes to find relevant video, worrying about tapes wearing out and providing the large amounts of physical space requirements for a facility’s storage needs.
In business, as in life, nothing beats a solid education as the foundation for success. The more uncertain the financial times, the more important it becomes to enter a business investment, negotiation, bid or project as prepared and informed as possible.
In a less-than-stellar economy such as the one the U.S. and the world have been experiencing for the past few years, it can be increasingly difficult for businesses to navigate with agility and foresight in order to stay on a path of growth. As security companies look to increase their business (let’s face it, that is everyone’s goal, irrespective of the economy), one of the best ways to do that is to stay abreast of the financial and business side of the security industry.
In the “old days” — five years ago in technology time — security and particularly CCTV were implemented using traditional architectures. If an end user wanted IP video, the integrator would connect the cameras to the IT back plane with CAT5 or CAT6 cabling, and run the images through the server to a storage unit. The customer had to pay for not only the cameras, but the server, upkeep to the server, encryption algorithms and usually an IT specialist to maintain it all.
Developing and advocating security industry standards have always been a big part of what the Security Industry Association (SIA) is all about. But we realize that we are not alone in these efforts, and many other organizations are working on helpful industry standards that may parallel or even contradict our efforts. This needs to change.
It seems like we were just leaving Las Vegas, yet it’s already time to start planning for the next ISC show — ISC Solutions in New York City Nov. 2 – 3. Once again this year, ISC Solutions, a show for which the Security Industry Association (SIA) is the sole sponsor, will be focused on security applications, on putting all of the security pieces together into an integrated system that meets the needs of the customer. The concept was very well received when it debuted in 2010, with both vendors and customers finding added value in the new approach.