SDM's 13th Annual Top System Integrators

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Total annual revenue of nearly $8 billion, built upon more than 61,000 project starts, marked an extremely robust year for the 100 largest security systems integrators in 2007, as revealed in SDM’s 13th Annual Top Systems Integrators Report.

2008 Top Systems Integrators: The Force is With Them

This exclusive report ranks, by revenue, the largest firms that contract electronic security projects for commercial, industrial, institutional, government, and other non-residential markets. For ranking purposes, these are businesses that derive more than half of their revenue from the sale, design/engineering, installation and service of multi-technology electronic security systems, such as access control and identification, video surveillance, alarms, perimeter security, and other network-based technologies.

The Technologies Behind the Numbers: How Integrators' Revenue is Split

The five largest systems integrators in 2007 â€” Siemens Building Technologies, ADT, SimplexGrinnell, Diebold Inc., and Stanley Convergent Security Solutions â€” maintained the top five positions again in 2008 and these “giants” had many positive things to report about the market conditions last year.

Hottest Vertical Market: Corporate Facilities

“The face of the security industry has certainly changed dramatically from 2006 to 2007, including customer expectations, significant advancements in technology, convergence, and shifts in the overall competitive landscape,” reported No. 4, Diebold Inc. “As a result of these dynamics, Diebold’s growth has been very positive within the markets we serve."

The numbers alone don’t tell the complete story of the opportunities and challenges that “continue to present themselves” to these high-profile integrators. The complete picture is found in the integrators’ descriptions of their growth markets.

In fact, there was much consensus among the integrators about which markets did hold the best opportunities: corporate/property management; education; healthcare; government; industrial and utilities â€” in that order.

Top 10 Largest Project Winners

“The market in 2007 was extremely strong. There was a real recognition by companies that they needed to enhance their security. All markets were about equal in growth,” reported No. 99-ranked Advanced Video Surveillance Inc.

Many integrators found that the newest technologies spurred growth in 2007, particularly technologies that expand the value of the investment beyond security and into business management metrics.

7 Years of Growth

“The market for integrated security systems in 2007 was strong,” reported RFI Communications & Security Systems, ranked No. 18. “This was led by strong sales of video products in general and specifically an increased demand for IP video. Advances in technology such as megapixel cameras, video analytics, network video recording and edge recording are starting to make a positive impact on sales.”

Fastest Growing Integrators

With improved spending coming from our nation’s government entities and businesses (86 percent of integrators believe that funding for security projects was either the same or better in 2007 as in 2006), this makes for a market climate that rewards integrators that specialize in the needs of verticals and know how to apply leading-edge technology.

SIDEBAR: Success Stories from the Field

No. 26-ranked SD•I (System Development Integration LLC), Chicago, designed and implemented technology systems for the new McCormick Place Security Command Center. The command center oversees the 9-million-square-foot convention center’s safety and security activities. SD•I designed, procured, installed and integrated video display systems including a 20-foot video wall; an incident management system; consoles and computers; and a unified command interface. The completed unified command interface integrates surveillance cameras, access control systems, fire alarm, parking garage, and elevator management systems. This integrated system features automatic response to events and data and video links to Chicago’s 911 center, Navy Pier attraction, and Chicago City Hall through an Internet VPN.

SIDEBAR: Success Stories from the Field

No. 50-ranked Advanced Electronic Solutions was chosen as the security integrator for Citifield Stadium, the new home of the New York Mets major league baseball team. This project includes the installation of an integrated IP video and access control system. Both systems are state-of-the-art and include a human resource interface with the Mets time-and-attendance systems. They are also networked with other Met organization locations in the New York City area.

SIDEBAR: Success Stories from the Field

No. 34-ranked Dallas Security Systems designed and installed a Honeywell Video system with IP cameras and video analytics on a network for a high-profile residential customer. The security system consists of a 1-gigabit fiber optic network infrastructure using DSX Access Control integrated with the Honeywell Enterprise Network Video Recorder (NVR). This is a 31,000-square-foot primary residence with more than 100 DSX input points, and various access control gates and a smaller guest home on the same property, which is approximately 3 acres, which is also protected by the above-mentioned systems via secure network. When any input changes state or goes into alarm the system immediately indicates an alarm message with audible, displays the alarm on a live map of the property, and integrates with the Honeywell system to pop up one of the current 64 channels of video to numerous command centers throughout the property. The use of video analytics is in the design both for perimeter protection, as well as family safety around swimming pools and other areas. The project is managed by Chris Melder and Ed Peacemaker and integrated by Paul Aquilina and Joshua Rouse, all Dallas Security Employees.

SIDEBAR: Success Stories from the Field

No. 4-ranked Diebold’s enterprise security team developed a strategy to implement an end-to-end security integration campaign for one of the world’s leading performing arts centers. The Center resides on 16 acres and hosts more than 5 million visitors each year, presenting thousands of performances, educational programs and tours. The volume of visitors and events makes the venue especially vulnerable to security threats such as burglary, violence, vandalism and terrorism. The project is being executed in phases, and is slated to continue through 2019. The Diebold team started by studying security, electrical and network design drawings, specifications and documentation. The system uses several hundred proximity and biometric readers, as well as a similar number of CCTV cameras to ensure complete access control. Surveillance and audio systems were put into place to protect critical and isolated locations. The centerpiece of the system is the security operations command center, which includes an integrated video wall management system and three operator workstations with automatic drop and drag priority access control and video alarm displays. The project also included a specially designed security and IT services network, created by Diebold, and a one-of-a-kind event monitoring center storage solution for video applications.

SIDEBAR: Success Stories from the Field

No. 67-ranked Advanced Control Concepts Inc. was involved with the NASA Johnson Space Center Ellington Field security management project, a turnkey detailed engineered project that connected to the NASA Lenel Enterprise System. Ellington Field, located 10 miles from Johnson Space Center, had very minimal security prior to the project. The project included drawings, access control that meets FIPS-201 PIV-II, standards for NASA’s elaborate access control system, digital CCTV including intelligent video algorithms, alarm monitoring, high-speed gates with intercoms and readers and new guardhouses. The majority of the project focused on the installation of new cameras and IP video to provide intrusion detection, while the secondary portion of the project included installing access control to all the buildings, which previously had none, and installing new turnstiles and guardhouses to help drastically improve perimeter security. All of the equipment is remotely monitored at the Johnson Space Center Security Operations Center. The project is valued at over a million dollars and took approximately five months to complete.

SIDEBAR: More From the Report

To gain additional information beyond that published in this issue and online, the complete SDM Top Systems Integrators Report and Database is available in Excel format. Included are contact names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, Web site URLs, branch office locations, and more.

SDM’s Top Systems Integrators Report and Database contains the data needed to target products and services to the systems integration market.

The cost of the report is $595. It may be ordered by contacting Heidi Fusaro at (630) 694-4026 or e-mailing fusaroh@bnpmedia.com.

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