The Presidential Inauguration is taking place at the time of this writing and two things at first stand out to me as I begin to watch the coverage: First, how time-honored traditions — such as the swearing in of the president-elect, the benedictions, and the playing of the military bands — play such an important role in our society in times of transition. Second, how violence — in this case, the destruction of property under the guise of protest — always has been and likely always will exist to disrupt society.

What doesn’t stand out as overtly conspicuous is the massive security effort that goes into an event of this nature, and that’s because it was designed not to be disruptive or highly visible. But nonetheless, to those in the security industry, the security initiatives and processes attract our attention because we know what goes into a plan like this. Air, land, water — no surface or possible point of entry was overlooked. ABC News posted a very good article about the Presidential Inauguration security plan, describing it as a “multi-layered” approach. (See http://abcn.ws/2jRecKP.)

“There will be visible layers, like physical barriers, checkpoints with magnetometers, bag searches and patrolling uniformed officers, as well as hidden layers, such as plainclothes officers inside and outside of the perimeter, radiation detection and surveillance cameras,” stated the article, “Inside the Massive Inauguration Security Effort.”

The article went on to quote Park Police Chief Robert MacLean, who said, “On game day, it is seamless, and that is so important, because real-time information is where it’s at.” Real-time information is a term we hear a lot in our segment of the security industry, too.

As it’s related to the new presidential administration, some people believe there will be an effect on business. SDM has an online poll that we invite you to take, which asks: What effect do you think the incoming Presidential Administration will have on security sales and end user spending? To date, a majority of respondents think security sales and end user spending will increase under this administration. Take the poll at  http://bit.ly/2iTXzwi.

And finally, check out some of the interesting coverage in this issue, including the article, “State of the Market: Video Surveillance,” first in our annual series of articles about the current viability and potential for future sales in five main technology categories. Author Tim Scally, Associate Editor of SDM, also addresses the issue of a new presidential administration and its possible effects on the video segment, as described by professionals in the manufacturing industry. The article starts on page 52.

In “Insider News & Business” beginning on page 17, check out coverage of CES, including three important announcements by ADT about expanding its customer base through new partnerships and services for safety and security; and Alarm.com’s announcement about its launch (pun intended) of video-enabled drone applications — the first such announcement in our sector of security!

We hope you enjoy this issue. Feel free to send comments to the Editor at stepanekl@bnpmedia.com.

If cybersecurity is in the purview of your job or your client’s, check out the new e-newsletter created for you by the editors of Security Magazine, SDM’s sister publication at BNP Media.

“Today’s Cybersecurity Leader eNews” is a monthly e-newsletter that provides business solutions and a high-level perspective for today’s enterprise cybersecurity leaders. Each issue contains valuable tips, news, opinions, industry research and operational best practices to help cybersecurity leaders achieve business goals and secure the cybersecurity enterprise.

The first issue, deployed on January 5, 2017, contained articles on the topics of “Is Cybersecurity Being Taken Seriously Enough?” and “How to Turn Every Employee Into a Cybersecurity Expert,” among other pieces. We hope you will find such content useful. To subscribe to this free e-newsletter, visit: http://bit.ly/2jHMoei.