It's a wrap: 2010 ASIS drew thousands-some 20,000 to be precise-to the hometown charm and big city heart of Dallas.
While we predicted the ASIS exhibit show would be the year of HD, we stand corrected. Yes, HD cameras were prevalent, but the overriding theme of the 56th annual gathering of security industry professionals and end-users was total solutions, interoperability and products working together to bring much needed solutions to businesses and other customers. It was a far cry from other shows that focused on single product categories. In fact, many of the booths highlighted the different partnerships they have with other manufacturers, through displays and signage.
There were tons of cool booth gatherings. Tyco's Mark VanDover, president, hosted a media event around the Victor, a new digital video management system designed to incorporate legacy systems in a streamlined approach. It unifies security video feeds from DVRs and NVRs into a single management interface. Its unified client provides hundreds of thousands of customers with legacy Intellex DVRs and analog surveillance cameras with an easy migration path to IP technology while allowing them to maximize their existing analog camera and recording investments.
Media also got a sneak peek at new color night vision cameras from FLIR Systems Inc. The color thermal imaging cameras, called Color Night Vision, also won a 2010 ASIS Accolades Award. FLIR's specialized EMCCD technology gives security professionals a single camera that has the power to capture clear, high quality color video in full sunlight, starlight and everything in-between; without auxiliary lighting.
Integrator angle
Integrators had their full court press on the second day of ASIS. Visits with Stanley CSS, Johnson Controls and Protection One found these integration firms focusing on the end-user customer and their needs and rightly so, this being an end-user show. Diebold talked to SD&I about its superior services, managed video and access control, new dealer partnerships and how the company is growing into the future.
Tony Byerly, president of Stanley Convergent Security Solutions North America and the United Kingdom spoke about new eServices for commercial customers, Web-based value offerings that help position the company as a partner in their business with an executive dashboard providing the managerial tools and information these customers want to see to gauge how effectively their operations run-and how well Stanley CSS is aiding them with these and other mobile solutions. New commercial scorecards also let customers see how quickly and responsive the company is. "Our central stations handle some two million calls per year from our customers and these are answered in 10 seconds or less," Byerly said. He added that preventative maintenance as a service is emerging strong and helps the end-users plan for and manage their costs more effectively. "The customer doesn't pay for eServices and we continue to bundle premium services such as these," he said.
Johnson Controls continues to focus on hot vertical markets which include hospitals, education and government, with building automation the beginning of an important bundle for end-users, according to Denise Gadowski, program manager, Marketing Communications, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls.
ADT unveiled ADT Pulse(tm), an interactive solution which integrates home controls and security with consumers' personal lifestyles. It also announced its foray into managed video services with the launch of the ADT Select View platform.
"For our customers, managed video services can reduce the total cost of ownership when considering the operation and maintenance of a system. It can help any size company improve employee safety, optimize guard resources and deter theft," said John Kenning, president of ADT North America Commercial.
Kenning noted that ADT is ideally suited to provide this suite of video services with a newly redesigned managed services monitoring center in Aurora, Colo., supported by ADT's highly trained staff of operators. Select View services include: video audits; video verification; video guard tour; video escort; unattended delivery; and video assist.
Protection One's Tim Whall, president and chief executive officer, talked about the emergence of a stronger national accounts program from the systems integration firm as well as a new team of management focusing on one team, one account ability, to help the end-user side of the business grow. "Our concept of one dedicated national account team is a far different approach to the traditional one point of contact," Whall said. "We don't see account management, installation, service, monitoring, order entry billing and collections as separate functions to be run as separate national groups. Our unique approach combines members from all service functions into a single team that is educated and dedicated to national accounts. One telephone call or e-mail puts users immediately in contact with someone familiar with their accounts," he continued.
"The level of services integrators provide," Whall said, "will be a key differentiator, not simply the different services."
NO STEALING FROM SECURITY
In an interesting turn of events, the convention center's cleaning crew was caught on camera lifting laptops from the Milestone Systems booth during ASIS. Several exhibitors discovered missing electronics on the second morning of the event. Milestone Systems fortunately had a neighboring booth with surveillance cameras set up to demonstrate XProtect(tm) IP video management software, which recorded the dirty deeds.
"I arrived at our booth early Wednesday morning to get our security systems up and running when I realized the laptop that ran our radar surveillance system was gone; it stored proprietary software from Moog QuickSet," said Trish Logue, marketing manager at Moog QuickSet. "I immediately reported it to the Arata event managers, who contacted the security personnel, as well as the Dallas police. They suggested I ask booths around mine if they were missing anything, so I approached Kevin Gramer from Rimage, who was exhibiting in the Milestone booth. He immediately fired up the Milestone video from an Axis camera that was pointing at the Moog QuickSet booth all night. Needless to say, I was more than impressed when he pulled up the video of the two individuals clearly stealing the laptop. He burned five CDs for me and I immediately gave Arata services a copy of the video showing the perpetrators in action. The video surveillance helped the Dallas police positively identify them; they were apprehended and we got our laptop back."
Another Milestone Solution Partner also assisted. The developer of video synopsis solutions called BriefCam used their award-winning search facility embedded in the Milestone XProtect Smart Client to review 10 hours of video from the previous night in just minutes, presenting a summary of the culprits' entry and movements with exact time stamps. Rimage then used their Surveillance Publisher solution to export those sequences directly from the Smart Client to DVDs.
The cleaners were greeted when arriving for their night shift rounds and questioned about the missing electronics. In the face of the video evidence, one of the crew confessed and agreed to return the missing equipment. To the authority's surprise, however, not only did he produce the purloined laptop and an iPAD, but several bags full of stolen items from another trade show that had taken place weeks earlier. It turned out that several thieves had been carrying out this criminal activity for their own 'fringe benefits' to the normal night work. Needless to say, they were fired from the cleaning personnel roster immediately and prosecution for their crimes is in progress.
Flying with Captain Sully
For several minutes, we were there; in the cockpit of Flight 1549 as Captain Chesley Sullenberger calmly told the air traffic controller: "We're going in the Hudson." The dispatcher responded equally calmly: "Say again?" And Sullenberger responded with determination and fortitude: "We're going in the Hudson." The controller thought that certainly it would be the last time he would ever communicate with the man who has simply been dubbed 'Sully'.
You could hear a pin drop as Captain Sullenberger played for the audience at the ASIS Keynote Speaker Session a NTSB voice transcript of the communication between the U.S. Air Force Academy graduate/veteran pilot Captain Sullenberger and air traffic controllers as the packed audience watched a recreated graphic of the flight path of the Airbus A320 bound from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, N.C.
Packed with 155 passengers, the jet hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff, disabling both engines. Quickly and with resolve, Captain Sullenberger knew almost immediately that his life's aspirations to become a pilot would be tested that day as never before and the decision to ditch the plane into the Hudson was the only choice to try to save the plane crowded with business travelers.
In a talk that was both heart wrenching and inspirational, Captain Sullenberger treated the audience to an inside look at what happened that day on January 15, 2009 and how it changed his life forever, thrusting him into the media spotlight and making him a hero across every continent.
"In retrospect," Sullenberger said, "my crew and I did our jobs exceptionally well-we came up with a plan in a matter of seconds. I was an ordinary person who found himself in extraordinary circumstances," he said. He had some 20,000 hours of flight time logged and decades of experience.
Sullenberger said he thought that what really captured the imagination of the world with this story was that it came at a time when people really needed a reason to be hopeful again; the emergency landing was seen as a life-affirming incident. He said since that day he has received thousands of letters, one with five single dollars and a note that read: 'Have a beer on me Sully.'
Captain Sully told of his childhood, his lifelong desire to become a pilot and who he looks to for inspiration-the nation's Medal of Honor recipients, 26 of 87 who are still living."Courage may be having the discipline to know what to do in spite of fear."
He spoke of the value of education, of being a lifelong learner, of having aspirations and operating with civic duty. "Dedication matters and requires discipline. Integrity means doing the right thing even if it's not convenient. You all have an opportunity to be a leader, to be a teammate, to make a difference. Ask yourself: 'did I make a difference?' and hopefully the answer is 'yes.'"
Accolades Program Recognizes Innovative Solutions
ASIS International presented its 2010 Accolades winners at the annual conference. ASIS Accolades is an awards competition that recognizes the security industry's most innovative new products, services and solutions.
A team of judges representing end-users and experts in security technologies evaluated more than 70 entries before selecting the 10 winners. ASIS Accolades are solutions oriented, not product specific.
"This year's program was very competitive, as entrants continue to push the envelope in their respective disciplines," observed Accolades Co-Chair Ron Lander CPP. "In particular, video surveillance performance is advancing at a rapid pace, offering enhanced analytics functionality and better resolution."
Here's who won:
- Cisco IP Interoperability Collaboration System (IPICS) 4.0
- Cogent Systems Inc., MiY-ID
- Cross Match Technologies SEEK II with MOBS and Matching
- Dedicated Micros Closed IPTV
- Firetide IVS-100 MIMO
- FLIR Systems Inc. ChromaNox Color IP Night Vision Cameras
- Infinova V2216 Analog/Digital Coexistence VMS
- Laipac Technology S-911 Bracelet Locator
- Next Level Security Systems NLSS Gateway
- Sarnoff Corporation VerifIR
