Change
So I’ve got to admit, when I first started working for Security Dealer a year ago this week, I had a lot to learn. (Of course, learning never stops, but you know what I mean…) As I look back on my first weeks on the job last February, one of the first concepts that caught my attention was “convergence.” As someone who started playing computer games in the first grade, designed Web sites in high school, and studied computer science in college, the idea of IT and physical security converging for new and better security solutions made sense to me. However, I did find one thing about it troubling: Why was it taking so long? Hadn’t high-speed internet practically saturated both the residential and commercial markets by 2001? Shouldn’t most security solutions already be networked in 2006? Well, at least that’s what I thought.
One year later, I like to think that I now have a better understanding as to why older technologies have remained profitable for security dealers, manufacturers, etc. I also have a better appreciation for the efforts that companies are making in order to transition their customers to newer technologies. For instance, we are seeing hybrid solutions popping up in both access control and video surveillance, allowing people to gradually transition on their own terms. Moving from standard prox cards to smart cards or even biometrics comes to mind, as does the transition from analog to digital video.
One of the topics that I find most interesting is convergence, and more specifically, how dealers are adapting. I can see where some people who have been running good security dealerships for years might be hesitant to switch over to network-based solutions, especially when their customers aren’t demanding it and they’re still turning profits. On the other hand, others see a bold new world and are hungry to learn new technologies in order to seize the future. Some people are embracing the changes of convergence, whereas others are resisting. It’s a compelling topic because the stakes are so high.
-Greg
Hadn’t high-speed internet practically saturated both the residential and commercial markets by 2001?
Here’s an answer to my own question. It just so happens that I received this email from Parks Associates mailing list last night, “Residential subscriptions to broadband Internet services surged 20% in 2006 to exceed 50 million U.S. households, according to Digital Lifestyles: 2007 Outlook, a new study from Parks Associates. The report estimates U.S. residential broadband subscriptions will surpass 60 million households by year-end 2007, accounting for 55% of all U.S. households.”
So I guess this means that high-speed internet still hasn’t “practically saturated” the residential market.
These “old school” dealers will have to either learn networking technologies or switch to another industry in the near future. Many smaller integrators still rely almost solely on relay logic.
Integrators, however, aren’t the only ones slowing down convergence. Think about the product manufacturers … for years the security industry has been based on proprietary, stand-alone solutions that were designed to sit on a shelf and not be touched again for 10 years. While the larger vendors are creating new “standards-based” products that utilize networking technologies, there are plenty of legacy systems out there that must still be supported.
Convergence is in full effect for new systems, but the traditional systems won’t be completely going away anytime soon. Check out Panasonic’s website …. they still sell time-lapse VCRs!
Moving from standard prox cards to smart cards or even biometrics comes to mind, as does the transition from analog to digital video.