GE Joins Open Security Exchange

Nov. 11, 2004
Company's participation in broad-based initiative will help define and promote industry standards need to integrate systems

GE Infrastructure, Security today announced that it has joined the Open Security Exchange (OSE) as part of its commitment to developing and promoting standards-based solutions that facilitate the convergence of physical and logical security.

"We are pleased to join and help lead an organization that will help drive standards in our industry and improve the overall value and experience of security solutions for our customers," said Jim Clark, Security's Vice President, Global Marketing.' "No longer content to monitor and manage separate systems for security and facility management, corporate security and technology managers want to consolidate and integrate solutions for access control, fire alarm, video surveillance, factory alarms and HVAC control."

The Open Security Exchange's goal is to integrate the disparate technologies that form today's security infrastructures, allowing for optimal security and operational efficiencies while respecting organization-specific operational requirements.

Effective security management will result in accurate detection of threats and attacks, consistent definition and enforcement of security policies, and enhanced organizational collaboration. '

"The security industry's current reliance on proprietary technologies and platforms inhibits innovation and the assimilation of emerging technologies," said Clark. "The limitations of proprietary technologies plague too many systems. This is self-defeating for the security industry, creates major problems for security dealers and integrators and hinders end users from having flexible, scalable security platforms that cost-effectively protect their people and assets."