Weston in Space

TORONTO — Invixium, a manufacturer of touchless biometrics, has integrated its portfolio of solutions with AEOS by Nedap, a provider of access control solutions. The integration between AEOS and IXM Web, Invixium ’s enterprise-grade software solution, is said to streamline the process of setting up and using Invixium biometric systems with AEOS. Users can now deploy Invixium touchless biometrics, such as face recognition via IXM Titan, as well as the rest of the company’s biometric portfolio. The integration is enabled by IXM Link, a licensed software feature for IXM Web that allows for one- or two-way database-to-database synchronization between IXM Web and AEOS. Database synchronization is said to ensure easy setup, installation and use of Invixium biometric solutions for AEOS users. Related: 2021’s Security Tech Trend Takeaways Administrators can enroll biometric data to cardholders (securely stored in IXM Web), which are continuously synchronized with AEOS. In addition, ...

Surveillance cameras are an integral tool in protecting people and assets. They also provide us with an endless stream of entertainment. SSI ‘s  top surveillance videos of the week mines the countless surveillance video clips that are uploaded each week to bring you the best of the best. As for what these clips consist of, you’ll find everything from troublemaking animals and robbery fails, to wild car crashes and brazen crimes. A recurring theme this past year was “customers behaving badly.” This was typically due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic — refusal to adhere to mask protocols or getting upset over slow service due to staff shortages. In fact, the most viewed surveillance video of the year involves a business-owning grandmother defending her daughter after a customer throws a giant jug of hand sanitizer at her. A good portion of this year’s top surveillance videos consist of suspect-fails, which is always satisfying. Interestingly, several videos fea...

HOLMDEL, N.J. — In 2021 ransomware was truly brought into the average family’s home. Their weekend BBQ and gas station fill ups were affected by ransomware. Their nightly news brought talks of Russian hackers and numerous FBI alerts warning of advancing cyberattacks. Well get ready, because a new year on the calendar is not going to end the disruptions to business operations. The 2021 attacks have been massively successful and profitable, predicting an ugly trend: Ransomware is going to get worse before it gets better, according to the cyber experts at Index Engines , a provider of unstructured data management software for network data, backup tape and governance. Based on conversations with hundreds of organizations around the world, and studying millions of client cybersecurity analytics through Index Engines’ CyberSense data integrity software, here are five predictions on the path of ransomware in 2022. Cyber criminals will get smarter Cyber criminals slipped malicious code in...

According to Jeremy White, founder of Pro-Vigil, the rapid adoption of remote video monitoring (RVM) solutions will continue in the new year, and more businesses will begin to realize uses for AI-powered video data beyond security. Here are two ways White believes this will play out: AI-powered video data will be used for purposes beyond security Artificial Intelligence (AI) in video surveillance is such a powerful tool, but to gain maximum ROI from the technology, users must be able to understand the data it provides and apply it to their business in a meaningful way. Knowing this, service providers will continue to improve the way AI results and data are reported to users, with an emphasis on making the data accessible and easy to understand, so they can turn the information into meaningful insights that drive their business. And, as providers get better at reporting the data, users will be able to better use the data for purposes beyond security, such as enforcing compliance, p...

MONTRÉAL — Genetec , a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations and business intelligence solutions, shares its top predictions for the physical security industry in 2022. Monitoring occupancy and space utilization will remain a top priority Within months of the pandemic, businesses were deploying different solutions to track occupancy in their buildings and control social distancing. Almost two years later, this trend is still growing because they’re seeing value from the data collected. Beyond safety objectives, organizations will embrace the use of spatial analytics data to reduce wait times, optimize staff scheduling, and enhance business operations. As businesses give employees the flexibility to split up their work time between the office and home, organizations will be looking for ways to best optimize their workplaces. By using space utilization intelligence, they will be able to analyze employee office attendance, monitor meeting room deman...

SECURE Perspectives is a monthly column by the  Security Industry Association  (SIA) profiling women in the security industry. This column is part of SIA’s  Women in Security Forum  (WISF), an initiative to support the participation of women in the security field through programs, networking and professional growth events and thought leadership opportunities. For this edition of  SECURE Perspectives , SIA spoke with Elaine Palome, director of human resources at Axis Communications, a member of Axis’ Americas Management team and an active member of the SIA Women in Security Forum Steering Committee. Palome is the 2021 recipient of the SIA Progress Award , which celebrates individuals who are advancing opportunities and success for women in the security industry. SIA: How did you get into the security industry? Elaine Palome: By happenstance. I had never heard of Axis and did not know anything about the security industry. I feel so fortunate to have a job that...

It’s not surprising that COVID-19 slowed M&A activity last year. However, the deal-making made a strong comeback in 2021, as we saw more than 130 deals sealed — compared to around 70 last year. It was also clear that companies weren’t afraid to throw around their money. Seven out of the 10 deals here involved more than a billion dollars. And that’s not counting security industry-adjacent deals that saw Nortek strike a $3.6 billion deal to sell its indoor air quality businesses, or IT solutions firm SYNNEX Corp. merge with competitor Tech Data in a deal worth about $7.2 billion. The largest deal of 2021 actually took place during the first week of the year when Teledyne acquired FLIR in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $8.0 billion. That is almost twice as much as last year’s biggest deal, which saw Allied Universal acquire G4S for $5 billion in what seemed like a never-ending saga. A trend that we have seen over the past few years of businesses outside the...

Often, we will revisit a previous infographic — usually from a year or more ago — and see if the new numbers reflect any interesting changes. We performed this exercise last month, when an infographic from November 2020 — which examined the relationship between connected lock sales and the age of the purchaser — showed a noticeable shift: the 65+ group had made a quantum leap from 16% in the previous survey to a whopping 29%. Sometimes, however, this exercise reveals that while there has been some shift in some areas of purchasing behavior, it’s not as dramatic as we might have thought. While perhaps not as interesting from a statistics perspective, it nonetheless helps provide the smart home or smart lock dealer with information that reinforces a purchasing approach they may already be using. With that as a backdrop, we went back and examined the infographic from September of 2020 , entitled “Connected Electronic Locks: Purchased by Household Size.” (As always, it was one in an ongo...

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Interface Security Systems, based here, shares the following networking predictions for the restaurant and retail markets in 2022. Network transformation will gain ground despite supply chain issues Retail and restaurant brands were forced to pivot their business models and customer engagement strategies to tackle the disruptions during the pandemic. Interface saw brands that embraced digital transformation by revamping network infrastructure and implementing pervasive connectivity solutions, such as Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and wireless WAN, regained growth faster. Supply chain bottlenecks have delayed plans for procuring new equipment. Enterprises may be forced to leverage multi-vendor infrastructure due to inadequate supply of devices for large networks, shortage of Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches and specialty Wireless Access Points (WAPs). Interface expects supply chain issues to ease up in Q2 2022 and businesses redoubling their effor...

By the end of 2020, it’s probably safe to say many people were thinking, “At least 2021 can’t be any worse.” Well, it got worse. Maybe not in all senses, but there were new complications in addition to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. The year began with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This was followed by both labor and supply chain shortages that have impacted just about every industry there is. Those challenges compounded efforts by integrators to upgrade their radios in time for the upcoming 3G sunset. Unsurprisingly, all of these themes make appearances in SSI ‘s most-read stories of 2021. Representing a sign of the times, the year’s most popular story was an article on supplemental EIDL assistance, which suggests the content reached readers beyond SSI ‘s audience of security professionals. No doubt owners of all sorts of businesses were looking for this type of information. Also very popular in 2021 was the seemingly never-ending saga of Allied Universal’s purchase of G4...

2021 marked the second consecutive year of general turbulence for the world at large. Fortunately, the security industry is relatively stable and able to weather difficult storms — including a supply chain and labor shortage, COVID restrictions and a looming sunset. What could be in store for 2022? As part of  SSI ‘s 2022 Industry Forecast, which will be released the first week of January, we asked 14 experts to finish the following sentence: 2022 will be remembered as the year the electronic security industry… “… adopted new business models and workforce expectations in the post-pandemic economy, implemented innovative technology and focused on delivering a hyper-personalized customer experience.” – George De Marco (DECO Ventures) “… pushed through the pandemic impact and continued to be an important provider of life-safety services that the marketplace valued because of our ability to maintain margins during very difficult economic times.” – John Brady (TRG Associates) Re...

MIAMI — Mission 500, in partnership with Moms in Security Global Outreach , hosted its first-ever cornhole fund-raiser tournament to bring attention to underprivileged children and families in need across the United States. Held Dec. 11 at Kirkbride Hall in Stony Point, N.Y., more than 20 teams competed in the double elimination tournament, which raised more than $15,000. The event also was held to bring awareness to help end human trafficking. Greg Dabice of Defined Marketing and Kenny Frattini, principal of Hartshorn Elementary School, were announced as tournament winners. “Our first annual cornhole tournament turned out to be a really fun regional event that raised a significant amount of money to help children in need,” says Ken Gould, chairman, Mission 500 . “As we close out 2021, I want to thank all our individual and corporate sponsors, dedicated volunteers and the staff at Mission 500 who continue to step up to the plate to help children and families in need across the U.S. ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Cloudastructure, a provider of Cloud-controlled video surveillance systems to enterprises, recently announced the addition of Greg Smitherman to its team as the new chief financial officer to focus on scaling the company’s growth through investments and acquisitions. “We are thrilled to add Greg to our team at Cloudastructure as we continue our growth amid increased demand for Cloud-based video surveillance ,” says Rick Bentley, founder and CEO of Cloudastructure. “We look forward to tapping into his leadership skills and experiences leading large and small teams in time-sensitive environments.” With an MBA from University of Chicago and having most recently served as the CFO for Accelergy, Smitherman played a critical role in successfully executing a fundraising strategy that closed on over $20 million in funding, according to the company. Related: VSaaS Provider Cloudastructure Raises Over $29M in First RegA+ Offering Cloudastructure says Smitherman is a hand...

After seeing a slight dip in the production of single-family and multifamily housing in October, the production of new homes accelerated in November due to strong demand for new construction. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, overall housing starts increased 11.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.68 million units. The November reading of 1.68 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 11.3% to a 1.17 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 12.9% to an annualized 506,000 pace. “Mirroring gains in the HMI reading of builder sentiment, single-family housing starts accelerated near the end of 2021 and are up 15.2% year-to-date as demand for new construction remains strong due to a lean inve...

DALLAS — A new whitepaper from Parks Associates, produced in partnership with Xfinity Home, reveals 27% of U.S. broadband households report far more concern now about the physical security of home than five years ago. That number rises to 43% among households with children. The whitepaper, Home Security: Choice is the Ultimate Value Proposition , explores the market trends specific to the role of the broadband service provider in providing consumers installation and services for home automation and residential security. “The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has heightened consumer anxiety about the safety and security of their families and homes and expanded the volume and type of consumers searching for safety-related home solutions,” says Elizabeth Parks, president, Parks Associates. “Smart home and security device adoption is also rising in broadband households, and consumers are embracing standalone devices and DIY home security solutions. Smart home security devices like netwo...

FREDERICK, Md. — Surveillance Secure, a security integrator and franchiser that consults, designs, installs and supports a full range of enterprise grade technology for commercial clients, is gearing up for expansion in 2022. The brand will kick-off the year by moving its headquarters to Frederick, Md., which will facilitate training, distribution and customer service. Surveillance Secure will focus its expansion plans in the Eastern region including Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to an announcement. “Security needs and trends are constantly changing, so we are looking forward to continue innovating ways on how to improve our services and reach more markets,” says Kim Hartman, CEO and founder of Surveillance Secure. “The demand for our offerings is growing as we settle into the new normal, so we are eager to keep expanding and provide more businesses with the surveillance solutions that best fit their needs.” As com...

It is no secret that the smart home market continues to experience yearly growth thanks, in part, to demand from homeowners, builders, integrators and more. The real question is, and one the Z-Wave Alliance continues to examine, is how rapidly is it expanding? Recent research from Mordor Intelligence has revealed that 30 million U.S. households are projected to add smart home technology in the near future. Common smart home devices and solutions growing in popularity and the ones most likely to be integrated include: smart locks, video doorbells and connected light bulbs. However, when it comes to brand compatibility awareness, the industry continues to face challenges. With new adoption of connected devices, the need for product interoperability continues to be a top concern for consumers. Since inception two decades ago, interoperability has been at the core of the Z-Wave protocol and a pillar of Z-Wave technology. The Z-Wave Alliance, and its dedicated members, have built, man...

Homelessness is on the rise throughout the United States. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts an annual count of unhoused people every January and publishes its findings in March of the following year. The 2020 data shows that homelessness across the country was continuing a four-year upward trend even before the pandemic. Houston’s Coalition for the Homeless conducts its own local count, publishing results soon after. The most recent count showed that, as of the beginning of 2021, more than 3,000 people were living without homes in the city. Houston has been addressing homelessness for decades. In 1907, Reverend Dennis R. Pevoto, a Baptist minister, established the Star of Hope Mission in Houston. Star of Hope occupied a single two-story building and focused on helping men who had fallen on hard times. As the members of the unhoused demographics changed, so too did the Mission’s focus. Today, women and children are the fastest growing population of unhouse...