Who remembers 'Jurassic Park'? A wonderful movie. What a thrill it was to witness dinosaurs lumbering back from extinction to reclaim their position as kings of the jungle. Well, kings of the swamp, anyway. Of course, that film was a product of the Hollywood dream factory and not a reflection of real life. In reality, dinosaurs and dodos stay dead. They do not come back to thrill or terrorise.
"Yes, that is all very interesting but I work in the security industry in Peckham." I hear you mumble. "What has Tyrannosaurus Rex to do with me?" Well, the answer is evolution, of course. The ability of any creature to learn, develop and adapt to changing circumstances. The security industry is evolving rapidly at the present time. New equipment and new technology arrives at an almost alarming rate. This brings new pressures to individuals who find work within its many sectors. Those who cannot (or will not) learn cannot (or will not), survive for very long. They will, sadly, become the new dodos.
Do I mean you? Well, I hope not, but only you will know the answer to that.
Consider the meteoric growth of Network IP. Not long ago, it used to be that CCTV images were always transferred over coaxial cable. There were various good reasons for this including range, bandwidth, ease of installation, low attenuation, and so on. However, there is now a rapidly emerging trend to integrate CCTV images into digital networks that are already in place to provide data services.
The logic driving this trend would appear, on the face of it, to be irresistible. Most organisations have large data networks in place already. There is often spare capacity - although network managers may be tempted to disagree with that statement! Twisted pair cable extends everywhere and is simple to install and maintain. Integration makes maximum use of this expensive asset.
Consider the cons
Of course, it should not be forgotten that there are downsides to the integration of data and images on a single infrastructure. Problems usually occur in two main areas - the effect on data patterns caused by streaming video and the problems of reliability and resilience in a network where 100% uptime is usually no more than wishful thinking.
My underlying question remains "Who really needs to understand IP and its influences within the security industry?" The simple answer is 'Everyone associated with that industry' from self-employed 'man and van' security installers to the captains of corporate industry. Needless to say, faced with such a diverse audience with widely varied interests the subject needs to be presented at different levels of understanding.
For security managers and end-users the value of appreciating how much this technology can influence your business cannot be overstated. It can change the way your security systems are selected, implemented and evaluated by others. The knowledge you glean may save thousands of pounds on your annual security budget or greatly increase the returns on your security investments. It can make you aware of new opportunities that did not exist before the advent of IP and it will certainly provide a massive personal fillip to 'get to grips' with a new technology that will soon affect us all, both in our workplaces and our homes.
For security installers, IP is the latest innovation which must be accepted and mastered as 'part of the job'. It is the latest in a never-ending procession, for almost everything moves through a circle of time when it reaches a peak and then slowly - or sometimes distressingly rapidly - loses its usefulness and appeal. Ring any bells? It ceases to be 'flavour of the month' and becomes a dusty memory of the past, consigned to a case in the museum.
The fax machine replaced the teleprinter almost overnight. The CD replaced the vinyl record almost within the blink of an eye. Love it or hate it, the mobile phone is well on the way to rendering our well loved phone boxes as extinct as those well loved dodos.
Some evolutionary facts
CCTV provides many similar examples. Just under 20 years ago - circa 1986 - the CCD came to the fore to replace those glass things we called tube cameras. In a matter of months the industry embraced the new technology - warts and all - as an immediate replacement for the tube device. CCTV has traditionally been transmitted over coaxial cable but more recently it is run over twisted pair (CAT 5 nowadays) through passive or active baluns.
Digital CCTV is already well upon us and of course IP is merely an extension of that technology. It may not be many months before it emerges as the front line method of getting CCTV and other security data from A to B. For the installer there is not a moment to lose.
Even the experienced security consultant is not immune from the winds of change. Next year licensing for consultants comes into force! Security consultants working with IP and networks will need them to show proof of their sector skill competence from a recognised awarding body such as Edexcel.
So, it is a 'No brainer' is it not, in the modern parlance? You go out and get yourself trained. Well, maybe. Sadly, in too many cases the 'them and us' syndrome still prevails - 'us' being the traditional security industry worker who is comfortable with coaxial and lovely analog signals and 'them' in another building that have all the networking and computing skills. Never the twain shall meet? Don't you believe it.
It will not be long before 'them' - the latest young computer literate generation come into the industry and take over the security mantle from those amongst us who are not prepared to change and learn. I am afraid too many traditional players in the security industry - and particularly the more mature amongst us - need to take their proverbial heads from the sand and address the situation quickly or there is a real possibility that their current business or job may be in jeopardy.
With its utilisation of computers and networks, IP is undeniably different to the other conventional means of sending data but it is not magic, rocket science or a specialist art for 'geeks'. It can be easily understood and practised. So do not walk away from the new era. You will do so at your peril.
Do not be left behind. Do not be a 21st century dodo!
Mike Tennent is the founder and managing director of Tavcom Training. He can be contacted at [email protected]
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