printer friendly version

It is surveillance month

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of Hi-Tech Security Solutions. For your reading pleasure, we have kept all mention of the Soccer World Cup to a minimum while keeping relevant security information maximised.

As the heading notes, this is surveillance month at Hi-Tech because you will have noticed the CCTV 2010 Handbook bundled with your copy of Hi-Tech Security Solutions. The handbook is our annual collection of trends, issues and case studies from the world of surveillance.

We were considering renaming the handbook to something more modern, incorporating the expanding world of surveillance beyond the strictest definition of CCTV. After some thought and input from long-time readers, we figured the concept of CCTV has evolved beyond closed-circuit television to automatically incorporate IP, intelligent analytics and all the good things you will read about in the CCTV 2010 Handbook.

The reality is, of course, that while IP surveillance is growing at a healthy pace and analogue sales are flat, analogue still has a large, if somewhat endangered place in the market. Endangered because IP’s benefits are indisputable. IP may not be able to deliver 100% just yet, but it will. Only today I spoke to yet another traditionally pure IT company that is suddenly gearing up and hiring people to launch a physical security division.

Of course, this issue has more than surveillance in it. We have a data protection Q&A that turned out rather interesting in terms of the calibre of people and companies that responded. In a few years there will not be a physical security manager, IT security processes or even a compliance policy because it will all be under the watchful eye of a risk manager who will probably hold a position on the board, with all the associated perks – my CV is ready to be sent out, drop me an e-mail.

Unfortunately, unlike a banker, the risk manager will have enormous responsibilities for delivery and will be held accountable for failures, intrusions, information loss and the resulting global recessions. Those perks had better be good.

To cement the fact that this is surveillance month, Hi-Tech Security Solutions also held its first webinar – a presentation over the Internet – in partnership with VideoIQ on the topic of intelligent surveillance. Imagine attending a full presentation from your computer without having to go through the trauma of traffic or having to justify your time out of the office. That is what we did.

Look out for the next issue when we will delve a little deeper into the meat of the webinar and provide the Web link where you can listen to the webinar. Unfortunately, since it is a recording you will not be able to interact and ask questions. Watch this space.

Andrew Seldon

Editor

Share this article:

Further reading: