Resource Blogs
Making Sense of Convergence
Much has been written over these past few years on the topic of convergence, and I would guess that, if you were to ask ten people in the security industry what convergence means, you’d get a like number of differing answers. So, when I sat down to write about technologies driving convergence, I really wanted to start off with a clear statement of what’s being driven and why.
I prefer to take the broad view and look at convergence as the blending and sharing of information across the enterprise for the greater good, enabled in large part by network technology and permitted, if not promoted, by the various stakeholders. This is not just about IT and security, or putting security on the corporate network — it embraces any department or system whose information can interact, inter-relate or affect the business.
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Positioning GPS
From the first time I used a Hertz GPS navigation system in lieu of a paper map on the front passenger’s seat, I have found the technology to be an almost indispensable tool. Its adoption over the last 10 years has been remarkable and, for many, a must-have feature in cars and phones. Not surprisingly, GPS has security applications — and vulnerabilities. GPS is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites circling the earth twice daily at about 12,600 miles altitude. GPS satellites transmit 50-watt signals (@ 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band for civilian use) which GPS receivers use to determine time of transmission and, using the signal speed (nearly the 186,000 miles per second speed of light), calculate a distance to each one seen. With three satellites in view, latitude and longitude (2-D) can be derived; and altitude can be calculated (3-D) when four or more satellites are visible. Many GPS units show derived information such as direction and speed, calculated from position changes.
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Go to the Replay
The industry is getting smarter in realizing that the information captured on video equipment may be useful in non-traditional security or non-security applications, including retail assessments, crowd patterns, patient care and monitoring, employee behavior, operations assessment, litigation mitigation and more. Assuming any of these are conducted within legally accepted boundaries, the net effect is to deliver enhanced business-related ROI from the security department. Of course, this presumes that the information useful and relevant, and that security people and their IT and business counterparts are able to work together to connect the dots.
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IT companies should be leading the way in training
A topic that has gained significant attention in this industry has been that of training and certifying those who design, sell and install IP-based physical security solutions. In my opinion, IT companies have largely missed the boat on this issue. Where they have had the opportunity to take the industry by the hand to lead it to the IP Promised Land, they have instead relied on already-established programs, providers and certifications targeted at the IT professional. Thus, the industry’s migration to this technology is happening in a disorganized, unstructured manner, with many left wondering the proper path for learning and skills validation.
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