Cloud computing, a maturing IT strategy, now has moved decisively into physical security, including video surveillance, with a surprising litany of business benefits. It turns out, for many, to be an essential tool to meet that equally essential “do more with less” attitude, which continues to spur consolidation, outsourced business processes and an accelerated investment in technologies that shifts costs from large capital expenditures to operational expenses. Depending on how high in the cloud, this can include infrastructure, platforms and applications now delivered in the form of services.
“Observe and report” security officers have gained popularity with private security firms over the past five years. These officers, when faced with danger or a need for physical intervention, are supposed to radio the police or authorities trained to handle dangerous situations. They do not intervene.
The ability to design and install a truly comprehensive, long-term security solution for your organization depends on the technology of more than one manufacturer.
Four years after a student gunned down 32 people in a rampage, Virginia Tech University officials remain adamant that they did nothing wrong by waiting two hours to warn the campus that a gunman was on the loose. Virginia Tech says it acted reasonably based on standards in place at the time and doesn’t deserve the $55,000 fine that the U.S. Department of Education imposed on the school for violating federal law with its response the day of the shootings. As of press time, they had yet to decide on whether or not to appeal the fine.
Security Officers may be some of the most difficult employees to motivate. Many, by their own admission are either finishing out their careers, waiting for a better opportunity, or just plain lazy.
When it comes to the security director – security integrator relationship, it can often look like a “he said/she-said” situation. The phrase “There’s two sides to every story,” applies as well. In fact some – not all – past relationships have been just that.
Amajor theme at this month’s ISC West in Las Vegas is the continued movement of security applications to the Internet, what some call “in the cloud” and others label Software as a Service or SaaS.
“The tragic events of today cannot be remedied with words. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. You may be certain that although no one can predict tragedy, we have invested heavily to prevent or mitigate its consequences.”
Dazzled by analytics, video, smart card, biometrics? For many enterprises, the best security systems turn out to be people, multi-tasking, open system, interoperable, scalable male and female security officers who are first responders, ambassadors, system operators, security eyes and ears. And, when it comes to their metrics, the bottom line is continuing value for the enterprises that employ officers or contract their service.
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