It has been another monumental and transitional year for physical security systems. For low-voltage contractors specifying security, the breadth of products has changed, and solutions-deployment methods have evolved even more. As we head into 2016, it’s evident that commercial security will continue to morph from traditional intrusion detection into new integrations beyond physical security, incorporating business intelligence, logical access, and many other operational and management uses across the enterprise. That’s great news for the security contractor, which can continue to add value to the specification and new features and functionality for the customer.


If you are looking to increase your footing in low-voltage contracting beyond traditional security, here are four hot trends to watch.


1. Emergence and movement in the Internet of Things (loT)


There’s noise in the air, and it’s coming from the ongoing disruptive technologies associated with the loT. According to Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif., approximately 50 billion devices and objects will be connected to the Internet by 2020. In addition, Wired magazine’s October 2015 issue reports the emergence of ‘PoWi-Fi,” i.e., power over Wi-Fi, for low-powered sensors throughout the home.


The ongoing transition to intelligent gateways and sensors controlling all parts of a building will be especially attractive in commercial market verticals, including schools, medical facilities, financial institutions and more as these properties become smarter and highly integrated. For the low-voltage electrical contractor that is already doing security, it’s a great time to be part of the activity. Now, more systems will be easily interconnected, which means greater value to the overall system solution specification. In addition, the ability to provide integrated services will bring more substantial value to the electrical contractor by way of recurring monthly revenue from the initial installation and remote maintenance services and provide the end-user with a healthy savings from controls, such as critical temperature monitoring and energy management.


“With cloud-hosted security management programs, it will be easier for contractors to move into energy management and other connected services associated with the loT,” said Mike Simon, managing partner, Connected Technologies LLC, Crystal Lake, Ill. “That means a greater return on investment for the customer and higher profitability for the installing company.”


2. Smartphones become access-control devices


Do you use a smartphone to access a security system off-site or download and update access control identification credentials to the same device? We are moving quickly in that direction, according to Martin Huddart, president of the Access and Egress Hardware Group, Assa Abloy, New Haven, Conn.


“Mobile credentials continue to increase in use, and now there are smart credentials present with a concept called data on card,” he said.


Smart credentials include biometrics, such as fingerprint technology, to add more security to the process of gaining access to the protected premises or within the high-security areas of a facility, such as data centers or other locations with sensitive information. Assa Abloy’s HID Mobile Access, powered by Seos, is on the new frontier of smartphone as a mobile credential. With Seos, digital ‘keys’ for access are securely transmitted over the air to the user and combined with Bluetooth technologies to integrate with smartphone operating systems, while offering government-grade military encryption.


“The concept of sending a secured credential over wireless, with top-of-the-line encryption of data and handshake security protocols is now possible,” said Christopher Gaughan, director of product management—commercial mechanical hardware, architectural hardware shared services, Assa Abloy. “Bluetooth now offers the next generation of mobile credentials.”


3. Cyber crime concerns continue


According to the 2015 Ponemon Institute ”2015 Cost of Cyber Crime Study,” issued in October, the average annual cost in the United States is now $15 million, up 19 percent since the 2014 report.


Cyber threats to the end-user continue to rise as manufacturers and network providers look for ways to improve security with two-factor authentication, password protection, and hardware and software to prevent surreptitious threats to the network or loss of sensitive information. Contractors that can provide these extra measures will have a customer who can trust the solution provider to protect the business, while avoiding data compromise and loss of business continuity.


Surveillance and video management companies now offer hardware and software solutions for cameras, live video streams and recorded footage that encrypts and protects these devices from hackers trying to gain access to the Internet protocol (IP) network. Genetec, a Montreal-based IP security, solution company, stresses video security, and the company continues to add features to prevent surveillance attacks through its unified IP-based solutions.


“We’ve added capabilities to help make sure customer’s security remains secure, including authentication and encrypting video streams to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks,” said Kevin Clark, global media relations and social media manager, Genetec. 


Network security is not the only thing at risk. In addition, at the private branch exchange (PBX) and IP phone communications level, companies (such as Datacom Warranty Corp., Alpharetta, Ga.), are offering cloud-based cybersecurity protection platforms that inform integrators and users of threats to and attacks on network communications firewalls.


“There’s no on-site equipment, and everything resides on the cloud,” said Rusty Bryan, Datacom founder. “SIPsecurity is a real-time solution integrated with the businesses’ existing firewall and PBX system. Daily, weekly and monthly email reports are generated when a hacker tries to circumvent network communications.”


4. Multiple intelligent video applications


Video continues to emerge as a platform for more than physical security, moving firmly into business intelligence and management to help the end-user gain better profitability from their video and use it for multiple applications. Video analytics are becoming easier to use and simpler to control and deploy for the contractor.


According to Jeff Karnes, senior vice president of marketing and operations for 3VR Inc., San Francisco, video is now yielding more detailed and specific metadata to provide an even greater depth of intelligence. The company’s VisionPoint VMS can search for a targeted point of interest and stream back just that portion of the video. Forensic search and analytics capabilities enable loss prevention and fraud investigation teams to find video evidence faster and more efficiently.


“You can get very specific in searches, and it’s a great way to sort through video,” Karnes said. “This allows video to provide customer insights and even improve the customer experience. A single platform can provide business intelligence and loss prevention.


“Two of the more popular types of video analytics for business intelligence include heat mapping and, now, direction arrows in software programs provide additional information on where people are going through a retail establishment and their traffic flow and pattern. Video intelligence can provide a differentiator for value-added resellers,” Karnes said.