Security Sales & Integration February 2022 - 18

SMARTS & PARTS
Integrated Intelligence by Elliott Gabriel
Amalgamation
of IT, Security &
Transportation
Customers
are more keen
to wanting
integrated
and unifi ed
platforms in
order to see
all of their
systems under
one hood,
ultimately
rendering them
able to make
more informed
decisions from
a security,
safety and
business
perspective.
▶ LONG GONE ARE THE DAYS of the analog
system. Well, that is for the most part anyway, albeit
that is a conversation for another day. Technology
has evolved over the last decade in a multitude
of ways, specifi cally here in the integrated
security industry. Th e Internet of Th ings (IoT)
has given almost any imaginable product the
ability to be connected to the Internet in some
way, shape, or form. Yes, this even dives into our
personal lives where your toaster, crockpot, oven
and coff ee maker can all be on " the network. "
Th is column will guide you through the current
state of IT, security and the transportation/
parking industry.
Point of No Return
Like it or not, the once disparate worlds of IT,
security, transportation and parking are now
intertwined in a way that cannot be undone.
Whether you ride public transit or pay to park
downtown for your hometown's baseball team,
IT and security are involved in the background
even if you don't notice them. Th e trend of Big
Data a decade ago has transformed merely into
a norm in which entities are able to make better
and more informed decisions today based upon
a conglomerate of information that they have at
their disposal. Th is includes data from your cellphone
using Google or Apple Maps, paying for
parking via an application on your phone, social
media and beyond.
Th e same holds true to today's current security
Elliott Gabriel is the Sales
& Design Professional for
Preferred Technologies.
18
systems that for the most part are IP-based. Regardless
of whether the equipment or technology
in question is access control, surveillance, intrusion
detection, mass transit or license plate recognition
(LPR), these systems are all IP-based,
which puts them in the same IoT category as
some of the home devices previously noted. Integrators
and end users must take into account
cybersecurity implications as well as deploy practices
to protect against attacks. Integrators are
Security Sales & Integration FEBRUARY 2022
often faced today with conversations about cyber
hardening given the current environment of cybersecurity
attacks worldwide.
Th ese IP/IoT systems are here to stay and are
certainly not going to be retrograded back to the
analog days. Customers are more keen to wanting
integrated and unifi ed platforms in order to see all
of their systems under one hood, ultimately rendering
them able to make more informed decisions
from a security, safety and business perspective.
Transportation &
Security Technologies
Th e transportation industry has often been forgotten
in the security world. With IoT at scale,
the old analog systems onboard buses, trains, and
other transit vehicles are quickly being replaced
with more intelligent and capable systems. What
used to be an analog system with onboard viewing
only is now IP/IoT based where a security
operations center (SOC) can view the cameras
and vehicle status live, allowing for real-time
decisions that aff ect vehicle operations, law enforcement,
public safety, and beyond. In addition
to the original camera only approach, the
new security platforms are capable of bringing in
live vehicle data including telemetry, turn signals,
braking and vehicle diagnostics - the possibilities
are endless. Th ese new systems even allow for
operations managers to understand if the bus is
off route or simply not operating at its full potential
or capacity.
Th e parking industry still remains one of the
few segments of the security industry where
end users are able to measure a tangible cash
return on investment while utilizing LPR systems.
Many cities, counties and universities
have moved towards a permit-less approach
utilizing LPR in their jurisdictions. Th is has allowed
for tens of thousands of dollars saved in
not purchasing vehicle hang tags. Additionally,
the ability to combine mass transit, LPR and
building-based video surveillance has helped
many entities with customer complaints, internal
human resource investigations, and greatly
aided local law enforcement agencies as they
conduct investigations surrounding a multitude
of matters.
Th ese technologies have morphed into their
own being and allowed end users to provide a level
of customized customer service like never seen
before. Imagine pulling into a parking lot and
having your name on the digital board greeting
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Security Sales & Integration February 2022

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