Gallagher designs and manufactures access control and intruder alarm systems and networked perimeter security systems. The company’s security platform integrates access control and alarms management, intruder alarm monitoring, remote digital imaging, intercom and PhotoID badging. The system collects real-time data and can be integrated with other systems.
Gallagher’s electric fence perimeter security systems both detect and deter would-be intruders with a short, sharp and safe pulse. There are several models of powered fence systems available, with Gallagher’s Trophy systems zoned and alarm monitored. These are ideal for high security sites such as corrections facilities and defense sites through to self-storage and commercial facilities.
Prior to IFSEC International 2012, Brian Sims – media solutions manager for UBM Live’s Security and Fire Portfolio – interviewed Daniel McVeagh (Gallagher’s senior product manager) and asked him several key questions in relation to this particular IFSEC Premier Partner organisation’s involvement with next week’s event in Birmingham.
Info4Security (I4S): In years gone by it has been themes such as IP, hybrid solutions, the emergence of networks or video analytics that have characterised the show. Is there a key theme you can see on the horizon that might well frame the 2012 event?
Daniel McVeagh (DM): I think there are several key trends that may well frame the 2012 IFSEC International show.
Customers are increasingly looking for their security providers to deliver integrated functionality between Best of Breed security products. I believe a strong theme for the show will be the ability of security manufacturers’ products to provide open programming interfaces, allowing seamless integrations with other customer selected elements of a security system.
Support for Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled smartphones is also likely to be a common theme, as these phones start to become more prevalent and are used for contactless access at door readers.
I4S: What’s the key focus for the company at this year’s show?
DM: With the Gallagher Security System capable of integrating widely with non-security systems (eg HR, ERP, IT and BMS systems, etc), Gallagher will have a key focus on showcasing solutions where our integrated system has added real value to businesses.
For example, the Gallagher system has been successfully integrated with heating and lighting systems, providing payback for the Gallagher system over 18-24 months purely on energy savings.
Gallagher’s Solutions Team can help design and deliver these value added solutions, or customers can chose to use our open programming interfaces to create these solutions themselves.
I4S: Can you briefly outline the new solutions and products that will be displayed and discussed by the company?
DM: Gallagher will be displaying its new user interface, Gallagher Command Centre Premiere, which is a finalist in the IFSEC International Security Industry Awards category for Integrated Security Product of the Year.
Gallagher Command Centre Premiere is an operator-centric user interface, providing the operator with tailored information for them to best respond to site occurrences. Customers can easily configure information ’tiles’, allowing them to establish the most appropriate security information views for their site.
Gallagher Command Centre Premiere is a scalable client, able to work across multiple screens and/or multiple sites as required by the customer.
Gallagher is also launching a new hardware revision of the Gallagher T Series Reader range. Gallagher T Series Rev 1 Readers now have the ability to communicate via HBUS, a high speed RS-485 protocol allowing lightning fast access times and industry leading encryption levels between the reader and controller.
With options for both star and daisy-chain wiring configurations, Gallagher T Series Rev 1 readers are ideal for retrofitting over a site’s existing wiring infrastructure. Gallagher T Series Rev 1 Readers support downloadable code, allowing the reader to be further enhanced in the future to support new features. This is important for emerging technologies such as NFC which have yet to bed down in terms of several areas of implementation.
Gallagher has successfully tested T Series Rev 1 Reader hardware with the latest NFC smartphones, allowing customers to future proof their current reader installations for this new technology.
In addition, Gallagher is demonstrating its newest Perimeter Controller, the Gallagher F22 Fence Controller. Complying to the latest IEC/EN standards, the Gallagher F22 Fence Controller controls up to two fence zones, with both high voltage and ‘low feel’ deterrence options.
Reporting temperature, battery and voltage measurements, the Gallagher F22 Fence Controller allows sites an unparalleled ability to maintain the quality of their perimeter security.
As HBUS devices, F22 Fence Controllers gain the benefits of a high level of data encryption with downloadable software allowing future device upgrades.
I4S: Can you offer your views on the subject of convergence in the security space, wherein information security and physical security are being brought closer together?
DM: Interoperability with IT networks and processes is now considered a basic requirement for most security systems. We are seeing an increased focus in the physical security arena in ensuring both the physical and information security systems conform to standardised identity management system processes.
At a basic level, this could mean linking a physical security system’s cardholder databases to a site’s IT managed Active Directory system, ensuring there is a single point of ‘truth’ and control for the cardholder record, and that the same authentication tokens can be used for both physical and logical access.
At a broader level, such as with the US FIPS-201 Federal Standard, this can mean physical access control systems seamlessly implementing federated identity management processes, standardising the way identity is established and authenticated across thousands of sites.
Our belief is that physical security systems designed to act only as information silos will be left behind by these trends.
Gallagher at IFSEC International 2012
Hall 4 Stand D120
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