Recently, companies such as Norbain – in our incisive interview with CEO Alun John – and Dedicated Micros – in the form of CEO Mike Newton and head of marketing Pauline Norstrom at yesterday’s IIPSEC in the Coventry countryside – have been acknowledging that pure IP systems may not be the only way forward.
Hybrid is the new buzzword.
As such, it’s time to see IP technology be embraced by the mainstream, and for IP equipment to take its place within that mainstream of security products.
Delivery mechanism
It no longer serves a useful purpose to treat IP as a ‘strange and wonderful’ new technology. It needs to be seen as a delivery mechanism, and an option – sometimes to replace, but often to work alongside legacy security systems.
As Newton and Norstrom pointed out in their presentations yesterday, Return On Investment is likely to be the rallying cry from those who hold the budget purse strings over the next couple of years, at least.
So it’s inevitable that hybrid systems will become more dominant, as end-users look for added value, as opposed to total system overhaul or replacement.
Work together
Products and systems that can work with analogue equipment will be vital. IP security providers cannot afford to stand outside the mainstream of the security industry; and those involved with conventional security delivery methods cannot afford to ignore IP.
And it does neither side any favours to act as if there is sense in ‘standing apart’. There is sense in providing education about new technologies, such as IP – learning and embracing these changes, and this forward momentum, is crucial for any company or individual who wishes to remain viable in the next five or ten years.
But attitudes and events that seek to place IP security somehow out of the mainstream security agenda are becoming increasingly outdated – and misguided.
Importance of communication
It’s now vital for those involved with IP security to be talking constantly with traditional security providers, as the products and services they deliver rapidly blur at the edges.
In tough financial circumstances the only real hope for survival is to offer solutions which are tailored to individual needs – needs which could, and probably will, require a hybrid solution.
It’s time for IP and analogue systems providers, installers and users to acknowledge that they are on the same page, and need to exist side by side, at least for the foreseeable future.
