Blog: PSIM Trends

PSIM Named a Top 5 Technology by SIs

This week SDM highlighted The Top 5 Technologies for 2010 in a survey of the 100 largest systems integrators.  These leading integrators named integration platforms, and specifically physical security information management (PSIM), as number 4 on the Top 5 list of technologies that would have the biggest impact on their businesses this year.  This is great news, although not surprising given the challenges many security organizations face today.  With numerous security devices and systems that provide real time information, operators are inundated with data.  It is not correlated in any form or fashion therefore making sense of the data is difficult and getting the right information to the right people at the right time to ensure the best response is even more difficult - never mind tracking responses for compliance. 

PSIM brings together the data and event information and correlates and analyzes it to identify and prioritize situations that need attention – and provides step-by-step instructions for resolving situations and tracking them.  It intelligently brings information directly to the people who need it, when they need it. As PSIM gains market adoption and even greater acceptance by the SI community, we anticipate the power of PSIM will revolutionize how security organizations operate and will greatly enhance the safety and security of those organizations.

Effective Situation Management in NYC Times Square Incident

The responsiveness of the first responders, in this weekend's suspicious vehicle incident in Times Square, were crucial to managing the situation effectively in real-time. Additionally, critical information has been shared effectively thru public/private partnering. The cameras in the area are now being used for forensics to find the person of interest. This is a good example of having security intelligence and a well-organized response team in place to avert a potential disaster. Kudos to NYC - the situation has been handled well because of the people, processes and technologies in place.

Security Information Integration is No Longer Just a Dream

An interesting article on SecurityPark.co.uk by Gary Ball last week highlights a number of the challenges faced when trying to have a complete and total security solution. Two key failings of most security systems he mentions are:

1) Coexistence of Cyberspace, Personnel and Physical Security - without integration, there are holes in the security plan

2) Lack of automation - Automation is difficult to achieve in physical security, as the author points out, because, "physical security has only been effective when used with trained operators to monitor and interpret in real time the events displayed on their monitors." You cannot automate something solely managed by humans.

At the end of his article, he asks who will "make the bold moves to develop new solutions to these problems."  However, this has already begun with the introduction of Physical Security Information Management (PSIM).  Here's how....

1) PSIM integrates any number and variety of disparate physical security and surveillance assets into one operating picture, making relevant, real-time information available at a responder's fingertips. Now, with most assets within an organization being network-based, this interoperability is crucial (and effectively links together cyberspace, personnel and physical security).

2) A true PSIM solution takes situation assessment and management from a reactionary mode to a proactive mode, allowing organizations to apply intelligence to the information from various physical security devices and systems, determine the cause of the alarms and then automate the resolution of the situation. This helps reduce false alarms and eliminate human error.

PSIM is a rapidly growing industry that analysts predict will continue to grow for the very reasons Gary Ball outlines in his article - we need a way to integrate all of our security assets in order to take a proactive approach to situation management. 

Are Your Physical Security Operations…Autopsy or Preventive Care?

How would you classify your Physical Security system?    When there is a situation do you scramble to collect the information from multiple systems and find yourself responding forensically?  On a scale of 1-10 how do you rate your ability to resolve a situation as it is happening and before it becomes critical?

Most of us, if we are honest, find ourselves combing through recorded video, alarm records and access control logs after the fact to determine what actually happened.  This is quickly followed by a round of placing blame, demands for new technology and procedures to try to respond faster the next time.  Maybe even a new round of administrative policies that mandate we do better the next time.

The truth is, the situations we are facing are increasingly more complex and require the synthesis of information from multiple sources.  The more technology we throw at individual problems the more information we generate and therefore the more we have to analyze to determine what is going on.  While we are spending millions deploying the latest technologies, in the end it can come down to how fast an operator can wheel between multiple consoles to figure out what is going on and how to respond.

If we truly want to get the most from our investments we need to integrate our physical security technologies into a system that can turn all this information into early warning systems that tell us what is happening.   PSIM software, industry standards, open systems, and customer demand for integration are key to turning our command centers from morgues, to emergency rooms and ultimately preventive care centers.  

Respond to this week's poll and let us know how you rate your ability to resolve a situation?  And don't be shy - we would like to hear your opinions on what is holding you back from providing the right care.  What obstacles are you facing?  What's getting in the way? We're sure you're not alone...