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To what degree is a lack of standards holding back systems integrators’ ability to deploy integrated technologies and open platforms?

The current state of standards is a subjective question. One could say 30% good intentions, 60% a solid roadmap, and 10% smoke and mirrors. Current standards are more influenced from the direction of IT, not the security industry. Peripheral physical security devices, cameras and card readers have become commodities of the overall system. While IT managers expect interoperability, regardless of the integrator’s software platform, the lack of standards definitely changes what can and can’t be done based on requirements of any given project.

The implementation of an open communication protocol is a much needed step in reducing development and deployment time. There is less of a proprietary nature now that most things are becoming IP-based and soon it should be easier to look at infrastructure as truly agnostic.

My feeling is that we are moving in the right direction, but a bit slower than I would like. ONVIF is the standard I hear most frequently, but you must be certain that the products can fully and properly interact with each other. Limited or poor integration capabilities of ONVIF-stated products have diminished the standard in my view. Too often, clients purchase systems that they believe can be integrated with third-party solutions, only to find out later that the systems are not compatible.

A lack of standards allows manufacturers and integrators to sell inferior products to clients, essentially locking them into a substandard system. I strongly believe open platform solutions are the future and second-generation buyers are very aware of the pitfalls of purchasing a closed format, so they insist on open formats. 

While ONVIF and PSIA camera interoperability standards have been voluntarily adopted by most leading camera manufacturers, the standardization is fragmented in access control. Different vertical markets require adherence to disparate regulatory standards adopted by local, state and federal authorities having jurisdiction.

Additionally, although some open protocol hardware is available, most leading manufacturers’ access control gear is proprietary and
noncompatible with other manufacturers’ security systems. Almost all notification, intrusion detection, fire detection and network security systems are closed systems, and so are not interoperable.

Overall, systems integrators are still held hostage between the integration platform and their relationships with device manufacturers. Driver support and development is dependent upon these relationships. Backwards compatibility, as platforms are upgraded, is always a concern and is the cause of 90% of our customers’ system upgrade issues. Integration platform manufacturers currently have to create and test well over 600 individual camera drivers from legacy and current video camera models produced by dozens of manufacturers. Many see this as an antiquated technology model that specifically benefits a manufacturer that provides both hardware and software, but not the end user.

Lastly, no one single electronic security systems design or installation professional certification is recognized as the industry standard. This makes consultant and contractor qualifications difficult to specify.

Is there enough of a concerted effort within the security industry to deliver truly open platforms and interoperability across an enterprise? In your view will there eventually have to be a winner among the two competing standards bodies, ONVIF and PSIA?

The effort to deliver truly open platforms is still in its infancy in spite of the introduction of these protocols in 2008. It has to be tough to get a group of competitors to volunteer and cooperate in a technology that many consider a threat to their business. This is the point where the smoke and mirrors comes into play. Manufacturers will claim, “Yes our system is ONVIF/PSIA compatible.” But when a customer wants to use that feature the manufacturer will turn around and say, “You need our proprietary software to make that work” or “That feature is not supported by your integration platform.”

This push for open platforms is very reminiscent to the LonWorks vs. BACnet platforms of the late 1990s in the building automation industry. Manufacturers scrambled to impress their potential customers with their latest “open” system. The marketing to the engineering community was brilliant; they painted open protocol as a panacea for a fair and cost-efficient bidding process to their clients. Meanwhile they maneuvered the products to provide only as much “open protocol” as they could get away with. Many loosely followed the standards they themselves help create and continued to lockdown their devices as much as possible. This led to a, “Yes our system is open. Oh? You actually want to control that equipment? I’m sorry you need our proprietary software for that feature to work.”

My crystal ball says there is a good bet we’ll see the security open platform community play that game. It was very effective for the first seven years in the BAS industry. At this time both competing technologies are still viable and provide end users cost-effective solutions to their integration, automation and energy control strategies. 

In today’s world the BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] mentality of connectivity is a blessing and a curse. A plug-and-play installation of my physical security technology is great at startup. However, in an operational deployment the last thing I want is rogue “open platform” devices hammering my network. On established systems a vetting process needs to be in place before devices are added to the network. A “Trusted Source” certificate type technology is needed beyond basic authentication in an http string. Both ONVIF and PSIA platforms are starting to address this.

ONVIF is on the right track in regard to device to system connections. PSIA has some strong system-to-system attributes and their profiles for Recording and Content Management would greatly improve multiple system access to archived video. Both these technologies are striving for a plug-and-play solution across multiple systems. If I have to pick, I would say ONVIF is leading among video device manufacturers and will probably win out based on its stronger name recognition in the industry.

Can you give us a glimpse of what an integrated building automation solution of the future will look like and who will be providing such solutions?

The fully integrated building solution will be driven by ROI. It will focus on energy savings that are optimized with little to no human interaction. Simply by entering or exiting a building with your access card a chain of events can be triggered that will adjust the work environment from lighting and temperature control to overall power consumption. The main issue is to present a worthwhile and desirable solution that justifies the cost of the installation.

Can you provide some practical advice to a traditional security integrator who wants to branch into building automation and related services? Where can an integrator become educated on what will be required organizationally and technically to make the leap and compete?

You are not going to turn your security technical staff into BAS technicians and engineers because the knowledge base required is too extensive and most organizations will fail if they try to go it alone. A security integrator would be best served by partnering with or acquiring an established building automation company or hiring an expert from that field to build and grow that division for the organization.

Dedicated security individuals, mechanical and electrical engineers are all essential to success. You will find that your security staff is more IT savvy but adding dedicated IT professionals and a programmer or two are the glue to tie your integration opportunities all together. Members of InsideIQ benefit because our organization is an invaluable source of shared knowledge and business building resources.

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