Navigating the Web of IP Opportunities
Hybrid Systems Projected to Remain a Viable Revenue Stream
Tony Lapolito, vice president of marketing for Marlborough, Mass.-based VidSys, which makes software that remotely manages and monitors video surveillance networks, says there is a lesson out there for everyone in the IP space right now trying to evaluate what is happening.
“Just look at VoIP [voice over Internet protocol]. You will see exactly a mirror image of what is going to happen in IP surveillance,” he says. “I can’t predict what the timeline is going to look like, but I can tell you the curve is going to look almost exactly the same.”
Lapolito formerly served with the VoIP group at Cisco. He says VoIP, which the security industry is finally beginning to absorb, went through a similar period of evolution about 10 years ago that is now observable in IP video. Old legacy telephone systems were sometimes changed out every 5 to 10 years as new features became available. But there otherwise was no compelling reason to move forward and swap out phone systems with regularity because they just simply worked, he says.
“What VoIP did, was give compelling reason why you would change out, including being able to manage your phone network the same way you manage your data network. You have productivity gains,” he says. “You are going to see all those same opportunities in the security surveillance area.”
Lapolito says the changes now afoot in IP video are opening up new revenue prospects for systems integrators.
“There are significant opportunities to really go back and touch some of those projects you did in the past 5 to 10 years that you were not expecting to refresh sooner rather than later,” he says.
As widespread IP video surveillance application gathers steam, upgrading or deploying hybrid systems looks to remain a viable source of revenues for years to come.
Of the convergence phenomenon, “It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” says Phil Robertson, vice president of corporate development for Cernium, a developer of behavior recognition software based in Reston, Va. “Today we are at a hybrid point. Even though we say IP is coming, it’s even with the analog systems.”
Systems integrators should expect to leverage their experience with DVRs as these and other hybrid solution-friendly products continue to be deployed in various markets while the convergence trend matures.
J.P. Freeman Co.’s 2007 “U.S. & Worldwide IP and Network Video Market Forecast” reports by the end of the year hybrid systems will account for 9 percent of all video system sales. By 2011 the percentage is projected to increase to 26 percent.
A common misconception exists in the IP video space that erroneously suggests a surveillance system must be all IP or all analog video, says John Moss, president and CEO of S2 Security Corp., a Wellesley, Mass.-based developer of network-based integrated physical security systems. There are situations for each technology, and sometimes a system needs to be designed as a hybrid.
“Hybrid systems will only become irrelevant when the last analog camera has been taken down and when IP infrastructure is universally capable of higher than 100MB bandwidth,” Moss says. “Until that time, hybrid systems offer too much advantage.”
Traditional users of big analog matrix systems offer a large opportunity for system upgrades as they decide on their paths for analog-to-digital migration, says Pelco’s Smith.
“With existing systems that are working well for them to
day, they want solutions that will leverage their current video investments, while providing the flexibility and adaptability to adopt new digital technologies that make sense for them,” he says.
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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