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Tyco looking to fund security projects

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Company creates division to scout promising start-ups with innovative ideas p. 6

Making the most of home health-care

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Q&A with ADI’s new president, North America Rob Aarnes on the new global structure and the company’s “Express” model p. 26 p.24

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Contents May 2015

www.sptnews.ca www.sptnews.ca Departments

Cover Story

4 Editor’s Letter

16 Trouble at home

6 Line Card

Product vendors may not be covering all bases when it comes to networked lifestyle security products

• Tyco opens funding division • Axis to roll out compression tool • Lanvac partners with Vista Credit • HID acquires Quantum Secure • Pelco offering Cloud video service

By Linda Johnson

26 Q&A Rob Aarnes, president, ADI North America

Columns

Features

14 Integrator Perspective

20 Health care around the clock

A career in security

By Richard McMullen

Monitoring technologies are changing the way people view their health and offering dealers new opportunities

By Jason Falbo

14 Camera Corner

Creating a more usable VMS

By Colin Bodbyl

15 Lessons Learned

Crossing the great divide

By Victor Harding

Suggested for use in hospitals, schools and industrial facilities, the 6510-S35 from Dortronics features a single pull action to provide instant egress and alarm activation in the event of an emergency situation.

KT&C’s KEES, an iris recognition door lock powered by SRI’s Iris on the Move (IOM) technology, has been developed for the residential security market. The door lock combines iris biometrics with a push-pull handle.

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Find these products and more at our online buyer’s guide www.securitypages.ca

Editor Neil Sutton provides some behindthe-scenes insight into news and features going into each new issue of SP&T News

www.sptnews.ca/videos

@ www.twitter.com/SecurityEd

Integrator Roundtable: Growth of IP

SP&T News: Issue Insight

Looking for the latest IP camera? What about a new managed access control system?

SP&T News asks integrators to offer insight on new security technology and how end users perceive it both in the home and the office

www.sptnews.ca/videos @SecurityEd • November/December 2014 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

By Neil Sutton

K-counting at ISC West

Your Partner in Securing Canada

There’s plenty of firepower out there, but who’s the target?

here’s something of an arms race going on in the surveillance world, with companies trying to outdo each other with higher and higher megapixel cameras and promises of greater intelligence on-board. Nowhere is this more evident than a show like ISC West, the annual Las Vegas showcase of latest and greatest security technology. While I was attending the conference, I visited with maybe a dozen camera manufacturers. I lost count of the number of 4K cameras, and there were plenty of multi-sensor as well as panoramic cameras, many of which were impressive. To a degree, I think a lot of this newer technology functions much like a concept car at the auto show: it can dazzle you with its clean lines, fat tires and oversized engine, but it’s the hatchback at the back of the booth that’s really going to be the big seller. Of course, many of today’s cheaper hatchbacks come with standard ABS, seat warmers and satellite navigation. And so it is with any highly competitive high-tech industry: the luxuries, thrills and gimmicks of today’s high end models will eventually make their way into budget lines as the technology becomes cheaper to manufacturer. Only a few years ago, a 4K camera on a trade show floor was enough to cause a stir, but today it seems like a given at any large manufacturer’s booth. Avigilon even upped the ante this year with 7K technology — product marketing manager Willem Ryan remarked, tongue in cheek, at a press event that “4K is so 2012.” The reality is that most end users probably aren’t even

up to date with 2012 technology. In most cases, I would guess they don’t need to be. The range of options available to them in recent years is surely daunting and it would take a highly skilled and well-rounded integrator or consultant to make a decent recommendation as to what technology they actually require based on the price they can afford. And with the technology advancing at such a tremendous rate (4K to 7K in a matter of a few years), future-proofing a surveillance system must seem a bit like trying to read an entire newspaper before the next day’s edition comes out. The matter becomes more complex when factoring in storage and compression requirements. H.264 has become the go-to standard today, but H.265 is around the corner. There were smatterings of the latter at this year’s ISC West, but we’re likely to see a lot more applications of that technology in the next few years. In many ways, ISC West has come to mirror the city that hosts it. Each new casino on the Las Vegas strip tries to outdo its predecessor with more opulent décor, fancier restaurants and over-the-top retailers. For security vendors, particularly camera manufacturers, that’s not a bad model to emulate. Abundant features, clearer images, and smarter analytics are helping to drive the industry forward. As long as the fundamentals are sound and they’re truly paying attention to what the end user needs, it almost doesn’t matter how large the number is before the “K.”

“Abundant features are helping to drive the industry forward.”

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Carlo Di Leo, Double Vision Group Colin Doe, Veridin Systems Canada Anna Duplicki, Lanvac Travis Firth, Tyco Security Products Mike Jagger, Provident Security Carl Jorgensen, Titan Products Group Bob Moore, Axis Communications Tom Richards, Lionsafe Security Paul Swan, Tri-Ed Distribution

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Security Products & Technology News is published 8 times in 2015 by Annex Business Media. Its primary purpose is to serve as an information resource to installers, resellers and integrators working within the security and/or related industries. Editorial information is reported in a concise, accurate and unbiased manner on security products, systems and services, as well as on product areas related to the security industry. Feature articles and all other types of newsworthy submissions should be forwarded to the Editor for consideration via mail, e-mail or fax (all listed below). These should be written to reflect the interests of professionals serving the Canadian protection industry.

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Applications...........................................................10 Appointments........................................................10 Calendar.................................................................10 Security Stats..........................................................12 Market Watch.........................................................12

Tyco program to give start-ups a helping hand April in Las Vegas, Nev. According to Santos, this isn’t the first time Tyco Security has demonyco Security Products is lookstrated an interest in this type of investing for a few good ideas. ment — the company’s Tyco Ventures The company recently initiative was behind the decision to launched InnovationWorks — a promake a strategic investgram, designed to recogment in home automation nize security-based projects company QolSys — but that show promise. Tyco is InnovationWorks repasking start-up companies resents more of a targeted to present their ideas for effort to reward new ideas. new, innovative security “When we started this, technologies, the best of we weren’t sure what we which could be funded, were going to receive,” or even outright acquired, says Santos. “However, based on their potential I’m happy to report that for the market. within the first day, we had A team of four people Anita Santos, Tyco Security Products submissions.” is leading the initiative for Santos, who describes Tyco: Anita Santos, vice-president of InnovationWorks as a technology marketing; Robert Locke, vice-presincubator, says the group is looking ident of corporate development; for companies with a fresh perspective, Stephen Meagher; director of custempered with a realistic business plan tomer experience; and strategic prodand viable product with market potenuct marketing manager Greg Blackett, tial. That could mean companies that a Canadian based in Tyco Security are just getting started or may already Products’ Toronto office. have something close to fruition. At press time, the group had She says they’ve consulted with received about a dozen ideas, and met companies that are already in the “post with some promising candidates during MVP” (minimum viable product) the recent ISC West conference, held in

By Neil Sutton

phase, and have made the transition from an idea to a product that they can begin to sell. They have also looked at companies that are just getting started. “We typically will look at the landscape and try to determine if there are companies or new technologies that are out there that we think have a good opportunity to disrupt the market or to fill a gap within our portfolio. We’re constantly looking at those opportunities,” she says. And while there are potentially other funding opportunities available to start-ups, Santos says that Tyco offers an established track record. “With private equity partners, you will get a cash infusion to help run your business. You’ll also get people who are very knowledgeable and know how to help you operate your company. However, you can get that with Tyco, plus the advantage of having somebody who has deep experience within the security industry,” she says. Santos also runs her own angel investment firm, Ascend Investments, completely separate from Tyco and the fire/security business, so as to avoid any potential conflict of interest. Ascend focuses on helping female

Axis to roll out new compression tool

xis Communications has developed a compression technology it says can reduce bandwidth and storage by as much as 50 per cent, depending on a surveillance camera’s application. The technology, called Zipstream, uses a combination of algorithms on a video stream in real time, compressing the areas with the least amount of detail and movement in an effort to make the overall file size much smaller. “Where you want to have forensic value out of an image is where an event is taking place — typically where there’s movement. The background, the static information... if I compress that portion of the image higher, I can reduce the overall bandwidth and reduce it considerably,” explains James Marcella, director, technical services, Axis Communications.

SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

The degree of compression will be applied to its successor H.265. It vary greatly depending on the scene can also be used with Axis cameras being captured, he says. operating in an environment that are A camera with Zipstream enabled mixed with a variety of other manuin a retail environment after the store facturers, says Marcella, adding that has closed will see an most VMS systems will appreciable difference. function normally when During the day, there interfaced with a camera will still be some savings, feed that has been combut less so due to the pressed by Zipstream. amount of movement One feature of in the image. Fifty per Zipstream, Dynamic cent is a ballpark average GOP, may not work with estimate on bandwidth all VMSes, but it can be savings, says Marcella. disabled. “You’ll certainly see savZipstream will be James Marcella, Axis available on Axis camings no matter what,” he Communications says, “whether it’s a scene eras running on the ARTPEC-5 chipset, and full of people or just a scene of a stationary brick wall.” will also be backwards compatible Zipstream technology will work with a limited number of current and in conjunction with the existing comolder models through a firmware upgrade. pression standard, H.264 and can

entrepreneurs get funding for their projects — a passion project for Santos who is keen to see more women leading successful innovation. She says it’s too soon to tell what will come out of Tyco’s InnovationWorks; it takes a minimum of six months to

“It’s really about getting folks interested and trying to get a pipeline developed.” — Anita Santos, Tyco Security Products make the crucial transition from a great idea to a product that is close to market-ready. Without giving too much away, she says that many of the solutions she has assessed so far involve software as a service (SaaS) and mobility-based solutions. Thus far there have been no ground-breaking discoveries and she hasn’t seen anything “completely off the wall” yet, but she emphasizes that market viability is a bigger priority than innovation for the sake of innovation. “We’re really looking for solutions that help customers with their problems and help resolve their issues.” The security business as whole is producing a greater number of startups with serviceable ideas, she adds, particularly “as the industry starts to transition from more of a physical security model to a logical security model.” At least one idea she has seen could be applicable in an IT environment as well as more of a pureplay security solution. Eventually, the InnovationWorks model could be applied to Tyco’s other divisions as well. There are already ideas coming in that have potential in the integration side of the business. “It’s really about getting folks interested and trying to get a pipeline developed,” she says. Within reason, all ideas are on the table. “While we recognize that we’ve got great technology in-house, there’s also the opportunity to leverage what’s available on the outside. We’re very open minded.”

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Lanvac partners with Vista Credit

onitoring firm Lanvac has teamed up with Vista Credit to offer its dealers access to account financing options. Vista Credit is able to provide dealers with access to financing while still enabling them to maintain ownership of their accounts, says Anna de Jager-Duplicki, vice-president, business development, Lanvac. “There are some real differences between our dealer program and most dealer programs that are out there. Our sole focus is helping our dealers be as strong as they can and help them make informed decisions about their business by almost acting as a consultant,” she says. “You receive basically a third-party account with Lanvac and also a Vista account with Lanvac. You have the ability to finance your contracts with Vista,” she says, adding that neither Lanvac nor Vista will compete with dealers for customer accounts. Once signed up, Vista will provide the dealer with support for account administration, billing and collections, customer moves, as well as legal and regulatory support. “Every month, Lanvac would invoice Vista, Vista would bill the customer, would take their piece, our piece, and give the rest to the dealer,” she says. With other programs, ownership of the account would revert to the financier after a 36-month period, but “with our program, the ownership of the account remains with the dealer,” she says, adding

HID Global acquires Quantum Secure

Carly Gasparotto, assistant to the VP & administrative support; Jacob Polisuk, president & CEO, Vista Credit; Anna Duplicki-de Jager, vice-president of business development; Daniel Prue, monitoring station manager; Bert O’Grady, vice-president, special projects; Jerry Korogiannis, data entry/customer service manager; Robert Leduc, VP, chief of staff; John Georgoudes, president & CFO

the only stipulation is that the dealer continue to use Vista credit for billing for as long as they own the account. Customer billing can also be included as part of an Enbridge gas bill, which helps to reduce attrition, she adds. Lanvac held an open house at its Toronto facility in conjunction with Vista Credit on March 31 to provide interested dealers with information. In future, the company plans to host open houses on an annual basis.

ID Global announced in March that it had acquired Quantum Secure, a provider of identity management and access compliance software. Quantum Secure’s SAFE software suite is designed to help users manage identities, compliance and operational analytics across multiple sites. The San Jose, Calif.-based company was founded in 2004 and has approximately 175 employees and contractors. “With the acquisition of Quantum Secure, HID Global is taking a significant step in addressing customer needs in managing identity, risk and compliance. The company has been at the forefront in delivering a versatile management tool for all organizations, especially those in highly-regulated industries such as finance and health care with demanding compliance requirements,” says Denis Hébert, HID Global president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “Going forward, the combination of Quantum Secure’s SAFE software suite with HID’s product portfolio will deliver ever better and more comprehensive solutions for our customers.” “By bringing together HID Global’s best-inclass technologies, its global reach and Quantum Secure’s software suite, this acquisition will help customers mitigate risk and ensure compliance,” adds Quantum Secure CEO Ajay Jain.

Pelco offering Cloud video service to dealers By Neil Sutton

elco by Schneider Electric is touting its MultiSight Cloud-based video service, making it more broadly available through its partner channel. The service has been sold for about a year through other Schneider Electric channels, but is now also available through Pelco’s security partners according to Greg Millar, CTO, senior vice-president, IP solutions and technology office, Pelco. The service targets small and medium-sized businesses as well as businesses that operate multiple locations, such as restaurants and retailers. The solution functions as a Cloud-based surveillance service with features and equipment targeted specifically to that audience, says Millar. “Part of what makes this business model work is, we designed these cameras and the gateway to be very specific for this market. [It’s] low cost, because we don’t really charge anything up front for the equipment; it’s a monthly service fee. It has a good picture and good retention and good service,” he says. Storage is available either in the Cloud or locally on the premises, depending on the user’s wishes or requirements. Administration is handled through a MultiSight.com portal, requiring that end user administrators log in to manage user enrollment, as well

SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

Pelco’s MultiSight Cloud-based service is accessible through a portal that can also be used to manage administrative options such as user enrollment.

as control their video storage options. “You’re not punching IP addresses into a mobile app to hook up to some cameras through a firewall,” says Millar. “You just log in with your credentials. If you want to add or delete a user, you can do that. If you want to change what they can look at, or change schedules, you can do that too.” MultiSight can be sold as a more traditional security or loss prevention service, such as providing video to police for evidentiary purposes, but also includes features that can help drive operational efficiency. In years past, analytics technology was broadly

oversold across the security industry and hyped beyond its abilities at the time, argues Millar, but it’s now at a point where it’s viable for a small business. “I think it’s been a problem across the industry. [With MultiSight] we really wanted to take it from the perspective of, what do retailers really need to know? Well, they want to know how many people walk in and out of their store. So we have a mode that can count people — and pretty accurately. That comes with the system.” Millar says the monthly fee model should appeal to companies that want to minimize the complexity of operating a security system — equipment upgrades can be included as part of a contract and systems updates are provided on a regular basis. It’s too soon to get an accurate assessment on the level of dealer interest, he says, but the company will provide training. “For those guys who want to get into a recurring revenue market, this is a way for them to do it,” he says. “It’s a market that Pelco hasn’t traditionally played in that well on the retail side. For our Pelco channel partners, it’s a good way to generate recurring revenue; it’s a good way to get into a new [area] that they haven’t done with Pelco before. It’s a more modern model.” The service is currently offered in the U.S. and Canada and will also be available in Japan.

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LINE CARD Applications Calif. health-care system update access control

Community Memorial Health System (CMHS) has selected Quintron Systems’ access control system AccessNsite for its facilities. CMHS began in 1902 as a single hospital and has expanded into a healthcare system throughout Ventura County, Calif., and beyond. CMHS now consists of two hospitals (one in Ventura and the other in Ojai), 13 clinics throughout Ventura County, two medical office buildings, and several other properties.Recently, when it came time to expand the security system into the hospital in Ventura, Stuart Glass, CMHS Chief of Security, decided to review systems from multiple companies and ultimately selected Quintron Systems. Quintron was able to convert the original system to AccessNsite and CMHS, after starting with just a handful of proximity readers has expanded to have almost 70 throughout.

Calendar New Jersey bank adopts wireless communications Metuchen Savings, a 100+ year old community-based bank in New Jersey has extended its LAN/WAN between a branch and two administration buildings through integrator On-Line Communications and provider Fluidmesh Networks. Replacing the existing laser antennas with a solution that addressed all mandated requirements, time lines, and budgetary considerations was a challenge. Similar to large financial institutions, Metuchen Savings must comply with many State and Federally-mandated regulations. On-Line Communications, a provider of services, including voice/data systems, fibre solutions, paging and video, was tasked with replacing a line of site laser set-up. Wireless was the way to go for this installation, says Ted Zabohonski of On-Line Communications, because direct cable connections are too expensive and require too many permits.

Renovated Polish cultural centre installs surveillance

May 28, 2015 ADI Expo Ottawa, Ont. www.adiglobal.com June 2, 2015 ADI Expo Edmonton, Alta. www.adiglobal.com

The Lublin Cultural Centre in Poland was re-opened after a four-year renovation, offering theatre halls, galleries, a café, a library and office space. Lublin required surveillance coverage, but wanted to preserve its new aesthetic. A total of 34 VIVOTEK cameras were installed across the centre, provided by distributor SUMA. For indoor spaces, such as galleries, the café and the library, 26 FD8163 fixed-dome network cameras were chosen for their low profile design. In gallery spaces which are not always occupied, the FD8163’s PIR sensor allows the camera to detect when someone has entered a space. For the outdoor spaces eight IP8362 bullet network cameras, equipped with a removable IR-cut filter and built-in IR illuminators, were installed.

Appointments

June 3, 2015 Security Canada Ottawa Ottawa, Ont. www.securitycanadaexpo.com June 10, 2015 Canadian Security’s Focus On Series: Retail Richmond Hill, Ont. www.focusonseries.ca June 17, 2015 Security Canada West Richmond, B.C. www.securitycanadaexpo.com June 23, 2015 ADI Expo Calgary, Alta. www.adiglobal.com September 15, 2015 Security Canada Atlantic Halifax, NS www.securitycanadaexpo.com September 17, 2015 Anixter Showcase Toronto, Ont. www.anixter.ca September 24, 2015 Canadian Security’s Focus on Series: Hospitality Richmond Hill, Ont. www.focusonseries.ca September 28 – October 1, 2015 ASIS International Seminar and Exhibits Anaheim, Calif. www.asisonline.org

Lorne Terry

Thomas O’Connell

• Lorne Terry has joined Hikvision Canada as sales director. Prior to Hikvision, Terry led business development efforts for manufacturer’s representative firm Access Direct. He was also director of North American sales for Keyscan and created Wesmark Sales, a manufacturer’s representative business based in Vancouver. • Milestone Systems has announced Thomas O’Connell as the new manager of A&E business development for North America. Based out of Atlanta, Ga., he will report directly to Mike Taylor, director of sales for North America, with a focus on working

10 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

Kurt Takahashi

Jay Hauhn

with A&E consultants who specify large security projects. • AMAG Technology has appointed Kurt Takahashi as the senior vice-president of sales. Takahashi will be leading the field sales force to include the channel sales and end-user engagement teams. His previous experience includes Sensormatic, ADT Security Services and Quantum Secure. • Jay Hauhn is the new executive director of CSAA International. Hauhn recently retired as chief technology officer and vicepresident of industry relations at Tyco Integrated Security, where he was responsible for product technology and innovation along

Jeff Burgess

Mark Manocchio

with industry and government relations. • BCDVideo president and founder Jeff Burgess has been named to HP’s 2015 OEM Customer Advisory Board. The group will meet in Palo Alto, Calif., in June. BCDVideo first became an HP OEM partner in 2010. • Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada has appointed Mark Manocchio as systems sales representative for the Display Wall Systems Group for Mission Critical applications. Prior to joining Mitsubishi, Manocchio was involved in projects supporting large enterprises across multiple verticals for Oracle Canada.

October 6, 2015 Anixter Showcase Calgary, Alta. www.anixter.ca October 9-14, 2015 CSAA International Annual Meeting Sonoma, Calif. www.csaaintl.org October 14-17, 2015 CEDIA Expo Dallas, Tex. expo.cedia.net October 21-22, 2015 Security Canada Central Toronto, Ont. www.securitycanadaexpo.com November 18-19, 2015 ISC East New York, N.Y. www.isceast.com

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LINE CARD Zwipe Joins Allegion’s aptiQ alliance Zwipe has joined the aptiQ Alliance Program, a collaborative group of global companies that support Allegion’s aptiQ smart card technology. Zwipe can now provide aptiQ customers with biometric authorization using their presently installed aptiQ card readers. aptiQ users will be able to authenticate themselves directly on the Zwipe biometric card without adding a biometric reader to existing aptiQ multi-technology card reader systems. “Using the Zwipe Access biometric card is yet another way that Allegion is bringing multi-factor verification and authorization to its large customer base,” says Kim Humborstad, CEO of Zwipe, in a statement.

ZigBee and Thread Group to collaborate The ZigBee Alliance and the Thread Group announced they are collaborating to enable the ZigBee Cluster Library to run over Thread networks. The ZigBee Cluster Library standardizes application level functionality for a variety of devices used in smart homes

and other markets. Thread is a wireless networking protocol that can support multiple low-bandwidth, IP-based application protocols to provide secure networks, connectivity and low power in the home. “By agreeing to work together, ZigBee and Thread are taking a big step towards reducing fragmentation in the industry,” says Chris Boross, president of the Thread Group and technical product marketing manager, Nest, in a prepared statement. “Thread is designed to work with and support many different application layer protocols, and we look forward to working with ZigBee to create a combined solution for the connected home.”

Bosch product wins design award The B942 Touch Screen Intrusion System Keypad from Bosch received a GOOD DESIGN Award in the Electronics category. The awards are held annually by The Chicago Athenaeum and Design Museum and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban studies.

Security stats Global revenues for biometrics in the consumer and enterprise sectors are forecast to be US$3.1

billion in 2015.

The B942 Touch Screen Keypad features a presence detector that automatically activates the home screen when the user approaches. A proximity reader also allows the use of an ID card or RF token for secure authentication, eliminating the need to enter a passcode. The Bosch B Series and G Series Intrusion Control Panels can communicate system messages in English, French Spanish and Portuguese.

The world’s largest companies spent an estimated US$895

billion on

technology in 2014. Source: International Data Corp.

Where are the best options for Cloud-based security applications? End users are not ready for security in the Cloud

Deployments for small businesses

15.4%

Enterprise back-up/storage

A hybrid of on-premise and Cloud

38.5%

Source: Conducted on www.sptnews.ca in February/March 2015

12 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

VIVOTEK to support Genetec’s Cloud platform

VIVOTEK announced the integration of its cameras to support Stratocast, Genetec’s Cloud-based video surveillance service, and upcoming support for its H.265 cameras in Genetec Security Center. VIVOTEK says it will become the first network camera manufacturer to integrate its devices for Stratocast by leveraging the recently released Genetec Cloud Link protocol. Small-and-medium sized businesses (SMBs) can utilize VIVOTEK cameras and Stratocast to deploy a Cloud-based video surveillance system that they can access from an Internet-enabled device. With the integration expected to become available in summer 2015, VIVOTEK will also develop a “Stratocast VADP package” for its IP cameras through the VIVOTEK Application Development Platform (VADP). “We are delighted to have the strategic cooperation with Genetec on the Stratocast cloud service and H.265 support,” says William Ku, vice-president, brand business division, VIVOTEK, in a statement.

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“Designed for ultimate simplicity, the B942 keypad delivers a modern touch interface to Bosch security control panels,” says Falk Herrmann, vice-president – intrusion systems business unit, Bosch Security Systems, in a statement. “It enables common tasks to be completed with a single touch and guides users through more advanced operation with intuitive icons. Its elegant shape and low profile design blends into nearly any environment.”

Price (Apr. 9) 52-week low 52-week high

ADT (ADT) $41.81 AlarmForce Ind. (AF.TO) $10.39 Allegion (ALLE) $61.44 Anixter International (AXE) $78.07 Avante Logixx (XX) $0.36 Avigilon Corp. (AVO.TO) $22.33 Checkpoint Systems (CKP) $11.44 $27.62 Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) Diebold (DBD) $35.99 Flir (FLIR) $31.28 Gentex (GNTX) $18.08 $104.39 Honeywell (HON) Johnson Controls (JCI) $50.55 Mace Security (MACE) $0.44 Napco (NSSC) $6.09 Richardson Elec. (RELL) $9.00 ScanSource Inc. (SCSC) $40.82 Stanley (SWK) $96.39 Tyco Int. (TYC) $43.46 United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.88 Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT) $63.36 Vicon Industries (VII) $1.75 Viscount Systems (VSYS) $0.04

$28.85 $10.03 $43.81 $73.34 $0.23 $13.15 $10.36 $22.43 $30.63 $28.32 $13.17 $82.89 $38.60 $0.31 $3.98 $8.68 $31.32 $75.90 $38.15 $97.30 $41.44 $1.29 $0.03

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INTEGRATOR PERSPECTIVE

By Richard McMullen

A career in security A variety of experience in this industry can help shape best practices today

“I was able to benefit from rich experiences and some amazing people.”

began working in the electronic security industry in 1982 as a part-time Central Station Operator for a small independent alarm company. That company, Golden Triangle Alarms (GTA) was a collection of some of the most interesting characters that you can imagine. Many of them continue to contribute to our industry in a variety of endeavours. Some have retired and sadly, some are no longer with us. This eclectic group formed the foundation of the on the job training that continues to this day. Thankfully, those roots helped to develop a career that would provide a comfortable life for me and my family. GTA was acquired in 1983 by Honeywell Amplitrol and I found myself at a crossroads. As a student, this was a great job and allowed me to do homework while working nightshifts and weekends. I ended up working for another local security company that offered alarm and physical security services. This worked well while attending university. In 1987, I found myself back at Honeywell and enjoyed successive roles within the monitoring station, custom-

er service and eventually sales. Honeywell provided me with amazing opportunities and experiences. I was fortunate to work on several acquisitions; policy and procedures projects; Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada inspections; training projects; technology roll outs and being a delegate to the Honeywell Employee Council. Great mentors and people, including my brothers (both worked at Honeywell), helped me develop and learn many aspects of the security industry. ADT acquired Honeywell PSD in 2000 and I found myself working for the largest security provider in the world. Again, wide ranging opportunities continued to be presented and I was able to benefit from rich experiences and some amazing people who contributed to my success. In 2007 an opportunity presented me with another crossroads and a decision

CAMERA CORNER

By Colin Bodbyl

that was difficult — leaving ADT to help grow a local company as they directly entered the security market. These days I am privileged to work at an independent integrator in my hometown of Ottawa. FCi (Fleming Communications Inc.) is a growing company with almost 100 employees, 75 of whom are technicians delivering service and installation to a variety of commercial and government clients in the national capital region. I joined FCI in 2007 to develop and grow their security line of business. The company began in 1995 primarily focused on cable infrastructure to serve the growing high technology market. Today, FCi has a growing list of security, cable and now wireless customers. In the upcoming editions, I hope to share some best practices and stories from our industry. I am delighted to share these experiences with you and hope you enjoy reading these contributions. Richard is partner, security solutions with FCi (www.fci.ca) and serves as president of the CANASA Ontario Regional Council (www.canasa.org).

Creating a more usable VMS Presenting a limited suite of options to the end user may be beneficial for all

eatures and usability have always been at odds. Adding features makes a product more desirable on paper. Features also help expand the number of applications that any given piece of software can be used for. Despite the fact that features may drive more short term sales, usability is what converts first-time users into lifelong fans. Unfortunately, in recent years the race to add as many features as possible has made many VMSes difficult to use. VMSes are complex products, but they need to be designed in a way that even the most novice end user can understand them. Here are some tricks manufacturers should borrow from other industries. Create guided activities. Advanced search options like pixel search, thumbnail search and sequence explorers are great for advanced users but they are intimidating for first time users. The same applies for configuring and managing live view screens or exporting video. Most users are

14 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

“Usability is what converts firsttime users into life-long fans.” not performing these tasks on a daily basis, and for companies with a high turnover rate, retraining new users can be time-consuming and expensive. Manufacturers need to focus on creating guided processes that everyone can understand. Along with the advanced search options, add guided search tools that ask a series of simple questions to help users locate the video clip they’re searching for. Applying the same guided option to setting up live views and exporting video will greatly improve a new user’s experience. Complicated features that are only used by niche groups should be hidden in the VMS. With so many features becoming standard, integrators should be allowed to decide which of those features their end users really need to see. If an end user is not going to use a POS feature, then the integrator should be able to completely hide it rather than having to tell

them to ignore it. Rather than including every feature in one piece of software, manufacturers should consider offering them as plug-ins or spin-off products. The largest enterprise software companies in the world make their products manageable through hundreds of modules and plug-ins. Build the VMS with all the most commonly used features, and then offer a plug-in for each vertical or industry that might use the software. For instance, a guard station plug-in could offer an interface focused on video walls and easy access to trigger buttons that unlock doors and gates. Alternatively, a retail plug-in could be designed around POS integration and analytics data. End-users crave simplicity. Fortunately, many other complex software products have already solved some of the usability issues VMS manufacturers now face. With an excessive number of features available in most VMSes, manufacturers now need to focus on usability to differentiate themselves. Colin Bodbyl is the principal of Zeecure (www.zeecure.com).

LESSONS LEARNED

By Victor Harding

Crossing the great divide Why aren’t more companies offering both fire and security?

Some of you will know that I do M&A work for both fire and security companies. Given that both sectors are calling on the exact same customer and are doing security related work, it is odd that more companies don’t try to do both. Wouldn’t the customer like to deal with one less supplier? Wouldn’t they also feel safer if they knew that the person doing their camera and burglary work understands their fire system as well? As an example, I had lunch recently with the owner of a very well-established, GTA based fire services company. This company did all the things that well-established fire companies do — testing and inspection of fire alarm installations, installing new alarm panels, servicing fire extinguishers and emergency lighting, fire suppression systems and servicing of sprinkler installations. They were making good money and were, by anybody’s standards, a success story in the fire industry. But they did no electronic security — no installation of burglar alarms, no access control and no camera work. Amazingly enough, I don’t think this fire company had ever tried to do security work, despite

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the fact that most of their technicians would probably not require certification to do security work and their company was well ensconced with many big, blue-chip fire clients who might well have given them an opportunity to quote on the security part of their business. On the other side, very few alarm and integration companies do any fire business despite the fact that they have security commercial customers that by law need fire work done. Secondly, fire companies tend to generate lots of cash, something that many alarm companies are often short of. Their fire inspection revenue can be as “sticky” as the RMR of an alarm account base. Also most of the work of fire companies is mandated by law. It has to be done. For most security companies today at least 40 per cent of their customer base is commercial. Why would they not think about offering them fire services? An account that is taking two services from one supplier is likely to be “stickier” or less likely to cancel. On the other hand, fire companies would benefit from more of the steady, high margin monitoring revenue that security companies have.

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There are no big barriers to entry to either one of these sectors. Sure to do fire work, technicians have to be trained but the certification process is not that lengthy, difficult or expensive. Going the other way fire technicians need no certification to do security work. Both fire and security work is similar on the technical side. Selling security service probably requires more training and experience but again nothing impossible to get a handle on. The largest companies in both sectors in Canada and the U.S., Tyco and Chubb Edwards, are testament that it must make some sense to combine these two sectors. The distribution companies like Tri-Ed and ADI also sell both fire and security equipment. Yet on the installation end these two sectors function almost totally separately. The owners and their salesmen and technicians don’t know their counterparts in the other sector. I think all of this is to the detriment of both sectors. Victor Harding is the principal of Harding Security Services (www.hardingsecurity.ca).

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Trouble at Home With connected systems becoming so complex, users, dealers, vendors and installers need to be aware of potential security gaps

By Linda Johnson

rom the start, smart home devices have promised a whole new level of security. In fact, it is often said, they provide total peace of mind. Several recent studies, however, suggest the security of the devices themselves may be falling short. According to these reports, some smart products have security flaws that make home systems vulnerable to hacking attacks. Besides insecure design, the consumer’s desire for devices that are quick and easy to use also plays a part. And perhaps, too, the sheer complexity of smart systems offers too many ways to access the smart home. “There are just a lot of different moving parts,” says Ryan Maley, director of strategic marketing at

16 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

San Ramon, Calif.-based ZigBee Alliance. “If you think about what it takes to make a smart home — so many individual devices, and perhaps coming from different manufacturers. You have your set-top box or Wi-Fi router. Is that secure? You have the app on your phone. Is that secure? You have

“There’s nothing that says ‘this app is using encryption.’” — David Bryan, Trustwave the Cloud storage and service. Is that secure? There are a lot of different pieces that need to be secure to ensure security of an entire smart home.”

David Bryan, principal security consultant at Chicago Ill.-based Trustwave, says their analysis of home automation devices has shown a common problem is lack of encryption. In fact, during his first test of one product, before the manufacturer released a second version, no user name or password was required to access the device. “So, if you knew the IP address of one of these controllers, you could easily pull it up, start turning lights on and off, manipulating things inside the environment,” he says. Moreover, Bryan adds, the use of the smart phone app to remotely control systems has obscured this lack of encryption. Originally, he says, a person going to an Internet banking site would see a lock on the browser, indicating the communication was encrypted and providing some assurance the information wouldn’t be compromised.

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“With the smart phone app, which talks to these devices on the backend, all of that has been hidden behind the scenes. There’s nothing that says ‘this app is using encryption’ or ‘there’s a password that’s stored in this app that talks to the smart home device.’ All of that is obfuscated to the user to the point where they can’t make a good decision about security,” he says. A study by Mountain View, Calif,-based Symantec, “Insecurity in the Internet of Things (IoT),” analyzed 50 smart home devices and found they contained many vulnerabilities common in the logical security industry, says Candid Wueest, principal threat researcher. In addition to unencrypted communication, many devices had very poor authentication requirements. Problems included: lack of mutual authentication between client and server; no enforcement (and often no possibility) of strong passwords; IoT Cloud interfaces that did not support two-factor authentication (2FA); and absence of lock-out or delaying measures to protect users’ accounts against brute-force attacks. One system they tested, Wueest says, allows the user to choose only a four-digit pin code consisting of numbers. “In today’s world, that’s obviously not enough. It’s very easy to have an automated tool to go through all the possible combinations. Then, they will have control over your heating system, smoke alarm or your lights.” Wueest contends that some protocols, such as ZigBee or Z-Wave, are not as good at protecting themselves as, for example, Wi-Fi. “Wi-Fi is designed to be more resilient against attacks. And Z-Wave and ZigBee are designed to be a mesh grade, so you can add sensors ad hoc and remove them without any disturbances,” he says. “But I’d be more concerned about settings, configuration issues (weak passwords or the transmission of passwords in clear text) or about whether the vendor has thought about security at all. A lot of vendors — not just the small ones, or those that have a Kickstarter program and are just creating one device, but even a few of the big ones — seem to create the device and then, at the end, sprinkle a little bit of security on top. We all know that’s not going to make a big difference.” Maley says the ZigBee protocol includes a lot of mechanisms that make communication more secure. A set of link keys acts as passwords, securing communication between individual devices and the network. And a network key is required for a user to get on the network. Generally, Maley says, he believes smart home devices are secure. He agrees a major issue in IoT security is passwords. Along with devices that don’t enforce strong passwords, he says, consumers are not vigilant enough about changing passwords. “On your computer, you are reminded every 30, 60, 90 days to change your password. That doesn’t necessarily happen with a device,” he says. Maley advises people to choose products that talk about security. “And not just explain it on the outside of the package, but in the manual: ‘This is how I make my product secure; this is how to ensure a safe experience in your smart home.’ ” Colby Moore, security research engineer at Redwood City Calif.-based Synack, which recently conducted an analysis of 16 products, says many manufacturers “are blatantly skipping best security practices in the design.” These devices often come from start-ups, he adds, which may lack either the know-how or the

18 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

“On your computer, you are reminded every 30, 60, 90 days to change your password. That doesn’t necessarily happen with a device.” — Ryan Maley, ZigBee Alliance resources to build in proper security. “These guys in the Silicon Valley, there’s the pressure of time. “It’s: ‘Get it out, and we’ll fix it later.’ And that is a problem for security,” he says, adding that many IoT devices are built on outdated software. Thus, the security of IoT devices is comparable to computer security in the early 2000s. “Security vulnerabilities really lag in the IoT world, so you find vulnerabilities that were out five or 10 years ago.” Moore urges consumers to use wired devices wherever possible. With wireless products, ensure they send a notification when they go offline. One particular error the Synack study revealed, he adds, was that many smart devices don’t do automatic firmware updates. Some newer devices, such as Nest and Dropcam, are an exception, he says. “That’s really important because firmware updates often contain security hotfixes.” Chris Boross, president of San Ramon, Calif.based Thread Group, says Thread’s security is built into the technology, making it an unavoidable part of the product’s development and its networking. “All Thread-certified products will have to pass rigorous security testing, and the process is a non-negotiable requirement for any device to be awarded Thread certification. Additional security measures can be added on top of Thread’s networking layer, but that is at the discretion of the product manufacturers.” Boross says he believes many smart home systems are secure today, but there’s room for improvement. To ensure products are secure, people must take care at all layers of the communications stack.

“A lot of vendors seem to create the device and then, at the end, sprinkle a little bit of security on top.” — Candid Wueest, Symantec “Flaws in current home automation systems exist when security isn’t addressed at every level of the product’s implementation. Security should be addressed across the board, from network protocol, to the application layer via the product manufacturers and service providers,” he says. It is important first, Boross says, that product manufacturers not assume the networks that consumers are connecting to are secure. Moreover, service providers should build additional security features on top of the network protocol. “Looking ahead, installers and dealers should look for products that are Thread-certified, as they will have the industry’s highest security built in. They should also look at the product’s choice of application protocol or the ecosystem brand to

ensure there is also suitable security at that layer. Installers and dealers should be well-positioned to understand product security and inform the customers,” he says. In a statement supplied to SP&T News, Honeywell Security Group says the company has designed connected home products with security in mind. “Our security and home comfort systems are designed to only communicate with certain Honeywell servers. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect customer personal information and data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.” The statement adds: “Note that homeowners play a critical role in cyber security by adopting strong home network security protocols with appropriate security configurations and using strong passwords.” Pete Marino, director of marketing, at Mississauga, Ont.-based D-Link Networks Canada, says D-Link uses SSL encryption when accessing cameras to ensure that mydlink account credentials are protected. “Since all cameras require a password during setup, they will not be accessible to scripts that look for unprotected connections on the Internet,” he says in an email interview. While he can’t assess smart devices in general, Marino says he is confident the D-Link products he has installed at home provide good security. “I have D-Link Wi-Fi cameras, Wi-Fi smart plugs, a Wi-Fi Baby Camera and Wi-Fi motion sensors at home, and I’m comfortable with how secure they are. I believe the best way to keep your smart devices secure is to keep your network secure. If you don’t use good security practices with your network, then you open yourself up to security issues,” he says, adding, “I also tend to stick to brands that I know and trust.” To ensure better security of smart devices, Bryan says, consumers should first look for reviews. Is there information about a flaw existing in the hardware or the software? If there is, have they fixed it? Consumers could also have a company conduct a penetration (PEN) test against their systems. “A PEN test will identify weaknesses: static user names or passwords or no encryption,” he says. “Part of the onus is on the manufacturer to make things secure, and the other part is in the implementation: you need to understand, when it’s deployed to the network, did they change the password? Did they leave anything open that I can leverage to gain access to the data or the network?” Wueest says users should, above all, be aware of security and the possible risks of poor security. They should also find out if the vendor has a record of issuing hotfixes and updates. He advises them to use strong passwords for these devices, change default passwords and, where possible, enable security and encryption. “This includes strong encryption for your home Wi-Fi. If it’s using Wi-Fi, you should use the WPA2 standard.” Maley believes there is growing awareness about the security of home automation systems. He notes that, recently, the California Association of Realtors updated their standard homebuyers’ agreement to include a discussion of home automation devices and their security. “So it’s really becoming a mainstream issue,” he says. “That is going to help raise consumer awareness and drive companies to make sure they’re delivering secure products.” Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto.

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Health care

around the clock Monitoring technology is changing perceptions of patient care and offering new options for security dealers By Jason Falbo

ome-based health care and monitoring is a natural extension to today’s home security solutions. Security and safety professionals, as well as consumers, are actively looking for complete and scalable solutions to address all of their security concerns. Initially, security systems were designed to protect occupants from harmful threats at the perimeter of the home. While this is still very necessary, many times harm to an occupant can come from within the home, or even from within the occupants themselves. The biggest factor affecting the future of home health care and monitoring is an aging worldwide population. An increasingly aged population will mean an increase in an already stressed health-care system. This aging, coupled with the density of population in cities and urban centres is putting an increased stress on an already fractured healthcare system. As a society, we need to develop more self-service and automated health-care options in order to keep up with the increased need for medical attention of seniors and children in the home. Internet of Things (IoT) based tools can assist to triage medical events in the home, helping filter only the highest priority cases into our hospitals and emergency rooms. To provide the best care possible with the lowest overall expense, it’s a no-brainer

20 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

that a small investment in modern technology can go a long way in the value chain towards providing enhanced medical services in the home and at our institutions.

Here are five hot trends in home-based health-care and monitoring: 1. Nurse Call As the North American population ages, an ever-increasing number of facilities cater to the needs of seniors and adults needing specialized care. Nurse Call or Personal Emergency Response Solutions (PERS) are central tools in distributed care environments. Used properly, these solutions alert responders to medical issues in residences, assisted living, long term care and acute care facilities. Nurse Call systems enhance patient safety, optimize staff response times, and increase peace of mind for relatives and residents.

“More and more people are expressing an interest in taking charge of their own health.”

As we age, the decision to stay in our home and maintain our independence is often weighed against the peace of mind services shared facilities can offer. For a myriad of reasons, many people choose to stay at home when they may be better served by a facility. This may be for financial, emotional or other reasons. With modern Nurse Call and PERS solutions, home-based care can now be provided that approximates the level of service received in a 24/7 monitored facility. Provincial governments in Canada have recently stated that in-home care is the most cost effective option as we face the daunting challenge of increasing health-care costs. Simply put, our hospitals and care facilities cannot supply the beds needed to meet our growing demand for services. Advances in technology and streamlined investment in modern solutions are the only way we can cut costs without cutting care. A personal emergency response system often includes offsite 24/7 monitoring services, a gateway device for transmitting emergency messages, and various peripheral devices (such as water-resistant pendants, wireless pull cords, call cords and more). These devices are used by any homeowner in the event of an emergency situation. Nurse Call systems, even when deployed in a residential environment, are advancing care and

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keeping people healthier longer. These solutions reduce stress, track health and fitness metrics to improve overall well-being, and they can assist to offer specialized health-care services previously offered only at hospitals and shared clinics. There is a substantial decrease in the disruption one would face if forced to move to a care facility in the absence of these modern technologies. Cloud-based archiving of events and data points allows for advanced analytics engines to work scientific algorithms in the background that identify care trends and help care professionals act in real-time, improving services. Governments and agencies are increasingly looking at leveraging mass-anonymized data to get ahead of specific threats, for example, disease control to prevent virus outbreak in a community. Another example of analytics employed are non-intrusive predictive algorithms for fall detection with off-site alerting capabilities in certain Nurse Call systems.

2. Wearables Wearable technology has increased the number of real-time data points algorithms can use to support an integrated health management system. Patients can now passively and continuously monitor their own health and be alerted to any dangerous trends or issues spotted by either a reviewing practitioner or the software application itself. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, big players introduced sleek devices that track everything from heart rate and blood pressure to a patient’s O2 saturation. By 2018, the overall number of wearable devic-

es shipped to consumers is expected to reach 130 million and the size of the market will jump to $19 billion, according to U.K.-based market research company Juniper Research. With such wide acceptance on the part of the public, wearables are a natural extension to support home based health care in an integrated home security solution of the future.

“Integrating these solutions into a customized security system is a huge market opportunity.” 3. Well-being apps Along with a growing desire to have real-time access and archiving of one’s own medical data, more and more people are expressing an interest in taking charge of their own health with easy tools to track things like personal vital signs, fitness levels and eating habits. That’s where mobile apps come in. A quick trip to the iTunes or Google Play store outlines the numerous free (or very affordable) medical and personal health tracking apps for mobile devices and smartphones. For example, apps exist to allow cardiologists to remotely monitor patients’ hearts, and radiologists to interpret images on smartphones. There is no doubt that a tool such as these apps can get patients more engaged in their own health care. This has an economic benefit in that the individual themselves can now become the primary care person thus reducing strain on the health-care system and reducing visits to doctors’ offices and clinics. Various alert levels can be set based on a person’s age, vitals or medical condition, etc. that can trigger an alert when the health advisor or assistance technology identifies a possible issue.

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4. Cloud-connected bio-sensors, smart devices and IoT 2014 introduced us to a new world of cloud connected bio-sensors and smart devices that capture our health data in real-time for processing. These medical devices are being blended with low-cost processors and chips sophisticated enough to be capable of transmitting data directly to a provider via an Internet connection, or through the Internet of Things. Leading causes of death, including heart attack, cancer, stroke, and accidents can all have their impact significantly reduced resulting in a more positive outcome if they are identified and dealt with very soon after they happen. Combining data collection and analytics with real-time notification and alerting allows these types of products to help the increasingly aged population live longer, independently in their homes.

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15/04/15 9:52 09:41 2015-04-15 AM

First responders, doctors, hospital staff or family members can analyze captured data remotely and make decisions on whether a patient needs to come in for a hospital stay or requires further treatment. This eliminates any frivolous cost incurred for the patient to visit the facility for tests and in-person monitoring when unnecessary. This additionally creates a market opportunity for third parties to get involved in developing service models based on recurring monthly revenues (RMR) to tailor a solution to the budget of the customer.

5. Tele-health Tele-health is increasingly used to close the gap between consumers demand for health care and budget shortfalls in provincially and federally funded physical care facilities. Providing real time data to practitioners is an important part, but not the only part, of the role of the security system of the future. As interfaces improve and network technology speed increases, we can envision more tele-health services surfaced with the support of voice activation, biometrics and peripherals like high-resolution cameras. Some of the most popular tele-health services today include: • Initial medical assessment and consultations • Individual and group psychotherapy, behavioral counseling and nutrition counseling • Tele-health pharmacologic management As an example, Telehealth Ontario is a free, confidential telephone service you can call to get health advice or general health information from a Registered Nurse. That means quick, easy access to a qualified health professional who can assess your symptoms and help you decide your best first step. Telehealth can help you decide whether to care for yourself, make an appointment with your doctor, go to a clinic, contact a community service or go to a hospital emergency room. Telehealth is limited today in that the service provided is only as good as the description given over the phone. As the future allows us to stream video, take biological measurements, and maybe even perform independent ultrasounds, it could be that the care you receive from your own home actually exceeds what is available in budget constrained public environments. Ultimately the consumer now has the choice to invest as much or as little as they choose into maintaining their good health, supported by innovative and exciting improvements in technology. We are in a very exciting period of innovation, invention, and intervention when it comes to homebased health-care solutions. Technology-enabled at-home health care is increasingly solving an access issue for patients. Integrating these solutions into a customized security system for the homeowner is a huge market opportunity for safety and security dealers. Jason Falbo is vice-president of engineering at Mircom Group of Companies (www.mircom.com).

Product Previews

Locks and Door Hardware Smudge attack prevention Kwikset

SecureScreen technology prevents the problem of “smudge” attacks associated with popular touchscreen and touchpad locks. Kwikset unveiled SecureScreen technology and a new design to its keyless entry lock platform with the SmartCode 916 Touchscreen Deadbolt. With typical touchscreen locks, passcodes can potentially be jeopardized by unwanted guests detecting frequently used numbers and characters from the oily residues left on the touchscreen surface. SmartCode 916 prevents this threat by prompting the user to first touch two random numbers in order to display the full screen to enter the access code. Continuous use of the lock masks the correct access code.

Emergency pull station Dortronics Systems

Suggested for use in hospitals, schools and industrial facilities, and with a variety of door or access syswww.kwikset.com tems, the 6510-S35 features a single pull action to provide instant egress and alarm activation in the event of an emergency situation. The 6510 Abloy COV plastic cover discourages improper activation while providing The ABLOY PROTEC2 CLIQ key includes features like LED indication on both moisture protection during washsides and a reversible key. Other benefits include the ability to store more audit down operations. Designed with trails, program up to 3,500 locks or lock groups into the key. The battery allows -half dual page vertical: 1/4" x 12" SPDT switches,4one set of conclock and time features to last up to a decade while space inside the key has been tacts breaks the lock power when -half page horizontal: 8 5/8" x 5 3/4" reserved for a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The PROTEC2 CLIQ activated and set of shows cononly include thea second following on ecylinder the ad:also includes new technolotacts allows connection to an alarm gy developed to help the user better SCO, SCW, SCA and SCC or access control system. All models manage contacts and, if necessary, reare available in three colours and set electronically or mechanically for custom text availability. increased security.

eCylinder and key solution

www.dortronics.com

Biometric door lock Korea Technology and Communications

KEES, an iris recognition door lock powered by SRI’s Iris on the Move (IOM) technology, has been developed for the residential security market. The door lock combines iris biometrics with a push-pull handle for keyless access, eliminating the need to fumble for keys, enter a PIN or put down the groceries. Traditional keypad-only door locks may recognize what has happened (i.e., a PIN code was entered), but do not confirm individual identity. The KEES lock brings iris biometrics to multi-unit residential properties and apartment buildings. Additional features for the KEES lock system will also be available in the future.

www.abloy.ca

SC_2015spt-news-half.pdf

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Hardware Agencies .................. 19 www.hardwareagencies.com

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2:44 PM

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@SecurityEd • May 2015 25

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JCGury_SPT_June.indd 1

2014-06-09 2:59 PM

QA &

with Rob Aarnes President, ADI North America By Neil Sutton

ob Aarnes assumed the role of president, ADI North America last December, taking over for Michael Flink, who was promoted to president of ADI Global. He takes over North America at a time when the organization is going through significant internal change, aligning itself as a global entity in an effort to take better advantage of best practices across its regional operations. Aarnes has only been with ADI for two years, but is clearly comfortable with change. He was previously CEO of specialty eyewear manufacturer Gunnar Optiks and held senior positions in retail, manufacturing and other distribution operations prior to that. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a supply officer. SP&T News spoke to Aarnes recently about the most recent changes at ADI, including its renewed focus on a global approach and its adoption of the ADI Express model. SP&T News: When did this new “global” approach come about? Rob Aarnes: On Jan. 1, we transitioned back to a global organization. Prior to that, we had our ADI North America business, which is the largest of the ADI segments. We also have our ADI distribution business in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), which is 26 countries. And we have our APAC (Asia-Pacific) region, which is [based] in India. Those were operating on three different segments. SP&T: What does this mean for the geographic segments that make up the global organization? RA: I would say this brings an ability to bring, and leverage, synergies across all three geographical areas. As we looked at our partners in India and in the EMEA space, there’s so many things that those territories are doing well, so many things that North America is doing well, just from a basic execution strategy and operating model that we can now synergize across all three territories. On top of that, there’s a number of our vendors — especially North America-based vendors — that would love to be able to expand their ADI portfolio assortment to international territories. We’re just beginning to expand some of those opportunities with some of our larger vendors, as well as some of the vendors that are located

26 SP&T News • www.sptnews.ca

as well as ADI Express sized branches starting next year.

An ADI Express branch location in Omaha, Neb.

overseas that would love to do business in North America. SP&T: How do you balance a globalized approach against one that recognizes a local presence? RA: At the end of the day, there’s one consistency across all territories: we’ve got to have the most highly trained folks when it comes to product knowledge. There’s no question about that. That is going to be one area that is going to be consistent across all territories. That said, the way we go to market in India versus North America versus Europe is very, very different. If you look at North America, we have a total of 103 branches across the U.S. and Canada. Our branches are anywhere from 8,000 sq.-ft. to in some cases 15,000 sq.-ft. They look very much like a retailer: gondolas, end caps, signage, category toppers, products stacked on the shelves neatly. The warehouse is in the back, the front counter [with] POS terminals up at the front... It’s very similar to your basic retailer. That’s how we’ve operated in North America pretty much since Day 1.

“At the end of the day, you have sales people that need to be highly trained.” In India, for example, they’re more showroom based. When you walk in, they’re much smaller — maybe 1,000 sq.ft. to 1,500 sq.-ft. It’s not uncommon to have six or seven walls that are filled with demonstrable product. They have a series

of distribution centres where product is shipped to the customer or the job site. In Europe, you have a myriad of both [models]. You don’t have branches that resemble that of North America, but you have everything from small showrooms to what I might call office suites, where you walk in and there’s two or three folks sitting at our desk with our catalogues. You have very different operating models across the three territories but at the end of the day, you have sales people that are either in the branches, in those show rooms or in those call centres that need to be highly trained on the latest and greatest emerging technologies. SP&T: What is the rationale behind the ADI Express locations? RA: In 2012, we opened two large locations: one in Houston and one in Detroit. We measured their success for the better part of 12 months. They did very, very well. Then we said, let’s look at 2014 and open four more. Two of the locations we decided would be larger locations, and with the other two we decided to experiment, launching into smaller metropolitan markets that wouldn’t necessarily support an 8,000 sq.-ft. branch — thus the genesis of ADI Express. It’s less the size of a normal ADI branch — 3,500 sq.-ft. is the sweet spot. It’s a little different look and feel. You have a smaller showroom, maybe 600 sq.-ft., and an exposed warehouse so you can actually see the robust merchandizing presence as opposed to end-caps and gondolas. We opened two of those — one in Omaha, Neb., and one in Charleston, S.C. — and two larger ones in Mobile, Ala. and Jackson, Miss. We want to gauge these branches for another 12 months or so then get back to opening both standard-sized branches

SP&T: Are you planning on opening ADI Express branches in Canada? RA: Canada is certainly on the radar. We use a very sophisticated real estate analytics tool [that] looks across North America and ranks geographic territories. We divide that into 8,000 sq.-ft. stores and above and the smaller metropolitan markets for Express locations. That’s what we’re using. There are some Canadian locations that are on that list, but we’re going to attack those in a priority order to guarantee the best possible chance of success. SP&T: Have you recently expanded your line card into more audio products? RA: I wouldn’t say it was recent. We’ve carried audio for the better part of a few years now. But what we are seeing is, as we begin to go after new channels, like commercial A/V… A lot of this was driven by dealers walking into our doors — the primary part of their business is obviously security installations, but they found there’s some money to be made on the high-end residential A/V side, so they’ve started to dabble in that. As we’ve listened to some more of our customers talk about that, we’ve said, this is an industry we might want to get involved in. We started out slow, but we’ve really seen momentum in the high-end residential A/V side as we’ve brought in some top notch brands: Klipsch, KEF, Onkyo, Yahama... SP&T: Where do you see other opportunities for dealers outside of the core security market? RA: I think there’s a lot of dabbling in the industry [currently] but we see connected home as the next big thing. Four or five years ago, connected home capabilities for the end user were pretty much limited to high-end residential homes, but now they have do-it-yourself kits that customers can almost set up themselves. But that is an integration of several different technologies. As we interface with our dealers, we try to understand, what are some of the barriers to entry? It’s not necessarily the technology, but who’s going to get educated and take the time to really understand it, understand how to sell it, really sell it when they get into the home. We’re really committed to helping our dealers figure out how to do that.

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