EYESPY a splash of old and new

The next step
The market is moving beyond simple security surveillance and into the realm of applications. Retail is one market sector taking advantage of the new and improved technology, Alloys' Salvatore said.

"Retail, by far, is the largest contributor to the market and is making best use of the technology. Shop owners, for example, can log onto the store's cash register info remotely, and there are counting applications that track the number of people in the store," he said.

"The next generation of surveillance is security as an application and resource product. The cameras will analyse shop utilisation, which aisles are used, and what people are looking at. It is becoming more of a security application and tool."

Advancements in megapixel and better image quality could also sway customers to the world of IP, Salvatore said.

"The boost in megapixel breaks the barrier between CCTV resolution and IP. This was a major worry for analogue users who complained there wasn't enough definition and detail," he said. "There's now 20-30 per cent more detail. Customers at petrol stations will now be able to capture number plates."

Education and banking would also be attracted to the higher resolution and definition of image quality. "Banking has always struggled with resolution in identifying bank bandits. They will appreciate the high-definition video," Salvatore said. "In the past, they relied on wet cameras, film-based cameras that were analogue-based and zoomed in and out to get the detail."

D-Link's Famularo said resellers should look for business opportunities with organizations that require extremely accurate monitoring of video feeds in camera surveillance.

"Casinos, for example, require high-grade cameras, which need the ability to react to different lighting, move quickly and offer high, detailed resolution," he said. "They need to zoom in and have a recognition database which can pinpoint a video image and save the frame."

Famularo predicted more development with cameras including better lens capabilities. He and Digital Data's Villet also agreed software improvements were on the way. One example could be software hat creates a database with face recognition. "Although most manufacturers release software packages to manage their own cameras and management systems, we realised that this opportunity in the market calls for a comprehensive software package that will be able to manage analogue and digital systems as well as be able to manage different brands from a single platform," Villet said. "It might initially be expensive to buy, but when compared with ease of use, management features and the integration of different systems and different brands into one solution, organizations will be able to justify the purchase."

At a connectivity level, expect the 3G activity to impact the IP surveillance space, he said.

"Since IP surveillance depends to a large degree on Internet access, users will take advantage of the remote viewing benefit of IP surveillance - either through the Internet or through the 3G mobile network for users who have 3G-compliant devices that can view live video streaming on their PDAs or mobile phones," he said.

The complete package
3Com product marketing manager, Matt Walmsley, urged the channel to avoid getting bogged down with camera units or software and said a larger network convergence push should be the main focus. Organisations need an IP migration plan, given many can't undergo a rip-and-replace approach and resellers are the prime candidates to help get the systems up and running.

"There's a certain amount of inertia to change so there's a real opportunity for the IT data reseller to put the systems together and share their expertise," Walmsley said.

He argued the technical challenges of building secure converged networks ready to support IP surveillance had been overcome. The emergence of VoIP over the past five years had been a key driver behind the development of high performance, resilient and application-aware networks.

"IP surveillance will also drive high-speed wireless LAN and Gigabit Ethernet PoE Switch sales," Walmsley said.

Citing advancements in software by its open platform surveillance partner, Milestone Systems, Alloy's Salvatore said the IP video platform was moving to the next level of operational manageability.

The vendor's XProtect Enterprise (XPE) is designed for IP video surveillance installations with multiple servers or multiple sites and managing unlimited cameras.

Salvatore said the latest version of the software offered more efficient management functionality including Microsoft Active Directory authentication and authorisation; recording server service for automatic re-engaging of the system with operational interruption; audio support and alerts; multi-window support; carousel, hotspot and 64 camera viewing; along with digital zoom in the image only while recording full view.

Salvatore said customers might initially install IP video software for security reasons but soon discovered how beneficial surveillance could be as a business management tool for monitoring shipping and delivery, employee procedures, and production quality control.

Distribution Central's Verykios said customers looking to migrate to IP surveillance systems were doing so for more than just video.

"They want complete surveillance of movement and environmental aspects," he said. "Our experience has been that video is not enough for a user to migrate. They quickly see the benefits of a holistic physical security enhancement that goes beyond just movement [video].

"Smart resellers will win if they offer this as a reason to migrate and, therefore, truly enhance the outcomes of upgrading their physical security policy to adopt IPbased initiatives over analogue."