Jamie’s 2011 Road Map for the Security Industry Trends & Predictions

As a Physical Security Professional I try to research and understand my market and how it is growing.  In the past decade the industry has improved and changed dramatically, I believe for the better in many areas.  That’s not to say there have been some growing pains as there always is as technology changes.

In looking into my crystal ball for the New Year I see the following as my focus, maybe it should be also yours.

We need to be more proactive, not reactive with our customers. We need to better educate our customers in researching security solutions before they experience costly incidents.   I see the key market areas focus areas below:

• PIDS or Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems is becoming more popular and necessary as the economy continues its slump.
• Better Video Analytics  
• Demographics:
• People counting,
• Gender & age classification
• Head pose estimation
• Dwell time estimation
• Analytics:
• Human behavior analysis
• Occupancy analysis
• Queue detection and monitoring
• Retail loss prevention, anti-shoplifting solutions
• Activity/event classification
• Systems:
• Distributed and centralized processing
• User-in-the-loop methods, user feedback mechanisms
• Smart browsing and content retrieval
• Multi-modal sensor (booster/RFID tags, POS logs, NIR cameras, etc) fusion
• Multi camera systems
• Systems for low-quality (compressed, low-resolution, low-frame-rate) data
• Alternative setups (fisheye, dome lenses, ceiling, line cameras)

• Physical Security Information Management (PSIM, pronounced P-sim)  The idea behind it is that all of the stuff of security is actually data; data, which once contextualized and analyzed, may become information – information for making better business decisions.  It is the idea of applying the concepts of information management and business intelligence to the practices and technologies of physical and homeland security.  
• 2011: The Tipping Point for Network Video.

• The Commercial Thermal Surveillance Market Begins to Heat Up.

• The breakthrough of IP video surveillance and for cutting-edge applications with a focus on HD resolution.
• Convergence, but not so much the convergence of physical security and IT security, but the convergence of video surveillance and access control.
• One management (Business Intelligence) system to control everything.
• Strong growth rates for the home security market.  This market is underdeveloped and will be pushed by the entry of big players with a background in consumer electronics.
• Wireless products for video surveillance, fire detection and motion detection are becoming more and more robust, are showing a good performance and are easier to install than before. Wireless products are a good alternative for specific applications and have the potential to become blockbusters in 2011.
• Alternative ways to the market: While distributors of security equipment strengthen their own brands to compete against low cost products, established quality vendors are looking for new sales channels.

 The past two years have seen a number of technological improvements in the Security World from IP video, to the growth of SaaS to the development of standards such as ONVIF and better Access Control solutions. These improvements have so far been too expensive for a recessed economy, but as the economy leaves the recession, the security and video surveillance industry will see improved profits, more businesses, and better implementation of existing technology. This will be achieved primarily through the development of new business models to meet greater demand.