ASIS, day 3

Much of today's discussion was dominated by standards, especially video standards and the seemingly competing PSIA and Sony-Axis-Bosch video standards groups. I say seemingly because there's a lot that can be misconstrued in the "standards" discussion.

First and foremost, it's not even standards we're talking about. As has been noted often today, anything either group releases will really just be a specification. Without the verification of a standards body like SIA or ANSI, they don't quite reach the level of "standards," even if people talk about the specifications they hope to release in that way.

Second, there's the perception on the show floor that the two groups are competing, and that both groups are competing with SIA in some way, but most conversations I've had with the interested players have seemed to indicate that everyone would ideally like to play together. As evidence, SIA treasurer Rob Hile was named PSIA chairman today, and as for creating a good relationship with SIA, he said today, "I'm personally going to take that on my shoulders."

Are standards a big deal anyway? The are and they aren't. On one hand, just about every major camera company works with every major video management software company, so what's the big deal? Well, both David Bunzel, an originator of the PSIA, and Fredrik Nilsson, general manager at Axis, made the point that software makers like Milestone, Genetec, OnSSI, etc., spend way too much time and energy integrating cameras. What if they never had to spend that money again? Wouldn't that allow those companies to spend much more time and energy on improving functionality and adding features? Seems like a no brainer.

So, no, the industry isn't being dragged down by a lack of standards, but, yes, the industry could be made much more efficient with a solid group of interoperability standards.

I'll have more on this in the next paper.

Honeywell's coolest thing here

I forgot to mention how cool this new spec-writing tool is from Honeywell. I got a demonstration from Michael Linebarger yesterday and it was very impressive. Basically, it asks you questions about the system you'd like to install, you do some pointing and clicking (it even talks to you if you want it to) and the end result is a furnished parts list, CAD drawing, and even a Microsoft Word document that's professionally written and will serve as your complete A&E proposal. Coming from someone who knows his way around Word, I've got to say that's some seriously nerdy stuff put together by Linebarger and Dave Combes. Big hat tip to them.

And after you've got all that, you can also download a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it so you can turn your brand-new sales engineer into someone who looks like a 20-year veteran. Sure, it's all Honeywell products, so it's obviously a little self-serving on their part, but there are plenty of dealers who don't do anything buy Honeywell and this has got to be a huge leg up for them.

It's up right now, but they'll start pushing it in November.

In my opinion, this is where the smart manufacturers will separate themselves: By making it really easy for integrators/installers to sell their new technology.

ASIS, day 2

Finished off by the very good Stanley party at STATS, where you could pour your own beers from taps in the tables and smoke cigars on the top floor, I've got to say today was pretty productive. I learned more than a few things, and though today just didn't seem to have the verve yesterday did in my meetings, there were clearly more people walking the floor today and exhibitors weren't quite so cranky.

Alas, I missed our booth wine and cheese party, but I'll get to that.

Anyway, things started very well, with our TechSec Advisory Board breakfast, always a highlight of the ASIS show. We got great turnout and great feedback (hell, everything's great tonight!) about our 2009 educational program. We're working now on a keynote speaker to fill the bill. If you've got any suggestions, lay them on me.

After that, a meeting with Dean Seavers at GE Security went very well, with continued talk about focusing on solutions rather than products. It's clearly the way to go, but there are still a number of people who slander GE just about any chance they get. I'm not sure if they have unrealistic expectations of what is still a relatively new security operation or if they just know something I don't from having worked with them. All indications to me are that Seavers and company have really revamped the security operation and they're easy to work with. Who knows.

Did I mention that SimplexGrinnell went with an Irish pub theme for their booth? Oh yeah, there ware plenty of darts being thrown. I have to ask, though: Do Irish pub employees really wear berets? Maybe they do. I've only seen the Dublin airport. No berets there, though. It all somehow supports SimplexGrinnell's message for the show, "Powering an Evolution in Emergency Communications underscores the reliability, survivability and vision of using voice-enabled Simplex fire alarm systems to drive emergency communications solutions." They had some other announcement about Microsoft certification, too, that you'll probably see Martha write about.

Other than Stanley's sports bar, there weren't many other themed booths. I'm not sure whether to lament or celebrate that.

Other notable things from the show:

1. Pivot3's serverless computing stuff is real-deal interesting. If you're doing more than 4 terabytes of storage on a job, why wouldn't you work with a company that can make your server investment - money and power - quite simply go away? If this doesn't take the industry by storm, the industry isn't paying enough attention.

2. I also really like Smartvue's stuff. I know they've kind of come and gone and come again in this industry, but their wireless installation and NVR options really look nice and make sense for a progressive integrator with good ideas.

3. Xtralis is more than fire. The Australian company has launched new access and video lines. Now it's up to you to hop on board that train.

4. If you want a good product lesson, check out Sielox. They've made some major changes to their controller, and you're going to like most all of them: SD storage on the board, with the ability to leave service notes and access manuals; much faster, with a native Ethernet connection, taking database downloads from potential hours to minutes; a new system architecture that's going to allow them to future-proof in a big way.

5. Did I mention Johnson Controls isn't messing around? I met with them more formally today and they talked my ear off about partnering and acquiring. Now's a good time to cash out, no doubt.

6. The Apple/videoNext event was a major let down. The speakers were solid, and there was a good conversation, but not only did Apple not speak on the panel at all (so it's hard to see how they co-hosted), they wouldn't even talk to me after the event. They were apparently scared I would use some quote against their will, when all I was really trying to do was make small talk. What's Apple going to do in this market? I guess just sell a lot of servers. They didn't make any other plans clear, but there were a number of the 100 people in the audience who were just there to show off their iPhone apps. Many were cool, like the one that allows touch-screen PTZ control on the iPhone from Lextech Labs.

This makes me kind of salty because the event was very much "what video can do now" and not so much the intent, "The Future of Video Surveillance." I don't think you should still be feeling the need to promote IP over analog, but that may be a skewed view on my part because I've seen so many presentations about IPs benefits at TechSec for the past four years and I get so many new product demonstrations and haven't seen anything analog in two years.

Also, I went to this instead of our own booth party, which was just your basic wine and cheese thing, but had a lot of interesting end users in attendance and some old industry contacts. Plus, it took forever to get to the videoNext thing and back because of the crappy convention center layout, whereby meeting rooms are literally more than a mile away. That sounds wine-y, I'm sure, but everybody else was complaining about it, so I will, too.

7. If you're looking for a fully integrated banking solution, you could do worse than calling Pacom.

More news coming tomorrow.

ASIS, day 1

Grrr. Blogger is being more than a little wonky and has twice wiped out all of the brilliant content I've been trying to offer. Very frustrating.

Anyway, here's the rundown of today's salient points:

1. Johnson Controls isn't messing around. They've committed to doubling their security workforce organically in the next year, and they'll be buying people left and right. If you're ready to get our, and you've got a fairly sophisticated local integration firm, give JCI a call.

2. People are talking more about fire systems here than they have in years. It's the new leader for security sales. It's almost impossible to escape. Last ASIS I didn't hear word one about it.

3. This show floor configuration is more than a little not good. It's just not okay to have a straight line for a show floor, so that you're constantly traveling a mile at a time to go from booth to booth.

4. Stanley's new eVideo and eAccess offerings are game changers. There's no one who understands RMR better than them.

5. Uninterruptible power supplies are more interesting than you thought. What happens to your awesome security system when the power fails? That's what I thought.

6. No one actually cares all that much about standards. I asked five different IP video companies today if standards were important and not one said yes. I'm getting the feeling that the hard standards push is coming from under-funded start-ups who need to get their stuff out there right away, and don't have the time to be integrated by the major players. Thus, standards are important. Most of the integrators I talked to today said standards weren't that big of a deal and they weren't really paying much attention to what was going on with that.

7. Why am I writing like Larry King?

ASIS, day .5

Okay, so there are all kinds of things working against me as this big ASIS show starts up. First, my favorite writer of all time, David Foster Wallace, has killed himself. I won't go into the whys and wheres, but this is an unbelievable loss for people who care about writing. It's my opinion that there wasn't anyone alive with a better command of the English language than Wallace. Second, I've managed to come down with my daughter's first kindergarten cold and I feel like someone just ran through my sinuses with a pipe cleaner. Third, we're in Atlanta. I'll leave it at that. Finally, my Internet connection here at the Georgian Terrace (don't ask) completely stinks. Slow as death.

However, I won't be remiss in my blogging duties, I promise. I've already met up with fellow blogger Shawn Flaugher, and he's all up with the Twitter stuff here, so there are high standards to be met and I won't be outdone (okay, maybe I will be out done - depends if everyone's party is as good as the HID gig last night. Have you seen the Georgia Aquarium? The place is flat-out rad).

Anyhoo, the schedule's packed today. Here's whom I'm meeting with:

Johnson Controls
IQinVision
Verint
Pacom
Dedicated Micros
Entrance Controls
Arecont Vision
Stanley
Pixim
Alpha Technologies

(This would be an impressive list, but that Geoff Kohl dude is probably going to twice as many booth visits, thanks to the time machine he owns that allows him to somehow do twice as much work as everyone else - knock if off, Geoff!*)

Then I think I'm going to the Smartvue and GE receptions. We'll see. I might actually just fall over and die at some point on the show floor and then, well, there won't be much action on this blog for a while and you can send flowers to my family.

It's unfortunate that I'm mostly meeting with manufacturers here, where there are so many integrators with booths, but it's hard to say no to all the booth visit requests without seeming like a jerk (and we wouldn't want people thinking I'm a jerk (huh? What's that? Oh, ha, ha. Everybody already thinks I'm a jerk. That's real funny)).

So, say hi if you see me frantically running the show floor, and put anything you'd like me to ask of the people I'm meeting with in the comments below. I know the comments are scary, but you can do it. I believe in you.

*Hey Geoff, is it okay if we're arch enemies? We don't have to try to kill each other or anything, but I think it would be kind of fun. If you're like me, you've already got a dartboard at home set up, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch for you, either. Great. That's settled then. Next time you see me at a reception or something, just dump a drink on my pants and pretend it was a mistake, but then make it clear that it WASN'T a mistake. Everybody will get the idea.

ASIS news starting to leak out

It's been pretty quiet lately, as people save up their big news for next week's ASIS show, but some of the big news is starting to leak out. I'll keep you posted as I learn things, but here are a couple of solid items:

1. Bosch, Sony and Axis announced a little of what their standards forum is going to look like. They're calling it the ONVIF (for Open Network Video Interface Forum) and you can find it at www.onvif.org. Read the press release about what you might find there, here. This is something to watch closely.

As for whether ONVIF rolls off the tongue? I'm thinking not. I've been trying desperately for 10 minutes to think of a funny acronym that would have worked, but I'm coming up empty. Post anything interesting in the comments.

2. ObjectVideo announced today an OEM agreement with Pelco, whereby they'll be embedded in the brand-spanking Pelco Sarix technology based cameras scheduled for release in early 2009. You can read the full story here. As much as their competitors love to slag OV, you've got to admit they keep landing big agreements. Their OV-Ready slate of partners is impressive, and I can't imagine Pelco made their analytics-partner choice lightly.

One last thing about ASIS

Sorry, I wasn't going to post on ASIS again, but a friend sent me this photo and I just couldn't help myself. Seriously, who was the drone that a: thought L. would be the name by which I'd like to be addressed, and b: mis-spelled "Samual"? Really, Samual? I mean, the name is only about 2,500 years old. You'd think people might be acquainted with it. But that's neither here nor there - people make typos. The big, giant, overarching question is this: Were they retyping the information submitted electronically via the web site? Have they not heard of cut and paste, or, say, a SQL server? Isn't this supposed to be a high-tech industry?

Still, I shouldn't complain. It was quite the conversation starter: "So, L., are you having a good show?"

Getting home

Normally, I'm a big fan of Jet Blue. I mean, who doesn't like to be able to watch football games in-flight on DirectTV? But getting home from ASIS on Thursday was an adventure. First, the plane was delayed out of Vegas. Rumors are that Dick Cheney was coming into town, and that disrupts everything. Then, when we get to JFK, the Blue tells 14 of us that we've missed the last flight up to Portland, so tough noogies. Sweet.

Luckily, the regional rep for DSX not only was down with the plan to fly to Boston instead and drive up, but his fiancee actually drove down from Portland to pick us up. Completely cool.

The result? I walked in the door at 4 a.m. I'm sure everybody coming back east had similar experiences. What a kick in the teeth.

Anyway, I've got to say that ASIS really seemed to be hopping this year. Partnerships were being announced every minute. Analytics companies were slandering each other like there was no tomorrow. I'd love to hear which company you think has the best analytic bang for the buck. I sure had my head spinning listening to all the claims, most of which seemed to be backed up with little red and yellow boxes dancing across screens. Gotta say, Cernium did a nice job on that front, but ObjectVideo was in every booth, it seemed.

How much business was done in Vegas? It's hard to say, obviously, but the aisles seemed busy and the front of the hall at times was very crowded. Those guys back in row 100? They might have been less than pleased with the flow.

All in all, I think the show was worth my time and that those companies I did have a chance to speak with all took the opportunity seriously and had good stories to tell. There was very little smoke being blown, and that's as good a sign as any of a healthy industry.

Now, back to work.

Party, party

Okay, so I experienced a little of the Las Vegas nightlife last night, but look how early I'm up blogging. It's like 7:45. I'm rather impressed with myself, especially since I'm normally such a tea-totaler (the web seems ambivalent on whether there's one or two ls in that).

Anyway, thanks to Cisco for a very nice dinner at Mix, the restaurant high atop THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. The shop talk was even keeled and the view and food were top notch. Congratulations to Security Technology and Design managing editor Paul Rothman, by the way, who's got his first child due in about three months. I'll kill the suspense: It's a boy.

Later, I hit up the ADT party held on the Brooklyn Bridge at New York, New York. Talk about in-demand. While the event never got oppressively crowded, ADT staffers were kept very busy by those who didn't have coveted entry chips (like, say, me, who left his chip in the hotel, because that's what generally happens to me). However, while the band did do a great "Hips Don't Lie" cover, they really couldn't compete with the roller coaster. I was glad I hit it before the party and not after.

Things finished up at they Wynn, about which I will only say: Their bartenders make great old fashioneds.

Meetings today include Tyco, Johnson Controls, Cernium, Orsus and a number of others, so maybe I'll have some real news later.