Security embraces the YouTube generation

I've often embedded videos here relating to security, whether it be a copper theft illustration, or silly surveillance captures, or product pitches. Generally, those videos have been posted to YouTube, which then provides an "embed" code, which I slap into the blog and, voila, you get to watch the video without actually having to leave my page.

Of course, YouTube is only the best known of on the online video sites. You can post video just about anywhere now, and you can find videos all over the place on the Web. (Soon, you'll find many more videos on our home page, but that's for another day.) Now, the major manufacturers are starting to post video sites. They're mostly used to pitch their own products (obviously), but that doesn't mean they're totally without value.

Right now, the best is Honeywell's (and I'm not just saying that because they sponsor our newswire). Not only do they have a bunch of product videos on their Security Channel, and an RSS Video feed, which is cool, but they've created an online video series, called Security Stories, that's professionally done in a Bob Villa kind of way, with a guy named Tony Martin traveling to visit different Honeywell dealers around the country and going out on jobs with them. I wouldn't hesitate to say the episodes are actually fairly entertaining.

But, here, I'll post one for you and you can be the judge:



See the production value on that? That doesn't come cheap.

Bosch has another big video site, which you can find here. It's a little clunky in both Safari and Firefox, but it's pretty new, so I'm sure they're still working out some kinks. I get a lot of file errors, saying the videos won't load, and when I went to the RSS feed, I got an error message and a bunch of code. So there's that.

But there are also a large amount of videos up there, and they're easily categorized so you can find the stuff you might be looking for. Basically, it's all product demos and training videos, but I could see how they'd be useful for new hires, especially, who need as much info as possible on what the products can do and how you install them.

Here, for example, is a simple video showing what anti-loitering analytics can do (you'd see it here, but I can't get their embed code to work in blogger).

I know, it's not exactly scintillating stuff, but if you're trying to add demonstration videos to your own web site, this is a quick and easy way to do it. Or you can just call this up when you're on a customer visit, showing some of the potential solutions in real time. I'm sure they'll work out some of the kinks in short order.

I'm actually really surprised that more video manufacturers don't post videos on their sites. I mean, why am I reading a pdf case study about the great video solution you've created for this retail chain when I could be watching a video that shows me all the great benefits? You are a video company, right? Well, where are the videos?

Speco Technologies has some decent educational videos on their site, but they're not that easy to find, and you can't link directly to them. Look for the STTV box in the upper right hand corner of the home page. They do offer both Quicktime and Windows Media versions, which is nice for us Mac users, but it's not the most elegant interface.

Panasonic has some pretty cool live demos you can watch, basically streaming video on demand of cameras set up at intersections and in parking lots and what not. Of course, I didn't actually watch them because you had to download some stuff in order to make it work and I didn't feel like going through all that. Also, they've got some great stuff, like the new very cool SDIII, but look at the product description. It just seems silly that they're using tiny little jpegs that you can click on and blow up instead of actual video showing me the image stabilization, etc. It's not that hard to upload a clip to YouTube and then embed it on the page if you don't feel like actually serving the video yourself.

Napco's new web site has some decent live demos, as well, and you don't have to download anything. Check this out. The video quality isn't exactly top-drawer, and there's not much going on in the parking lot they show you, and the feeds kind of cut out from time to time, but you can at least show a quick demo to a potential client, and there's some cool functionality, like being able to watch four cameras at once (not that I actually got that to work, but it seemed like it might work sometimes).

Anyway, I could go on, but if you've seen some good security video sites, send them my way. And if you have some good security video, send it along. Or, better yet, post it on YouTube so I can just embed it and show people what you're doing.

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.

Honeywell sells off a unit

Honeywell ought to have some more cash on hand. It's not really security related.

Mainers go nationwide

I was determined to find a good YouTube video for today, since it's Friday and everyone likes a little mid-afternoon video on Friday, and I just couldn't resist showing a little love to a Maine company, Guardcom, that's trying to go national with a wireless alarm system that's self-installed.

Here's the video pitch:



More than a few things strike me here. First, I've got to think false alarms are a nightmare with this service, as not only are they just using simple motion detectors, but it sounds like they're not using enhanced call verification ("We'll call you to let you know the police have been dispatched!") and arming and disarming via keyfob is great in theory, but I bet anyone with kids knows that keyfobs are meant to be played with.

Still, this goes to show you the type of high-margin alarm company you can put together with products from Honeywell and Alarm.com (check out the remote arm/disarm demonstration here - it's kind of cool). Think about it: You've got no installation staff, no outside service calls, and you can third-party the monitoring. So, essentially, all you'd need is a warehouse in nowhere Maine and a couple people to take orders and ship out systems, plus a marketing budget. Seems like a good business model to me.

3Q earnings round up

With a number of security firms posting earnings lately, I thought a Friday round-up might be interesting:

• L1's business is finally rolling like they've promised. These strike me as particularly positive developments:

Revenue for the third quarter of 2007 was $115.5 million compared to $39.8 million in the third quarter of 2006, an increase of $75.7 million or 190 percent. The Company had impressive organic growth of 32 percent for the quarter.

The Company’s net income in the third quarter amounted to $1.5 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $29.3 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2006, which included asset impairments and merger-related charges of $22.8 million.

It's certainly always better to make $2 million rather than lose $29 million.

• Stanley's security segment sales are up 24 percent

• UTC Fire & Security's organic revenue growth in the quarter was 4%, led by Lenel, the security businesses in the Americas, and Asia.

• Honeywell's income is up 14 percent, but see these paragraphs:

"People might be concerned whether there is the margin potential in ACS that the company has intimated," he said.

The ACS business, representing nearly 40% of Honeywell's quarterly revenue, provides technology and services to improve efficiency in manufacturing and home and building climates, as well as provides products for security and fire detection.

• Brink's third-quarter revenue was $817.0 million, up 15.2% (10% on a constant currency basis) from $709.5 million in the third quarter of 2006. Operating profit increased to $60.5 million, up 11.2 % from $54.4 million in the year- ago period.

• Ingersoll Rand'srevenues from continuing operations for the first nine months of 2007 have increased approximately 9 % compared with the same period of 2006, and remember that:

The Company's Bobcat, Utility Equipment, Attachments and Road Development business units are now being reported as discontinued operations.

It's still a good time to be a security company, but not as good as it has been.

Honeywell to buy Hand Held Products

Honeywell International announced today a definitive agreement to purchase Hand Held Products, a privately held automatic identification and data collection (apparently, there's a need for an acronym to describe this, AIDC) based in Skaneateles Falls, N.Y. (Skaneateles? Isn't that the name of a Beatles tribute band that plays everything with horns on the upbeat?). The purchase price? $390 million, for a firm that did $285 million in 2006.

Hand Held's core products, according to a release, are bar code scanners and rugged (they have chest hair) mobile, wireless computers that are used for asset-tracking, logistics execution and supply chain management. The company will become part of Honeywell's Security Group within the Automation and Control Solutions business, assuming the deal passes regulatory review and closes as expected.

In the statement, Honeywell honcho Ben Cornett noted, "Hand Held has demonstrated leadership in image-based technology, which is replacing laser-based legacy produts." Interesting. I'll be curious as to how the security folks make best use of this.

Not sure what it means, but Honeywell's stock was is currently down about 70 cents on the news.