Fun with cool technology

Great morning for seeing innovators in the industry. 1. If you haven't seen Optellios before, and you're doing a lot of large perimeter work, you might want to check them out. Basically, they run fiber-optic cable along a fence line, either woven into the fence or buried underground, and then use the fiber as a sensor that can detect any vibration and tell you where it came from within about 10-20 feet. Plus, they've got the software that makes it so as soon as the alarm comes in, the PTZ points right at it. 2. Orsus now eschews the use of "command and control" and is going with "situation management," and they do seem to have some differentiators. First, they've got a cool feature where you can track the guard tours and make sure they check in where and when they're supposed to. Then, in real time, you get an alert when they're not where they're supposed to be. Second, they've got a function where you can run a class-room style debriefing that incorporates the video, notes, alerts, etc., that happened during an incident and break down how the response was handled and how it could have been handled better. That seems like something end users would want to do on a regular basis. 3. Everybody wants to work with Arecont right now. They don't have a lot of glitzy marketing, but people like their imaging and their price. 4. Tyco's Kantech brand has a new option for central stations who want to get into access control as a service. Developed for sister company ADT, they're now rolling it out for other centrals. It seems like a good way to drive that service revenue that everybody's looking for.