VidSys says PSIM market maturing

VIENNA, Va.—While there is still some confusion in the market about what constitutes a “true PSIM” and what's merely a “PSIM wannabe,” the market is maturing and demand is growing, James Chong, founder and CTO of PSIM provider VidSys, told Security Systems News.

Interest from commercial entities is increasing, he said. “We're seeing an increase in our customer base from non-government entities, from Fortune 500 companies with a global reach,” he said.

“Right now our customers are about 60-percent government and 40-percent commercial. In the next 12 to 18 months that will be closer to 50-50,” added Kelly Fiedler, VP, marketing for VidSys.

VidSys is involved with “several new projects” including one with a “very large customer in the oil and gas industry who's kicked off a project with us,” Chong said. The company has offices in the U.S. and overseas as well.

“PSIM started in the U.S.,” Chong said, “but it's really expanding globally.”

VidSys is also working on another project—details of which will be forthcoming in the fall—the national rollout of a PSIM project that will be used by government and private sector entities “in dozens of cities around the country,” Chong said.

“As the market is maturing, people are starting to ask the right questions,” he said. It used to be that it was only physical security professionals who wanted to know what else a PSIM system could provide to an organization. “Now inquiries are coming from the IT systems management side as well,” he said.

Chong says he spends a great deal of time evangelizing about PSIM. A recent Frost & Sullivan report, which defined three tiers of PSIM products is helpful in clarifying options he said.

The report divides PSIM providers into three categories: PSIM+, PSIM, and PSIM-Lite. In short, PSIM+ providers are capable of managing “not just security but the overall operation … bringing in other information management systems, building management, visitor management, identity,” Chong said. “IT-related applications are starting to play an important role in creating situational awareness and … allowing [end users] to be more proactive.”

PSIM players, on the other hand, “focus primarily on physical security systems” while PSIM-Lite providers “are vendors who have proprietary products they've expanded to include integration with other products.”

This kind of differentiation is helpful, Chong said, because confusion about capabilities does persist. “I've had prospects tell me they're looking at 40 PSIM providers,” he said. “There aren't 40 different PSIM players who all do the same thing [as VidSys].”