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Manufacturers discuss the future of IP at TechSec

Manufacturers discuss the future of IP at TechSec

DALLAS--With TechSec Solutions attendees here thirsty for educational opportunities and a roadmap to the future, it's no surprise one of the best attended presentations featured four leading manufacturers of IP technology discussing the future of IP technology in the security industry. The discussion was wide-ranging, covering issues from how security integrators can educate themselves about IP by utilizing a variety of resources to what kinds of IP products they can expect in the future. "The traditional security channel is robust in Pelco's eyes, but the channel is changing," said Paul Novak, vice president of industry solutions sales for Pelco. "As we roll out more IP solutions, the channel has to step up and educate themselves." Dr. Jumbi Edulbehram, the director of strategic channels for Axis Communications, agreed, telling the audience of approximately 200 that the prevalence and growth of IP in the security sector would invariably mean that integrators would have to "raise their level of expertise" about IP products and applications. Part of gaining that expertise, he said, involved pulling the IT department into the selection and implementation process. "One of the things we're seeing from companies is that they're getting their IT departments involved so both sides can figure out how to play the market," Edulbehram said. Bill Stuntz, vice president at Cisco who came to the company through its Broadware acquisition, said that as companies become more knowledgeable about IP and as they "move to IP networks, they're asking to put different suppliers together to create one solution," which, he said, creates "more potential for profit for the integrator." Edulbehram said dealers have even recently begun contacting other dealers with greater expertise to advise them about IP applications and installations. "We're actually finding dealers collaborating on jobs," he said. "They're collaborating with their competitors saying, 'We need your expertise,'" he said. When asked what integrators and end users can expect from IP in the future, Dr. Bob Banerjee, product marketing manager for Bosch Security Systems, said that "before long all you will need to buy is an IP camera, software and hard drive. There will be no PCs in the architecture, no DVRs unless there is tremendous value added from those component products," he said. "We're going to start seeing IP with storage in the camera, not centralized recording," he added.

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