Closing Out 2012; Hello New Year

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Dec 01, 2012

As we close out 2012 and stare into the reality of 2013, I am reminded of all that has happened in our publishing world this year. It has been a wonderful time.

We’ve tried something new this year with our Industry Vertical. The idea behind this column was to highlight a specific case study with a little more detail about the processes, products and solutions involved. I think it has gone well. To a person, each of the authors has made a comment about their larger-than-life photo to go along with the story, but I’m a believer that good writing deserves attention.

Thankfully, all of the writers have been willing participants, and their stories have been compelling. We started with Kim Rahfaldt of AMAG, who shared the success of a plan to design a security management system. Some of this is hightech stuff, but Rahfaldt mentioned that AMAG’s client, Hilti brand tools, first mandated that employees wear security-issued identity badges. It’s not really back to the basics because the core values never wear out.

In February, Fredrik Nilsson of Axis Communications wove a tale of three cities, each of which implemented storage systems for their various security solutions. With a wide variety of storage options available today, IP should be considered for nearly every installation.

Former staff member Sherleen Mahoney penned a startling Industry Vertical in March when she relayed a story about the parents of her best friend. They own a business in Woodside, N.Y. The Calderons had a jewelry store but no security. Mahoney decided to spring into action after Mr. Calderon was assaulted and robbed. Axis Communications donated a couple of cameras, and its partner, ADT Commercial, offered to provide a hosted video solution.

This diamond in the rough became a gem of a story as Axis, ADT, EMC and Iomega came together to provide the complete solution, including a cloud-based video storage and monitoring security service. Now, it won’t matter if a criminal steals the DVR; the content has already been streamed and stored securely in an offsite data center.

These are the kind of people the security industry is made up of: good-hearted professionals who care about their fellow man. We see this kind of goodness all the time from people in the industry.

Sam Shanes of Talk-a-Phone helped me better understand perimeter security in our April issue with a look at emergency phone systems at a healthcare facility. You see the emergency phones on almost every campus. I’ve never seen anyone use one, but they work, and they work well.

This year has been another extraordinary year for me. I enjoy the tradeshows and meeting various people in the industry that bring new products and services to the security world. I think ISC West was extremely successful, and ASIS could use some fine-tuning.

However, ASIS does provide the editors in the industry with a pre-tour of the city where its event will take place. It is always professionally planned and well-executed.

I’m always very thankful for the educational tours I’ve been included in, and this year was no exception. I was able to see firsthand how access control works for a NASCAR team in Charlotte, N.C. LiftMaster provided a tour of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing stable. It’s amazing the role good doors play in the security business.

I hope we’ll be in touch during 2013, and if you have a case study that warrants a punch in the arm, let me know, and together, let’s let the industry know.

This article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Security Today.