A Profile in Partnership
Tech leaders rely on open-platform community to deliver security solutions
- By Courtney Dillon Pedersen
- Feb 01, 2019
Microwave sensors, also known as Radar, RF or Doppler
sensors, detect walking, running or crawling human
targets in outdoor environments. In 1971, Southwest
Microwave developed the industry’s first bi-static microwave
sensor and has remained a leading provider of microwave
links and transceivers for the protection of open areas, fence lines,
gates, entryways, rooftops and wall-mount applications. Over the last
several decades, the company has continued to advance the field of
perimeter security, including the introduction of fence and buried
cable detection systems with pinpoint location accuracy.
Today, Southwest Microwave is the largest U.S.-based manufacturer
of perimeter security devices, with more than 80,000 detection
systems deployed in more than 100 countries, protecting government
and military installations, utilities, industrial and corporate campuses,
correctional institutions, transportation centers and more.
To assure that critical alarms, data, sensor diagnostic, and maintenance
and control information reliably integrate with the total security
system, including the video surveillance network, Southwest Microwave
partners with other innovative technology leaders. Milestone
Systems’ open-platform VMS has become a focal partner technology.
“If there’s an intrusion on a perimeter, you’ll get an alarm, but if
you don’t have cameras on that event, the effectiveness of the alarm
data is greatly limited,” said Jeff Drews, sales manager of U.S. Government
& Military Systems at Southwest Microwave. “The ability to tie
directly to a customer’s video management system allows us to incorporate
Milestone’s robust logic in its rules engine to trigger cameras,
lights and video recording. The integration of video assessment takes
the perimeter security system to a whole new level.”
Milestone’s XProtect VMS platform delivers video management
that’s easy, flexible and reliable. Its open architecture enables integrations
with hundreds of third-party partners worldwide. With support
for the widest choice in network hardware and solutions with other
systems, XProtect helps organizations manage risk, protect people
and assets, optimize processes and reduce costs.
“Southwest Microwave and Milestone have done a great job of
collaborating to build this integration,” said Jeremy Scott, strategic
alliances program manager at Milestone Systems. “Southwest Microwave
is an expert in intrusion detection, and Milestone is an expert in
video management. This partnership allows us to bring together our
respective engineering expertise for a robust, single-pane-of-glass solution that benefits customers.”
The Southwest Microwave INTREPID Series II Perimeter Module
plug-in by Milestone allows any of the INTREPID Series II systems
to provide status and alarm information with associated video directly
into the XProtect Smart Client. The plug-in enables customers
to configure and direct camera preset views to the precise intrusion
point in order to assess security threats in real time.
“The broad capabilities of the VMS perfectly complement our perimeter
intrusion detection products,” said Maira Zanrosso, director
of sales and marketing at Southwest Microwave. “Visual confirmation
of a perimeter intrusion attempt is a powerful tool for the user, and
with this plug-in, the user has the ability to determine the appropriate
actions to take based on this data.”
The plug-in is compatible with XProtect Corporate, Expert, Enterprise,
Professional and Express 2014 or newer. The INTREPID Series
II plug-in is a Milestone Certified Solution, documenting that the
integration has been thoroughly tested and verified.
“The beauty of our open platform and an agile software model, is
that we’re able to take input from the entire channel and incorporate
that feedback into releases in a timely manner,” Scott said. “We don’t
operate in a vacuum; we rely on feedback from our partners, customers
and technical teams to make sure we’re providing relevant updates.”
Using this Milestone plug-in for the Southwest Microwave INTREPID
Series II, customers can create a completely secure perimeter
and establish detection zones anywhere along the protected area.
This minimizes the possibility of blind spots and enables operators to
focus attention on vulnerable areas in their campus perimeter. Users
can also integrate Intrepid Series II system information, generated
alarms and system elements with the maps feature in the XProtect
Smart Client, providing operators with a graphic site map they can
use to control, list and view system information.
“With the plug-in integrated directly to our equipment, we’re
eliminating a whole range of unnecessary hardware or software,”
Drews said. “The integration speeds up response time and eliminates
many potential failure points. The Milestone collaboration is a key
factor in elevating security system performance and operations.”
Milestone and Southwest Microwave recently released a major
upgrade to the Intrepid Series II plug-in, addressing many partner
and user requests from the initial release.
“Milestone has done a great job of staying on top of requests and
advancing the technology,” Zanrosso said. “The integration has been
a real benefit to us, to Milestone, and most importantly, to our customers.
This has become a powerful partnership
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of Security Today.