The four that should raise few objections (and will likely earn some praise) include limiting support to authorized dealers (with some exceptions), adding support personnel, offering factory support in a number of areas, and upgrading its phone system to accommodate call-backs and appointments. While I certainly don’t want to take away from the significance of these points, particularly when you consider they are adding people at a time when other firms are cutting costs, there’s nothing groundbreaking here. A number of other companies offer similar services and have for some time.

But one of the things it mentions is “paring of support for obsolete equipment.” Doing this frees up resources to support current product and improves support by reducing wait times.

I can hear the objections rising, and if you are expecting me to jump on the bandwagon and criticize them for this move, you’re — wrong. In fact, I applaud them for being up front about this, instead of doing what so many other companies do. It sure seems like the industry standard is to claim you support obsolete product when in fact there’s no one on staff who has ever even seen this older equipment.

Assuming the plan for eliminating support is reasonable, and that the definition of “obsolete equipment” is one we all agree upon, this company joins other high-end firms that have a support lifecycle policy. Microsoft is notable for publicizing this well in advance; their policy can be seen at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy. It’s been known to make exceptions, as I am sure the company in question will, but Microsoft recognizes that there’s a point where it would be better for all if it replaced the product and stopped nursing things along.

I am reminded of a phone call I received when I was responsible for tech support at a large CCTV manufacturer. The end user called me to complain that he couldn’t get parts to repair his 17-year old pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) camera. “It’s working great,” he said, “and I could keep it going forever if you guys still sold parts.” He was upset that we no longer had the parts in stock and wouldn’t make new ones for him, despite the fact that this was a 15-inch dome camera in a 7-inch dome camera world.

“How about if the camera had died after 15 years and was unrepairable?” I asked him. “Would you consider a 15-year lifespan good for this type of product?”

“Sure,” he replied. “Fifteen years is more than I ever got from one of your competitors’ products.”

“But you got 17 years and you’re unhappy because you can’t get a few more, since we no longer have parts left for this product.”

“That’s right!” he exclaimed. And went right back to complaining about parts availability.

Sometimes you just can’t win. But I admire this company for their honesty – and for taking the high road.

Click here to read the original article on the Security Sales Integration website

I’ve often used the saying, “95 percent of a good job is a bad job.” That means that it’s the last 5 percent that determines success or failure. There are many reasons for this:

• The details are what everyone understands. They may not know whether you used the right kind of cable, but they know whether you labeled each end. The servers may function perfectly, but if there’s a little LED on the front panel that is blinking continuously, it will drive many people crazy. Handwritten labels on masking tape, trash left behind, no equipment manuals – all of these are things that the client can understand and can fix. Why didn’t the integrator?
• The tip of the iceberg. If the integrator missed these simple and obvious things, what else did they miss? This turns into a trust issue. It’s hard to trust that the things you can’t see and can’t understand are OK when the things you can see and can understand are deficient.
• What will happen if something breaks? Again, the issue of trust and confidence comes into play. If it took the integrator this long to clean up after itself, what is its attention to detail going to be like when something breaks? Can you trust that the integrator will show up on time, send things out under warranty, and replace them promptly?

Of course, there’s a positive side to this equation if the integrator is prepared to step up to the task. Even if there have been problems during the installation, including the product not working or missed deadlines, you can be redeemed. A dedicated effort to finish the job, with incredible focus on every detail, will pull you out of almost every penalty box. Problems will be forgiven, and the account will usually result in a reference from the client. Sadly, we see too few integrators take advantage of this aspect of a project. As a result, companies are often dragged down as they struggle to complete things and move on.

Click here to read the original article on the Security Sales Integration website

The session, “Developing, Influencing and Responding to Request for Proposal’s (RFP’s)“, focused on practical, hands-on tips to make the whole RFP process work better for all involved. The class was well attended (I estimated 60 people), with a mix of end-users, manufacturers, consultants and integrators, although integrators were the most vocally represented, judging from the questions.

I will use some of the questions and comments in future blogs, but one thought that generated some discussion centered on what integrators can do when they are confronted with a really bad RFP developed by a consultant. The consensus was that, no matter how strong the integrator’s relationship is with the end user and no matter how bad the consultant (and RFP) is, an integrator isn’t going to win an argument with a consultant. The consultant is usually perceived as being unbiased and an expert, while the integrator is just looking to make a buck. Now I’m not saying that is true; there are many good integrators looking out for their clients. Unfortunately, there are enough bad consultants to make this a valid question.

After much thought, my recommendation is this: If you think the specification is really bad and that you’re not going to win the job by doing it right (or do it right by following the specification), you have only one choice. Write a letter to the end user, copy the consultant, and tell him your firm will decline to bid the job and give the reasons. If you’d like, you can go one step further and recommend an alternate consultant. If there’s someone you’ve worked with, put his name out there. A surprising amount of our consulting business comes from integrators that we have successfully worked with.

Either way, by doing this, you will alienate the consultant. Who cares? You’re not going to win his jobs anyway. You probably won’t alienate the end user if you have a good relationship with him. You certainly won’t appear to be a whiner, as you might if you just protest loudly and bid the job anyway. And, if another prospective vendor does this as well, you have an excellent chance of effecting positive change. I know that a big part of our value to our clients is our ability to deliver a range of competent and competitive bids. If a prospective bidder were to go around us and point out legitimate flaws in our RFP, we’d have some serious explaining to do.

But, more importantly, you’ll be above the fray and in an excellent position to pick up the pieces and save the day if the project crashes and burns. And there’s always a happier ending for the team that cleans up the mess than there is for the one that created it.

Click here to read the original article on the Security Sales Integration website

The two biggest shows — at least in the United States — are ISC West in the Spring and ASIS in the Fall. While ASIS is historically an end user show and ISC West a dealer/integrator event, in practice, the functions are similar. Both are great networking opportunities, offer a wide variety of products to see, and include extensive training sessions and educational panels. So why choose one over the other? For me, it’s simple. ISC West is held in Las Vegas each year, while ASIS changes cities annually. Sometimes the ASIS venue is great, sometimes not, but Las Vegas is always the premier convention destination with inexpensive flights and hotel rooms, plenty to do after hours, and the comfort of familiarity.

That being said, the show this year, at least for me, was more about what wasn’t there than what was. If 2010 was the year of incremental improvement, 2011 was the year of the copycat. With very few exceptions, I didn’t see much that was new, but I did see a wide distribution of a narrow set of ideas.

Take media converters for example. Last year there were a small number of companies making these devices — essentially black boxes that take one kind of signal and turn it into another, converting it back at the other end. There were converters that send Ethernet over fiber optic cable, Ethernet over coaxial cable, Ethernet over CAT3 UTP, Ethernet range extenders, wireless Ethernet. If you’re like me, you see a pattern emerging. There were Ethernet network switches, power over Ethernet (PoE) injectors, you name it — and every third booth was showing it. I think there were more RJ45 connectors than there were escort service solicitations at the show this year, but maybe that’s just my perception.

My point is that none of this was new. Almost everything we saw was there last year, just in fewer booths, flavors and colors. It was almost as if everyone spent 2010 looking at the competition, and this year everyone essentially became the competition.

In some ways, this is good. There are more choices as to vendors, more mature products, and more competition means better pricing and support. With little to copy this year, manufacturers better put their thinking caps on or there won’t be much to show next year.

Click here to read the original article on the Security Sales Integration website

There is nothing average about Galleria Dallas. Under a magnificent barrel-vaulted glass skylight, the visitor experience is one of a casual city street replete with shopping, cafes, seating and people watching. To ensure the safest possible environment, Galleria Dallas’ proactive management decided to upgrade the facility’s electronic security including the move to IP-based video surveillance.

The action was initiated without the all-too-typical presence of a precipitating event or upward crime trend forcing the decision. Rather the comfort and security of visitors took center stage, and the upgrade was part of a longstanding trend in strategic thinking on the part of management.

“We want people — guests, employees and visitors — to feel that they have arrived at a safe environment,” explains Angie Freed, general manager of Galleria Dallas. “And knowing that the feeling of security and safety is the No. 1 reason people cite in visiting or not visiting a shopping center, we want to make sure they choose us.”

Galleria Dallas already had CCTV located throughout the shopping center, but management wanted to do more and allocated funds for an upgrade. Egg Harbor Township, N.J.-based consulting firm R. Grossman and Associates Inc. (RG&A) was hired to survey the facility, offer recommendations and assess proposals already in hand.

“We wanted an outside expert to evaluate our systems, make suggestions, and make sure we were moving in the right direction,” explains Earl Morgan, director of security for the property and an Andrews Int’l employee. “We are not experts in this; it’s not what we live and breathe every day,” adds Freed.

The scope of the project would entail helping safeguard the complex’s 1.9 million square feet of retail space and more than 200 retail shops. There is also a four-story glassed-in structure featuring an ice skating rink that is home to the nation’s tallest indoor Christmas tree, 10,000 garaged parking spaces and a 4,300-square-foot, award-winning Children’s Play Place.

Following is a first-hand account of how consultant, integrator and end user forged a rock-solid collaborative union to deliver the best possible security design, installation and final solution. The endeavor would prove the axiom that planning pays off, and include hundreds of cameras, several hundred terabytes of data storage, 90,000 feet of conduit in the parking garage alone, and a total cost in excess of $1 million. (Editor’s note: This project’s nondisclosure agreements bar revealing precise equipment locations and quantities.)

Design Calls for IP Cameras, VMS

It was against this backdrop that RG&A set out to design and specify the system. After two site visits and extensive exploration of the massive property, a scope of work was defined and a specification was created around a “wish list.”

“Anytime you are dealing with a project with a fixed budget, there are a number of ambiguities,” says Robert Sprague, RG&A consultant/project manager assigned to Galleria Dallas. “On the one hand, you want to get your client exactly what they’re looking for. On the other, you need to be mindful of the budget; if your design goes over [budget], you don’t want to go to the expense of rebidding the project. And it’s not fair to put the integrators through that.”

The center initially had a number of analog cameras in public areas. These were recorded on GE/Kalatel DVRs installed in data closets located strategically around the property and linked via a fiber-optic backbone. The DVRs handled storage of the recorded images while a Genetec video management system (VMS) was used to view and play back recorded images from a central command center. There were no cameras in the parking garages and the initial focus of the design was to add complete coverage of the 10,000 parking spaces, and redesign the command center to handle the added workload.

As a standard course of business, RG&A designs projects with a base system and a number of option packages or alternates. The base system is the minimum functionality required, and the options traditionally enhance performance or add features.

In the case of Galleria Dallas, the base system included the parking garage cameras and associated storage and video management. Options included the new command center; added coverage for the interior of the shopping center; increased recorded retention time from the baseline; moving all of the existing cameras off of the DVRs and onto the new system; and replacement of the emergency callbox system. The last option was initially going to be a separate project but the prospect of labor savings compelled management to act sooner.

After replacing the existing DVRs with encoders in the data closets throughout the shopping center, Robert Tabbara (left) and Brian Heldreth of 911 Security review the transition plan to clean up the temporary wiring without causing any system downtime.

In all, 13 bids were received from nine different integrators. In fact, the initial system design had been specified as analog cameras with IP encoders to minimize the cost of replacing vandalized cameras, in case that became a problem in the parking garages. Galleria Dallas stakeholders had mixed feelings about going analog (the “future-proof” nature of a fully IP-based system was appealing) and it was ultimately an alternate proposal that won out.

The project, including all of the specified option packages, was awarded to Dallas-based 911 Security Cameras (911). With 47 employees in four offices (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Baton Rouge, La.), 911 was established in 2007. Today the business realizes 80 percent of its revenues from video surveillance and the balance from access control projects.

“We feel this is a great advantage because it really separates us from the competition,” says 911 President Robert Tabbara. “The whole company — techs, sales, support staff — are really knowledgeable about these products. Consequently we are able to evaluate products, get hands-on experience, and become certified on a tremendous depth of products within that market niche. We are certified on seven brands of video management systems and have dealt with almost every kind of camera out there, so we know what to promote and what to avoid.”

The integrator had proposed a fully IP-based system that included high-end products with familiar brand names where appropriate (e.g. Cisco networking, Dell computers, Winsted console), as well as a lesser-known make (ACTi) of fixed cameras.

“I was initially unfamiliar with that brand,” says T. Riley Pierce, senior consultant for RG&A and the person responsible for evaluating substitutions on the project. “911 sent us a sample and we actually had it installed at another site with similar lighting and environmental conditions. But it was the independent feedback from another integrator that pushed me over the edge.”

RG&A leases a warehouse on its property to integrator Pro Video Engineering. When Pierce asked Pro Video’s Tim Longnecker what kind of IP cameras he was using, he responded ACTi without even being prompted. “He had such a large installed base over a long period that we had no problem moving forward with the substitution,” adds Pierce.

Throughout the value engineering phase there were a number of suggestions made by 911 that further refined the system. RG&A’s philosophy is that there is no room for egos on a project. The consultant believes the overriding imperative is providing the client with the best system within their design and budgetary constraints. Hence, all good ideas should be discussed and evaluated.

That sentiment was echoed by both Morgan and Denise Witry, operations director at Galleria Dallas. “We feel it was a good three-way marriage, if you will,” says Witry.

Other equipment manufacturers involved in the project included APC, Panasonic, Salient and Talk-A-Phone.

Solving Power, Cabling Challenges

The level of planning, combined experience of the team, and proximity of the site to 911′s Dallas office made this a relatively painless installation.

Brian Heldreth, project manager for 911, is also a licensed electrician and his extensive experience with larger electrical projects proved helpful. “We ran 90,000 feet of metal pipe in three weeks,” he says. “And throughout all of that, we stayed out of the way completely, with no disturbance to customers or operations.”

A major contributor to things proceeding so smoothly was the level of cooperation between Galleria Dallas and 911. “I can’t think of any time we impacted their ability to complete their work. And a lot of this was happening during the [Thanksgiving and Christmas] holidays, and it was all pretty seamless,” says Witry.

One area where the consultant’s specification made things a little more difficult was the insistence on a dedicated power wire rather than using power over Ethernet (PoE) technology. RG&A had concerns about the cable distances involved, voltage drop and cameras that would draw more power in the future.

Ryan Armstrong (left), crew leader and Josh Davis, senior technician, work on camera and conduit installation after Dallas Galleria operating hours. While the initial intent was to minimize disruption to the shopping center, the off-hours work sped up installation dramatically as it presented a safe and obstacle-free environment that would have been difficult to achieve with heavy traffic in these areas

A team of a dozen 911 employees was assigned to the project, with four subcontracted personnel handling the fiber pull and termination. The team worked from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the conduit installation, cable pull and camera-mounting phase to minimize disruptions.

Tabbara spent about 15 percent of his time onsite making sure things went according to plan and that his people were supported properly. “I like to stay close to the customers and make sure that I hear any complaints or things that could be going wrong. Getting real feedback to make sure we are on schedule is critical, and I also want to be close to my guys. If there are any problems, I can solve them pretty quickly.”

Although the installation phase came off without any especially challenging hurdles or nagging problems, Sprague highlights a few small issues that cropped up.

“Sure, there were the usual changes and improvements,” he says. “There were plans initially to put the IDF points in air-conditioned cabinets in the garage because of the Texas heat, but we felt that would be a failure point once we got past the three-year warranty period. We decided to go with hardened switches and fiber-optic modules that could withstand these environmental conditions and 911 selected ComNet, a relatively new entrant in this field. We looked at them closely and were impressed with the product and the people behind it and it has worked out well.”

Similar problems – though relatively minor – concerning command center layout, rack locations, camera positioning and other issues were worked out quickly and efficiently. A communication practice RG&A has deployed on projects for quite a while worked out particularly well.

“We create an E-mail address for every project,” says RG&A Office Manager Terri Timmons, who handles project communications. “Any messages sent to that address automatically forward to a list of project contacts, including the client and our own people. Once the project is awarded, the integrator adds their people to the list, and if there’s an architect or general contractor we add them as well. It really simplifies things, as no one gets left out. You just send an E-mail to one address and it goes to all the right people.”

Director of Security Earl Morgan walks the shopping center, shown here talking to Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Jeff Ell. 'It is important to visualize the coverage area in person while looking at the cameras,' says Morgan. 'The best way to do that is to review the areas in person, on a regular basis.'

So how is the system working? Galleria Dallas personnel weren’t surprised with the coverage. “We had walked every square inch of the parking garage, so coverage was exactly what we expected,” says Morgan. Asking him about the possibility of adding cameras elicits a smile. “Right now coverage is so good it is hard to imagine where we could possibly need more cameras. I’m sure that once we’ve been working with it for a while we will make some minor tune-ups and adjustments.”

But the real surprise he says was the ease of use: “The other day I had two other security officers with me and I wanted to see how easy it was to go back and review some footage. I asked the operator to show me a review, and she made a couple of mouse clicks — 1 second, 5 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds — she went right where she needed to go and hit ‘play.’ Video popped right up and that’s with no training.”

Other advantages are being realized as well. From an operational standpoint, as the management team continues to get familiarized with the new capabilities, they are looking forward to being able to view cameras from their offices and performing virtual walkthroughs of the facility. Cameras near emergency call boxes will allow security staff to evaluate the situation before dispatching someone and eliminate false alarms. And on the rare occasion when crime does occur they will be able to help law enforcement catch the criminal, which is a powerful deterrent in itself.

Witry sums it up nicely: “You know, from an operations standpoint I have 19 million people who travel in and out of this shopping center on an annual basis. If our security programs — CCTV, call boxes, patrols, bikes, vehicles — provide them with a feeling or perception of safety, and they can go home and say, ‘My visit to Galleria Dallas was just phenomenal from beginning to end,’ it’s something to be proud of.”

Read the original article on the Security Sales & Integration website

Download this article in PDF format – ‘Shopping Center Steps Up Its Security – Security Sales & Integration’

“The 100 meter limit for Ethernet over copper presents some installation challenges.”

I think there are very few people involved in the installation of IP-based CCTV systems that would disagree with either of the above statements. In an upcoming study featured in SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION’s April 2011 issue, research shows integrators are still using coax in 39 percent of new installations, so there is going to be a lot of coax out there for the near future. Moreover, even those using unshielded twisted pair (UTP) for analog video (the same study shows that is gaining and rose 2 percent to 14 percent last year) aren’t tied to the distance limitations of Ethernet, a contributing factor in the use of those products. Any way you look at it, you’ll be contending with long cable runs of UTP or coax as you upgrade these systems in a market that is clearly moving to IP.

As a result, we are seeing an ever-increasing demand for media converters, in particular the ones that overcome these limitations. Often called “Ethernet extenders,” these devices allow IP Ethernet transmission of network data to communicate over an existing coaxial cable for distances up to 2,500 feet (750 meters); with UTP cable the distance limit can be extended up to one mile (1,600 meters). Naturally the transmission speed varies based on losses that occur from cable length, signal noise and interference, but the units generally auto-negotiate bandwidth, making it transparent to the installer and end user.

In fact, one of the problems with these devices is their ease of installation. There is absolutely no set up or configuration; installation requires simply connecting the BNC connectors at each end of the existing coaxial cable to the transmitter and receiver. They are completely transparent to the network and do not even have IP or MAC addresses. So, why is this a problem? Because of the simplicity, Ethernet extenders are becoming commodity devices in the eyes of the installer and nothing could be further from the truth.

In the past year, we have seen hundreds of these devices fail at client sites both in the U.S. and internationally. Not all brands are prone to failure; we have replaced a number of failed units with Nitek VR-series units (VR124COAX and VR124UTP) and have not seen a single failure with the Nitek units in over two years. However, we have seen at least one brand with almost a 100 percent failure rate at certain locations, and our predictions of failure are uncanny in the eyes of our clients when we see that particular brand installed.

So what should you look for? While we like Nitek, that is based on personal experience and we’re not saying there aren’t other great units out there. Like anything else, look at references, installed base, track record, and construction before choosing and standardizing a brand. We’ve also discovered that size matters as well — the units that fail frequently are often more compact, no doubt because they haven’t been encumbered by robust surge suppression or quality components that may take up more space. To that end, make sure that the box you put these devices in is sized for a larger unit. That way, if you inadvertently chose one of the failure prone devices, you won’t have the added expense of replacing junction boxes with larger ones like we did!

Click Here to Read the Original Article on the Security Sales & Integration Website

Download the “SSI EntSolutions – Handling Coax, UTP Cables” PDF

To accomplish our objective, we need to put some care into the preparation of a bid list for each job. This can be complicated for a firm like ours as we work nationally, and there are great integrators everywhere, and unfortunately not-so-great ones too.

We first look to our past experiences. Do we have integrators in that area that we have worked with? Even if an integrator hasn’t won one of our projects in the past, if their bid was responsive and professional, we’ll consider them.

Second, we talk to the client. Are there any firms that they have successfully worked with? Who is the incumbent? Sadly, many of our clients come to us precisely because they have no one; if they did, the project might have been a negotiated sale with no need for a consultant. But their local integrators have let them down, and they’re ready for someone new.

Third, we look to the key manufacturers on the project to recommend firms that they have successfully worked with. We like that option as it tends to give us well-trained firms and the backing of the manufacturer.

And fourth, we’ll occasionally consider firms that have approached us to be on our bid lists.

When the integrators get our RFP package, they have a decision to make — whether or not to bid on the project. This is often just a business decision with no strategy involved. They can look at their skill set, the competition, current and projected workload, and other factors and decide whether or not it’s worth their while. If not, why go to the trouble?

Two reasons come to mind, besides the actual project. First, referrals. If a manufacturer is referring you, it’s going to want you to bid. If you don’t bid on projects for which you are referred, the leads are sure to dry up. No one wants to refer someone who is non-responsive, and deciding not to bid a job is about as non-responsive as it gets. From our perspective, when we are referred a consulting lead, it has to be pretty bad for us to ignore it. We want the referrals, and keeping people who give our name out thinking of us is a key consideration when looking at prospective projects.

Second, the experience is a factor. If you are interested in getting into an area, go ahead and respond. If you don’t get the project, seek out feedback as to why you didn’t get the job. There are often factors beyond price, and an informal “off the record” phone call with the owner, consultant, or other key players may give you the information you need to win the next one.

As a side note, sometimes you may get leads that really don’t speak to your core competencies. Rather than summarily rejecting them, respond with the reason you’re not bidding. I’d rather hear from an integrator that they’re not interested in bidding a certain type of project but keep them in mind for other types, than to have them just “no bid” our jobs. The former will get them on the right bid lists; the latter will take them off all of our lists – even the Christmas card list!

Click here to read the original article

When doing work for the U.S. Postal Service several years ago, we explored this question. Its inclination was to use CAT6 everywhere to make its networks consistent. But the capability of CAT5e far exceeds the bandwidth requirements of an IP camera by a factor of 200, so we recommended against it. At the time, the savings was about $100 a box and could easily add up. We also felt that the ease of pulling CAT5e cable was a factor; it is thinner, easier to work with, and more flexible for the most part. To be honest, I’m not sure whether or not the USPS took our recommendation, but a number of other clients have, and we continue to recommend CAT5e for devices that consume limited bandwidth and are connected to a backbone that will allow expansion.

But head end wiring has always been different for us. We have long recommended CAT6 for rack wiring, even though the connected equipment doesn’t consume that level of bandwidth. The cost difference is not material, and we believe that it makes the system more “future proof”. But a recent trip to a jobsite has made me question that philosophy and we’ll be thinking about that in the months ahead as we move forward with several new projects.

For one, the future proof argument doesn’t really apply. It is extremely simple to pull a new cable within a rack room, so if CAT6 was ever needed, it would be nothing to put it in. In fact, that argument speaks more to the field devices, where it would be difficult to re-pull cable. While we are still confident that CAT5e is sufficient for most of these cases, we will continue to review each application and make sure we’re covering all contingencies.

But the second argument for higher performance cabling is “why not?” If the cost isn’t a factor and it will work as well, why not go with the gold standard? And, until recently, I couldn’t come up with a reason for using CAT5 in a rack room, or for patch cables and short equipment interconnections as well. But a project in a high end mall in the San Diego area that was plagued with reliability problems after a rack was re-wired brought me a surprising answer.

CAT6 cables and patch cords are inherently stiffer than CAT5e cables. While this may not make a difference everywhere, the bend radiuses in this rack were exerting off-axis pressure on the cables. This meant that connections were pushed up, sown, or to the side by the force of the cabling and there were reliability problems with the associated connections. Sure, if you want to let your rack wiring look like spaghetti, it is less of a problem, but we admittedly have a thing for nice, neat installations, and replacement of the patch cords with more flexible CAT5e cables solved reliability problems immediately, while maintaining a professional appearance.

So, in that continuing quest for self improvement, we are looking at an area that we thought was done and settled years ago. It reminds us that our mission is better served when we add the word “appropriately” to the end of it. As consultants, integrators, manufacturers or end users working in any technology field, we solve problems by applying the latest technology — appropriately.

Link to Full Article:

http://www.securitysales.com/Blog/Enterprising-Solutions/Story/2011/01/Bigger-Isn-t-Always-Better-Be-Mindful-of-the-Category-Rating.aspx

In this digital era, the first and foremost problem child is the hard drive. We have long recommended that hard drives be replaced in a proactive manner consistent with the manufacturer’s warranty expiration and your experience in the specific environment. And, the hassle factor goes down when you are replacing a hot, swappable hard drive in a RAID-5 array. But, when replacing hard drives that were put into service at roughly the same time, you are foolish (in my opinion) if you don’t replace them all at the same time. Sure, a RAID 5 array will keep going even while rebuilding a hard drive, but not if two drives fail. And while the likelihood of a drive failing while another one is rebuilding is ordinarily pretty slim, it increases geometrically when the drives are all past their useful life. Couple this with the fact that a hard drive — even an enterprise class drive — costs less than a service call, changing them all at once just makes sense.

While we may all agree with that, we too often see the hard drives that were replaced before failing put into spares inventory. This is fine if it’s just going to be used to get you through a weekend before replacement; we know that some of these are winding up in the DVRs of another less important client. Or worse, these are going into home computers. This kind of thinking leads people to donating their old worn tires to people who want to squeeze a few more miles out of them. It’s dangerous, folks, and you are just waiting for a catastrophe. Hard drives are cheap, many vendors have trade-in programs, and by reusing hard drives, even for a limited time, you are giving up the ability to predict and proactively plan for failure. Just say no.

In a related area, don’t recycle anything that was pulled from service because of a problem when the problem was never found. While electronics may seem magical and mystical, it is really the most logical of the sciences. If something exhibits a problem, there’s a reason, and if you just swap things out, shrug your shoulders, and put a product of unknown reliability into your spares pool, you’re just moving a problem around, from location to location or client to client. Either find a problem or expose it to rigorous testing before putting it back into service. And if you don’t have the time to do that, it’s probably not worth the trouble to deal with later if it fails.

This especially applies to network cables. We have seen too many boxes of spare cables on job sites that were questionable, to the point where we think the entire box should be thrown away. A cable tester is only as good as the person plugging and testing, and if that person didn’t flex and tug at the cable, an intermittent problem can plague you forever. Cables are cheap. Problems aren’t.

Link to Full Article:

http://www.securitysales.com/Blog/Enterprising-Solutions/Story/2010/12/What-Not-to-Recycle.aspx

I was listening to an Engadget podcast today (don’t worry, I’ll bring this home in a minute) and they were talking about market dominance of product categories and how there tend to be only three or so leaders. This applies to operating systems for computers (Windows, Mac, Linux), gaming consoles (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo), and other things and they remarked that there will likely only be room for three or so operating systems for cell phones, with the remaining platforms falling by the wayside. While I agree with the first two examples, I’m not sure I agree with the third, and I think it ties in to our market.

The reason is that cell phones, for the majority of users are utility devices. They are there to make phone calls, send text messages, and perhaps check E-mail. Add taking photos to that list and I believe you’ve covered the majority of phone users. Sure there are people who use all the features, install the apps, and are true power users, but think of yourself, your family, and your friends. One in 10? One in 100? I’m sure you see my point (and, if not, please let me know). But those average users don’t really care about operating systems, upgrades, and enhancements. They just want to call, text, E-mail, and take pictures, and for the most part you can do this from phone to phone without any problems.

In many ways, the products in our industry are just like that; utility devices that must work and work reliably. While they may be capable of much more, once things are set up and running smoothly, we really don’t want to deal with them any more. So, when we hear of improvements, bug fixes, and maintenance releases, sometimes you need to read further before automatically hitting the upgrade button. Very often the software fix breaks something else, and going back to the way it was isn’t always an option. The old adage “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” often applies here.

Remember, unlike your personal computer, your DVR or access control system won’t be surfing the Web, clicking on dubious sites, or running new applications. It will be recording images, opening doors, and doing mundane tasks day in and day out. While many upgrades and improvements are essential for security, reliability and performance, others may add features you don’t need at a cost you’re not prepared to pay. Think about that next time you’re contemplating jumping on the upgrade treadmill!

This article was written by Bob Grossman for his “Enterprising Solutions” blog for Security Sales & Integration.

Link to full article:

http://www.securitysales.com/Blog/Enterprising-Solutions/Story/2010/11/The-Update-Treadmill.aspx