by Shane Henson — November 21, 2012—Genetec, a pioneer in the physical security industry and a provider of world-class unified Internet protocol (IP) security solutions, has announced plans for bringing physical security software to the cloud. In conjunction with a strategic multiyear alliance with Microsoft Corp., Genetec is developing true, reliable, hosted security solutions, including video surveillance, access control and license plate recognition (LPR) as a service that will be built on Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud-computing platform, the company says. Windows Azure provides an easy-to-use management portal and powerful command-line tools to allow users to manage applications from any platform.
According to Genetec, the new cloud-based security solutions are expected to combine the strength of the company’s unified security platform with the global reach, scalability, and reliability of Windows Azure. Following an aggressive development schedule, Genetec is planning on delivering its first cloud-based service offering in the first half of 2013.
Until now, the physical security industry had not fully embraced the concepts of software-as-service and true hosted services, the company says. Genetec’s new solutions are being developed to harness the unique opportunities afforded by cloud computing and empower the industry to take advantage of physical security systems on demand. Integrators will be able to take advantage of streamlined and greatly simplified setup, provisioning and install procedures, meaning they can on-board more customers, more easily, and with greater initial satisfaction. Users will benefit from the ease of use, availability, and lower cost of ownership.
Security assets (including video, access, and related critical data) will be automatically stored in the cloud so that they can be easily reused, retrieved, and analyzed at any time and anywhere. Users will also be able to roll out and configure security systems and upgrades without disruption, and take advantage of world-class data centers to reduce information technology burden and costs. They will benefit from built-in, accessible and flexible online payment and administration processes from within one hosted solution, the company added.
In Genetec’s traditional enterprise market, the cloud will open many new avenues to enhance and extend the applicability and value of new and existing installations. With its new software-as-service offerings, Genetec says it will deliver compelling, cost-effective features and capabilities by enabling enterprise customers to quickly extend installations to remote/satellite locations, and to take advantage of highly elastic, secure off-site storage and compute platforms hosted on Windows Azure. For the enterprise, Genetec’s solution hosted on Windows Azure means that ultra-available, on-demand compute power is accessible 24/7 to help large organizations access, analyze and better understand large, complex and intersecting security data streams.
Recognizing that the needs of small and medium-sized businesses are very different from those of enterprise customers, Genetec is also developing cloud-based solutions that will be affordable, easy to install and simple to use, it says. This will enable integrators and channel partners to quickly and efficiently deliver state-of-the-art security systems that will allow small and mid-size organizations to remain focused on their core competencies rather than spending their time and valuable resources managing complex hardware and information technology configurations.
