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Nick D'hoedt:
"Smaller organisa-
tion do not have to bother about
hiring IT staff and handling the
procurement and maintenance
costs of a fast evolving IT environ-
ment. As Genetec not only works
on Microsoft Azur but also main-
tains the software themselves you
have a warranted best in class sup-
port and knowledge level. Larger
organisations would then benefit
from an archiving structure that
can be adapted on demand."
What are the disadvan-
tages and risks with
cloud services?
Martin Andersen:
"Cloud based
services can be deployed in just as
a secure manner as any other IT
based service. Cloud infrastructure
providers are experts in providing
a secure infrastructure that fulfill
the highest security standards
from both the private and public
sector. In many cases the major
providers of cloud infrastructure
are more secure and have better
processes in place compared to
smaller companies with their own
IT departments."
Anders Geeber:
"Of course there
are risks, but I do not consider
IT services as the major risk. The
choice of brand is very important
if you want to be able to change
provider of cloud services in the
future. Some of the companies
that provide cloud services today
use systems where they have mar-
ket exclusivity. This type of hold is
point is the benefit of having all
of the components of the system
connected to a central system.
This allows the service provider to
manage and maintain the system
centrally. This can dramatically
reduce, for example, how often a
service technician has to go on-site
to maintain and troubleshoot.
From an end user perspective the
benefits will be a range of new
add-on services that are offered,
for example, on a monthly
subscription."
Anders Geeber:
"Simplicity. If the
customer decides to manage serv-
ers and software itself, employees
have to learn how to do that.
Small businesses are not doing
this on a regular basis and if a key
person quits, all knowledge will
be lost. Outsourcing is a matter of
convenience for the customers and
it also reduces the risks. Flexibility
is another major advantage it is
easy to scale up or scale down."
Martyn Ryder:
"The main advan-
tage is being able to buy a small
space in an enterprise system with-
out the price tag of a full enterprise
system. Also there is the conveni-
ence factor being in the cloud
can help with speed of deployment
and standardisation, along with
the fact that now everyone is more
mobile than ever in their day to
day working lives. They can access
these solutions on the fly from
mobile devices and keep in touch
and manage their solutions when
away from the office."
(video surveillance,
access control, alarm
systems)? Why?
Martin Andersen:
"A cloud-based
platform is suitable for deliver-
ing services for multiple product
categories. The key is to identify
how to utilise the benefits of the
cloud technology and combine it
with benefits of existing product
capabilities in e.g. cameras, access
control hardware etc."
Anders Geeber:
"Access control
and video surveillance. The reason
for that is that the market does
not trust alarms as much as the
other areas when it comes to
remote services."
Martyn Ryder:
"I would say all
of them, it really depends on the
situation of our customers. Many
of them do not necessarily have
the time or the people to manage
locally installed solutions, nor do
they have the free cash to be able
to invest in capital equipment."
Nick D'hoedt:
"Today video sur-
veillance would be the first hit as
that is the technology that needs
the highest IT standards and the
maximum archiving capacity. But
once in the cloud it would be the
logical setup to include the other
technologies as well."
What are the major
benefits of cloud
services?
Martin Andersen:
"From a service
provider perspective a cloud based
service scales well and the cost
is proportional to how much
the service is used. Another key
Companies within the physical
security industry define cloud
services in different ways. Anders
Geeber, CTO of Securitas in Swe-
den, views cloud computing as a
more modern version of what has
long been called hosted services.
He argues that although the meth-
od has changed, the actual value
for the customer has not. Nick
D'hoedt, Regional Sales Director
for Benelux, DACH & Nordics
at Genetec, maintains that cloud
services are all about infrastructure
and less about information archiv-
ing: "We keep the complete IT
infrastructure needed to host the
applications and archiving away
from the client. One could also see
it as Security as a Service", he says.
Martin Andersen, Product
Manager for Axis Video Hosting
System, says: "Cloud technology
provides a scalable and elastic
computer and network infrastruc-
ture that can be leveraged when
delivering various services. The
elasticity means that you only pay
for what you use and that you can
quickly scale up or scale down
depending on your needs."
Finally, Martyn Ryder, Director
of Product Management at Stanley
Security Solutions, says that Stan-
ley's cloud services have three char-
acteristics: "Firstly, any solution or
services where we are hosting and
or managing the customers solu-
tions. Secondly, where data is held
in a central location managed by
us, and finally, we give access to the
solution or manage it directly for
our customers".
Which product catego-
ries within the physical
security industry are best
suited for cloud services
what are the major benefits of cloud services and
how can customers feel confident they are safe?
which product categories within the physical security
industry are best suited for cloud services? detektor
has discussed this and more with four players within
the industry: Axis, Stanley Security, Genetec and
Securitas.
By Henrik Söderlund
Anders Geeber, CTO of Securitas
in Sweden.
Martin Andersen, Product Manager
for Axis Video Hosting System.
security technology market
What are the major advantages of cloud security services?