Joe Fallon has been in the security profession for more than 25 years, and during that time, he has seen enumerable changes and evolutions and has worked in various roles such as installer, designer, estimator, software development manager, and now consulting. In an industry that is full of buzzwords and acronyms, often chalked up to marketing jargon or just plain semantics aimed at gathering some new client attention, it is important to understand the commonalities and the differentiators between them, as well as what they individually do not do. Joe analyzed the similarities and differences in six systems:
- Command, Control, and Communications (C3)
- Physical Security Information Management (PSIM)
- Situational Awareness (SA)
- Business Intelligence (BI) systems
- Video Content Distribution
- Emergency Management systems
C3
C3 has been around since the early 1980s and was mostly deployed in government facilities. They were the predecessors of all of the above-referenced systems. The primary focus for these systems was electronic security systems.
C3 Key Differentiators:
- Positive verification of control actions – systems were connected to early networks or through serial communications, so verifications of commands were a paramount feature. In addition to early network limitations, these systems sometimes controlled process automation and life safety systems and therefore required positive feedback on actions.
PSIM
PSIM has evolved out of the original C3 platforms. They maintained most core capabilities and added additional features which leveraged their progression in overall ESS, Database, and reporting technologies. These systems for the most part do not control life safety systems due to the lack of positive feedback on control actions.
PSIM Key Differentiators:
- Due to the integration of subsystems being a core capability PSIMS have maintained a focus on Security subsystems
- Can configure and control all associated subsystems.
Situational Awareness (SA)
SA systems grew out of operational environments and took hold during the evolution of the IoT wave. Being able to view a more holistic status of one’s environment became more desirable once modern systems of all types started moving onto converged networks. These systems focus primarily on Data Aggregation due to the vast variety of sub-systems and the overall use case of viewing the entire environment. SAs utilize hooks or pointers of sub-systems for reference data/status rather than a common operating database.
SA Key Differentiators:
- No automated response – workflows are part of the system, but the response is manual and performed at the sub-system level
- View the current status of devices however no direct control or configuration of sub systems
- Operational based
Business Intelligence (BI)
BI systems aggregate and normalize data from a host of systems. This data is used to report metrics and KPIs to see and understand trends in an organization. These systems work across functional groups and roles to provide the most holistic view of an organization’s real-time data. Bis only review and reports data.
BI Key Differentiators:
- No automated response – workflows are part of the system, but the response is manual and performed at the sub-system level.
- No configuration or direct provision of sub-systems.
Video Content Distribution
Video Content Distribution systems provide a means of aggregating display streams from multiple systems and displaying them on single to multiple view platforms (i.e. monitors, video walls, etc.). These systems allow users to configure and combine these multiple system displays for routing and presentation on many viewing platforms. Video Content Distribution systems do not control or have the ability to interact with subsystems, they can only receive streaming video data.
Video Content Distribution Key Differentiators:
- No Data Aggregation or Normalization from subsystems – Video Display Only
- No automated response – workflows are part of the system, but the response is manual and performed at the sub-system level.
- No configuration or direct provision of sub-systems.
Emergency Management Systems
Emergency Management Systems were developed to streamline incident management and standardize response. These systems receive input from multiple security and operational systems to provide a level of Situational Awareness typically with an automated response by way of mass notification systems. They do not aggregate or normalize data, nor do they have direct provisioning capability and control of subsystems.
Emergency Management Systems Key Differentiators:
- No Data Aggregation or Normalization from subsystems
- No automated response – Cannot control sub system edge devices with exception of Mass Notification
All six of these systems play a significant role in the A/E/C industry, however, there is no one size fits all solution. Consulting with and educating our clients to clearly define system capabilities is key to a successful project. In order to determine what the best system type is for (1) your clients specific project and (2) the group of vendors which may be the closest to meeting their needs, the designer must analyze client uses cases and then evaluate systems from the bottom up, as well as top-down simultaneously, to avoid prolonged system development and high costs for custom integrations.
Want more information? Reach out to our Director of Security and Construction Services, Joe Fallon, at JoeF@faithgroupllc.com.