The Next Evolution of PSIM for Smart Cities

Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) has become an essential security solution for many public and private sector organizations worldwide. As IBM and others have predicted, 25 to 50 billion objects are expected to be connected to the cloud by 2020, underscoring the importance of embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) and building the framework for overall integration.

Smart city initiatives involve solution capabilities to enhance community safety, with integrated databases that can identify threat and risks. This is an opportunity for security integrators, who can work with cities to either design or adapt these smart communities from the ground up.

Organizational Convergence

With the trend toward converged security, the industry is witnessing a more formal cooperation between previously disparate security functions — especially physical and IT security. This includes a stronger integration between CSOs and CIOs, pushing organizational convergence to align with operational convergence.

When looking at Smart Cities, a further level of integration is required to create a comprehensive solution that allows disparate communication systems and organizations to work together; therefore, it is critical that security providers begin accelerating their roadmap for PSIM toward Converged Security and Information Management (CSIM).

CSIM can simply be described as intelligent software that converts massive amounts of data into meaningful and actionable information by filtering and correlating the data based on time, location, duration, frequency and type. Taking in information from video cameras, sensors and social media inputs from around a city, for example, CSIM correlates the data collected to help law enforcement and event management officials make the best decisions in the case of an emergency, and hopefully detect suspicious activity before it becomes a reality. These criteria are pre-programmed to fit each individual organization’s risk policy, standards and compliance requirements.

There are clear values for integrating CSIM software for local and state officials to manage security around large events such as concerts and sporting events, and especially when it comes to major gatherings that present an attractive target such as the Olympics, Super Bowl, music festivals and conventions.

As many cities have come to realize, the security market is inherently crowded and fragmented, and creating legitimate and proven value-adds continues to be a challenge for vendors and integrators alike.

The Value of a Holistic Smart City

For dealers and integrators, understanding the various ways CSIM can be applied to specific smart city applications within state, local and tribal organizations is essential to their efforts to both educate and support their customers. CSIM provides end-users with a more holistic view of the risk environment in order to create value for an enterprise across entire networks and organizations.

Holistic security also includes the involvement of risk management disciplines such as loss prevention, fraud prevention, business continuity planning, legal/regulatory compliance, insurance and other business areas. CSIM platforms can present actionable information in a map-based format while its rules engine enables users to quickly access automated action plans based on the organization’s own policies and procedures.

The software can also integrate, monitor and assess external threats and vulnerabilities through seamless data visualization support. Enterprise Business Intelligence reporting features can help security professionals better chart performance metrics and enhance overall organizational accountability.

Building the Basis of a Smart City Solution

Two crucial pillars of a Smart City project in virtually any municipal environment are transportation and public safety. They can be seen as the cornerstone to building a larger Smart City environment involving multiple subsystems and stakeholders.

Data gathered in these environments can be leveraged by organizations to gain real-time situational awareness and situation management capabilities. CSIM can also integrate with big data analytics tools, social media and other intelligence inputs, and can correlate internal vulnerabilities with external threats.

Situational awareness data from external sources provides dynamic reporting that allows business leaders to have a more comprehensive understanding of where these threats are happening and how they could potentially impact business operations.

To increase public safety, cities can better manage disruptions and threats — including protests, civil unrest or other situations requiring emergency evacuation. In a crisis, business executives and public leaders want the ability to manage risk by having the timeliest and most accurate information possible. This includes using predictive policing tactics such as social media and open source analytics to determine, for example, where crowds may be assembling and what might present credible threats to both the public and property.

When taken together, all of this information enables a more accurate understanding of what key resources may be necessary and when and where they will be needed.

CSIM Installation

Smart City solutions are as multiple and varied as the cities themselves, and depending on the particular city and its infrastructure, there could be many different types of sensors or systems already in place. Consultants, systems integrators and engineering firms may be brought in by a city to determine the best design and method of integrating the disparate pieces.

Integrators have particular value due to the knowledge and capabilities of installing and managing the many different types of physical systems across multiple environments. As an example, a city may have multiple VMS technologies, sensors for flood monitoring, gunshot detection and energy management —  all managed by different stakeholders. Typical installations may begin with one or two system integrations, and then build from there.

Most modern subsystem solutions are built on open architectural platforms that allow for the ability to integrate with other solutions, often with full functionality (read more on standardization for smart city deployments on page xx). A strong CSIM platform should be able to manage multiple types of subsystem data, integrating these solutions through their API and SDK interfaces.

For city planners specifically, video surveillance is the most requested and key subsystem that touches stakeholders — both public and private — across every sector within a municipality, and each has its own interest in video-centric situational awareness and situation management. Other key integrations with growing interest are cybersecurity monitoring systems and social media inputs.

CSIM is already making a positive impact in supporting Smart Cities around the globe. When it comes to integrating the solutions, channel partners are essential to increasing the knowledge base of the technology through their relationships with end-user organizations and enhancing their project environments through this advanced technology.

James Chong launched Vidsys in 2005. He has more than 20 years of management and technology experience in software, IT, video surveillance, intelligent transportation and more. Request more info on the company at www.securityinfowatch.com/10215700.