Cisco Unveils Safety and Security Solutions for Intelligent Risk Mitigation

As part of the Cisco Smart+Connected Communities initiative, Cisco has announced a series of safety and security product innovations powered by a comprehensive medianet architecture to help cities, enterprises, small businesses and partners transform the way they protect people, property and critical infrastructure. Safety and security are pillars of Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities strategy for supporting regional transformation at the economic, social and environmental levels.
The announcement introduces enhancements to several Cisco services designed to help customers transition to IP-based safety and security systems. These include:
Updates to the Cisco Physical Access Manager, Cisco’s application for managing integrated security operations on an IP network. Cisco Physical Access Manager integrates hardware such as door readers, locks and biometric devices on campus environments and office buildings, providing a platform for integration with other IT systems.
Enhancements to the Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS), Cisco’s complete IP-based dispatch and incident response solution.
A comprehensive Network Readiness Assessment service for IP Video Surveillance that will help Cisco channel partners to evaluate and better plan their customers’ network capabilities to support standard and high-definition video surveillance solutions.
The new solutions will help meet increasing demands of public and private sector organizations to efficiently and effectively support threat mitigation, crisis collaboration and situational awareness.
The integrated safety and security solution not only offers advanced video surveillance capabilities but also takes advantage of integration with medianet network-based services to support optimal end-to-end video quality while automating many aspects of configuration and deployment.
By delivering server capabilities to the network edge and integrating device and alert alarms with IP-based dispatch and incidence response, these solutions help to address a growing range of threats and challenges that can impact supply chains and economies.
Cisco Physical Access Manager 1.3
Cisco Physical Access Manager now delivers enhanced local survivability for network-based access control by helping to ensure that if a system fails, access identity and operations still function effectively. For example, an improved fault tolerant anti-passback feature works even in the event of a network outage to help ensure that premises maintain a high degree of security under uncertain conditions.
The solution allows plug-and-play medianet-enabled cameras to be used as motion-detection sensors. This enables customers to consolidate alarm management procedures, thereby lowering the cost of security operations.
Government and enterprise customers can reduce the fraudulent duplication of access cards and identity credentials through support for new federal identity standards such as FIPS-201 and HSPD-12.
For global customers, the Cisco Physical Access Manager 1.3 desktop client provides the ability to display menus and other text in multiple languages.
Cisco IP Interoperability and Communications System (IPICS)
Cisco IPICS is a complete IP-based dispatch and incidence-response solution enabling rapid, reliable communication using whatever desktop or mobile device is at hand to provide public safety personnel with continuous, real-time communication as well as streaming video.
Cisco demonstrated solutions on IPICS mobile platforms, including Android, with future support planned for the Cisco Cius™ tablet. IPICS now includes expanded operating system support for Windows 7, as well as for iOS 4 devices, including the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
The latest generation of routers, including the Cisco Integrated Services Router G2 and router media service gateway, are now supported, as well as all types of radios and future mobile and broadband networks, including narrowband and 4G / Long-Term Evolution (LTE).
Cisco also today announced the Cisco IPICS Video Dispatch Starter Kit, a turn-key package that contains all the hardware and software necessary to transform the Cisco Video Surveillance system into a collaboration solution enabling dynamic real-time two-way video sharing between the operations center and mobile users.
IP Video Surveillance Network Readiness Assessment Service
Prior to video deployments, Cisco is helping customers remediate any network design or capacity issues by making training, knowledge and tools available today to Cisco Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) Partners to analyze, inventory and assess customer networks.
The goal in assessing the network is to ensure the quality of experience of the video surveillance deployment to meet the safety, security and loss-prevention needs of the business and organization.
Cisco IP Service Level Agreement Suite – Video Operation
To help customers simulate planned video traffic loads, Cisco also introduced Video Operation as part of its Cisco IP Service Level Agreement suite. This Cisco IOS® Software feature for the Cisco Catalyst® 3000 Series Switches enables video surveillance, Cisco TelePresence or IPTV traffic to be simulated using profiles prior to full deployment and to troubleshoot video performance in existing networks.
Supporting Quotes
Bill Stuntz, vice president and general manager, Physical Security business unit, Cisco, said: “The combination of new security threats, regulatory compliance mandates, and the need to protect critical assets has driven the demand for a more efficient use of physical security technologies powered by next-generation services. The introduction of new solutions and network assessments will enable our customers to meet changing safety and security needs while improving flexibility and reliability.”
Debbie White, manager of Landside Operations, Auckland Airport, said: “Auckland is the largest airport in New Zealand, serving 13 million passengers annually, so safety and security are paramount to our operations. Working with Cisco enabled us to provide the extra level of functionality, flexibility and efficiency required to support changing infrastructure and traveler needs as we continue to grow.”
Rocco DelMonaco Jr., vice president for University Safety, Georgetown University, said: “The Cisco physical security solution deployed at Georgetown University has exceeded the requirements and challenges of helping to protect and secure a campus with nearly 15,000 students and thousands of faculty and staff.”
André Bourget, chief security officer, canton Vaud, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, said: “Working with Cisco, canton Vaud has evolved its IT and networking infrastructure to provide superior service and protection to all of its constituents, including the police, the department of Justice and open-desk services to citizens. The open, scalable solution helps to enable a high level of integrity, security and efficiency and provides opportunities for expansion in the future to meet the control, access and video protection needs of the canton’s 2,000 government buildings.”
Keske Toyofuku, chief information officer for First Wind, said: “Operating wind farms in remote locations makes ensuring safety and security a challenging problem. To help First Wind efficiently manage these risks, we turned to Cisco to provide a comprehensive and fully integrated system. Prior to installing our Cisco complete video surveillance and physical access control system, video and access control were not fully integrated and difficult to manage. With the deployment of Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager as well as Cisco Physical Access Manager for our wind farm facilities, we have both simplified and improved access control and video surveillance.”
Jeff Woodward, senior manager, Panduit Global Environmental Health and Safety, said: “By centralizing security operations from our Unified Operations Center, we should achieve an annual estimated saving of $653,000 and a 1.5-year payback period while enabling our security personnel to monitor and control video surveillance cameras and building access controls for all global offices over a WAN.”
Panduit collaborated with Cisco, N2N Secure, and IPVision on a connected building design for its new World Headquarters building which combines security and network operations functions in a single Unified Operations Center.  The project integrates state-of-the-art security systems, incorporating video surveillance, physical access controls, analytics software, and interoperable communications.