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www.securitysystemsnews.com M aRC h 2017 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS market trends 30 quite a bit," said Hudson of Tyco. In several instances, he points out, "your [on site] network manag- er may be less secure" than the cloud. "We have a robust vetting of designed taking cybersecurity into account in a big way," said Slaughterbeck. "With a cloud- based system, there is actually more security." "These conversations come up IT'S TIME TO JOIN THE ESX COMMUNITY. JUNE 13-16 | NASHVILLE | MUSIC CITY CENTER Where passionate security and life safety professionals gather to get business done. Big enough to showcase the latest technology. Intimate enough to have meaningful business conversations. MAJOR DISCOUNT FOR EARLY REGISTRANTS $199 PREMIUM REGISTRATIONS JUNE 13-16 | NASHVILLE | MUSIC CITY CENTER Where passionate security and life safety professionals gather to get business done. Big enough ...AND WE'RE MAKING IT A WHOLE LOT EASIER. 10 10 yes ESXweb.com @ESXweb #ESXexpo facebook.com/ESXweb Electronic Security Expo (ESX) "The bandwidth requirements for high- definition, to move that data to the cloud, it's still not being done efficiently." —Christen a ustad, Enterprise Fire & Security often slow in adapting," he said. "Not long ago we were talking about the transformation from analog to IP cameras. People were saying the old equipment did its job." Now, he said, "People are jumping on the [cloud] band- wagon." Austad had a similar obser- vation. "Everyone gets used to the old-fashioned way of doing things," he said. "It's been a learn- ing curve for us as well. We have used some cloud software in our own operations. We were used to [another way]. That helps us explain it, telling [customers] the things we went through." What all end users want to know is the comparative risk of cyber attacks that cloud storage possesses. "Cloud-based applications are our partners," he said. "They have advanced [protection]." So with the bandwagon filling up, where is the market growth potential? Austad sees expansion coming in the commercial property mar- ket, for those who manage tenant space in areas where the building may not be fully occupied, and where management may not be on-site. The managers don't have to staff the facility with software or data management people. With a cloud-based management system, he said, you're not managing the data infrastructure. Slaughterbeck sees cloud use for companies that are expand- ing geographically, particularly property management firms. The cloud offers growing companies more "expandability." Hudson referred to "distrib- uted real estate" as a growth area for cloud utilization. Here you get "more bang for your buck" and "more standardization on a single platform" with cost effi- ciency because you pay for one platform. Examples that fall under this cloud-friendly end-user pro- file include childcare centers and restaurants. The growth in cloud usage, while steady and seemingly inevi- table, is still not a linear process. It's not for everyone, and concerns remain. Bandwidth capacity and cost are always front-and-center for understandably cautious secu- rity providers. According to Hudson, cloud storage may not be the ideal fit for a company with a large amount of security cameras. "You get into bandwidth discussions and you find little desirability when you get into several hundred cam- eras," he said. "When the camera count is four to 20 or four to 30, that's the sweet spot." Austad finds that fire alarm systems and video surveillance are not automatic matches for the cloud. "The bandwidth require- ments for high-definition, to move that data to the cloud, it's still not being done efficiently," he said. Slaughterbeck sees growth potential in the access control arena. "With access control we are talking about small amounts of data so its much easier to take to the cloud," he said. Nevertheless, cloud adoption makes sense for a lot of business- es that find data management a necessary evil, or a headache, or a part of the technology landscape that takes up too much of their time. In the cloud, out of mind. "It'll just continue to grow," Austad said. "Competition will bring the price down." "I'm a realist," said Hudson. "The process is not perfect." But, the benefits for many end users are obvious. "The interest level has been uni- form and high,'' he said. SSN cloud Continued from page 29