ONVIF, the leading global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S.-based Security Industry Association (SIA), signaling cooperation toward the further development of IP-based interoperability standards in access control.

Both ONVIF and SIA?s Standards Committee have been working toward standardized interfaces for Physical Access Control Systems (PACS). ONVIF?s Profile C is for interoperability between PACS panels and other network-based security management systems. SIA?s Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) standard concentrates on addressing interoperability between peripheral devices, such as card readers and security control panels. Since OSDP is based on the RS-484 standard for point-to-point serial connections, with a planned expansion to a networked version using IP protocols, the two groups are formally recognizing the opportunity for collaboration and harmonization between their respective initiatives.

?Both SIA and ONVIF recognize that our respective access control efforts to date are quite complementary, in that we have been approaching the goal of access control standards from two different angles, ONVIF at the system level and SIA more targeted between peripheral devices,? said Per Bj