As the physical security / video surveillance market continues to mature, you are seeing more and more attention paid to integrated physical security solutions. Instead of solely looking at video management software (VMS), or video analytic software, or access control systems, you are now being drawn to VMS systems that work seamlessly with a wide range of additional capabilities such as License Plate Recognition (LPR/ANPR), Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, RFID Asset Tracking, – just to name a few. Over the years, end-users have come to understand —even expect— advanced technologies like video analytics being part-and-parcel of the provided solution set.

Security.World caught up recently with Paul Eaton, President of ConvergenceTP, to talk more about integrating other organizational systems into video surveillance VMS systems. Starting back in 2010, ConvergenceTP, Inc. better known as Convergence To Pixel (C2P), got into the game as “PSIM for the rest of us.” Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) is a category of software that provides a platform and applications created by middleware developers, designed to integrate multiple unconnected security applications and devices and control them through one comprehensive user interface.

C2P has over 30+ unique integrations, combining smart IP devices to VMS systems that significantly enhance the usefulness and overall functionality of any physical security infrastructure. ConvergenceTP’s Event Streaming Engine™ (ESE) is designed to provide a seamless interface for differing IP-based solutions that output text to be streamed directly into the Video Management System (VMS) as a camera stream. The ESE Text-To-Video software and Event-to-Video search tools provide a common interface (video) to the VMS for all said attached IP appliances.

This functionality enhances a VMS by providing additional knowledge and information from those external IP devices that become easily searchable and reviewable at a later date.

One type of integration can easily lead to other types of integration, such as how POS systems can lead to access control systems, that lead to License Plate Recognition (LPR) solutions, and thus extending out the base infrastructure with tremendous capabilities and value.

This improved value is gained through the ability to tie in so many more sensors of various design to the existing infrastructure. Primarily delivering video verification to so many other parts of an organizations (i.e., POS, Access Control, LPR, or any IP device than can put some on a network) truly delivers on the PSIM promise without any of the PSIM baggage (development time and cost).

POS is a major integration focus area for C2P. The ConvergenceTP POS module records all of the transactional text in a user searchable SQL database, while optionally recording and/or displaying the transaction in real-time within the VMS system.

The Banking industry has become very proactive to bringing text from their transactional systems to their security systems for better investigative procedures. Synchronizing financial transactions with an image of the client and details of the transaction with location, date and time, all saved as one file delivers significant analytical capabilities.

The retail industry is picking up on this kind of integration with a keen interest in Loss Prevention where business owners are zeroing in on events prone to theft. These include events such as no sale, voids, refunds, employee discounts, manual coupon overrides, split checks, open checks, player discounts, and others. Once the operator defines a loss prevention event it will show up on the C2P event table where one click brings back the transactional text and all of the associated video ready to be viewed by the Loss Prevention investigator.

Already integrated with Milestone, Mirasys, and OnSSI VMS packages, C2P easily ties the video to the textual information for improved search and analysis. And the company claims that any VMS that has a SDK, or a web portal capability within the VMS can allow for the C2P integration, which delivers the search engine functionality to these underlying connected systems.

Ideal end-user integration models include store chains, banks, prisons, courtrooms, amusement parks, airports, hospitals, schools, and a wide range of other solutions.

The ConvergenceTP Machine To Machine (M2M) connectivity modules and rule engines complement the already feature rich VMS products by providing users with the key components needed to enter this new era of IP Enabled Smart Systems.

This M2M / IoT technology wave for the video surveillance market will dictate that this integrated solution set (C2P and VMS) become the head end for all IP enabled appliances and sensors in the customer’s physical security infrastructure. The migration is obvious as the video surveillance systems are already in place, with appropriate bandwidth needs, IP enabled connectivity, and trained personnel to lead this technology consolidation.

The video surveillance system is the best component in the IP enabled enterprise for analyzing and storing the massive amounts of data that will be received as these technologies consolidate to a single head end monitoring and management topology.

IP enabled appliances such as video surveillance, access control and point-of-sale (POS) terminals along with IP enabled sensors such as PLC Controllers and RFID tags are now critical components of a new era of IP enabled Smart Systems and Businesses. Technology users realize that in order to truly have real-time awareness and responsiveness in their organization all of these IP enabled devices and appliances need to be communicating with one another.

These forward thinking technology users realize that the resultant collective awareness made possible by bringing all of the information from their IP devices together is far greater than just the sum of the individual parts. ConvergenceTP was founded on this principle and is keenly focused on delivering this vision.

C2P solutions also understand that different end-users need different analysis. Casinos are very different than convenience stores and their ultimate needs for data analysis and the underlying rule sets vary.

If you are looking at solutions from competitors such as E-connect, 3xLogic, Click-It, or others, make sure you take a look at ConvergenceTP and their well-defined integration to our industry’s leading VMS partners. By leveraging the customer’s existing significant investment in their VMS system, surveillance cameras and training, C2P is redefining what is possible for existing VMS solutions.

C2P’s pricing model seems reasonable and manageable by pricing their functionality by the node that it needs to connect with. Starting with a base price of $1000 MSRP for the foundation software and than $350 per node of connectivity.

Check out their impressive list of partners and integration solutions already in place.

Contact: ConvergenceTP, Inc., 42 Lake Ave Extension #110, Danbury, CT, 06811 USA – 800.252.6840