Bosch to Focus on Simplified Camera Setup, Data Security at ISC West 2018

The new Bosch Project Assistant app allows for project set-up and pre-configuration in the office even without a physical camera.

SSI spoke with Bosch Security and Safety Systems Director of Regional Marketing Sean Murphy to see what the company will have on display at ISC West 2018 in booth 11053.

What is the top product or offering your company is showing off at ISCW this year, and what makes it unique or special?

At ISC West, we are introducing our new Project Assistant app that makes planning, pre-configuration, commissioning and reporting for video systems projects more efficient — by up to 30% — and more profitable.

With the free Project Assistant app, project set-up and pre-configuration can start in the office even without the physical camera. With only the project plans and a set of IP addresses and passwords from the end user, the integrator can create a new project by entering all details directly into the app or by uploading it via an Excel file. Inputting the password and network IP addresses can be done per camera or with the help of the app for multiple cameras at once.

Additional information like camera name and location can also be added without having the cameras physically present. This fast, simple project set-up creates a set of virtual cameras within the app and eliminates the need for unboxing and re-boxing of products or pre-configuration and labelling. This can provide significant time savings.

Once the cameras are physically installed on site, matching the virtual cameras to the real cameras is done by simply scanning QR codes from the Bosch cameras with the app’s QR-code scanning functionality. By scanning this code, which contains the camera’s MAC address, the Project Assistant will automatically connect to the corresponding camera via WiFi or cable to the virtual camera within the app. The Project Assistant allows the integrator to write the pre-defined settings to the camera. After connecting to the camera, the integrator can setup the field of view, adjust image sharpness and change additional settings if needed.

Bosch Director of Regional Marketing Sean Murphy.

What other products or offerings would you like to highlight, and what are some of their unique qualities?

We will also be focusing on educating ISC West attendees about data security — both in our booth and at a special breakfast session on the first day of the show. Data security is becoming a central topic in sales discussions. All it takes is for a hacker to find a single weak link in a surveillance network to gain access to, and jeopardize, an entire data system.

We have been working closely with Genetec to fully integrate our cameras with Genetec systems, resulting in an end-to-end data security solution incorporating all Bosch network video surveillance cameras, plus Genetec Archiver and Security Center. This integration ensures that all network-wide communications between Bosch cameras and Genetec Archiver and Security Center are assigned an authentication key. This electronic signature enables the system to verify the legitimacy of network components like cameras or storage units, and viewing clients, ensuring that an infrastructure of trust is built before network-wide communications start.

Also, all Bosch IP cameras have a built-in Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to safely store cryptographic keys used for authentication. All cryptographic operations, for authentication and encryption, are only executed inside the TPM. Encrypted video data is then sent from the camera to the Genetec Archiver using SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol).

Genetec Archiver also uses a client certificate to authenticate to the Bosch IP camera. Certificates are less at risk from hacking, which is why Genetec uses certificate authentication for its Security Center management software and clients. The video management systems interact directly with the Bosch cameras using certificates for authentication, and because stored data stays encrypted and data is transmitted via SRTP confidentiality and data protection are guaranteed. Using SRTP throughout the whole video security infrastructure enables customers to set up a secured multi-cast network, and get security and good network scalability at the same time.

Together, Bosch and Genetec provide one of the world’s best data security solutions.

What else is new or noteworthy about the company for 2018?

In 2018, we will also continue to focus on intelligence. Our full portfolio of i Series cameras is now available. All of the cameras feature video analytics at the edge as a standard feature. Video analytics is an important enabler of any strategy to substantially improve levels of security and to offer clear business advantages beyond security.

Because cameras with built-in analytics can provide all kinds of statistics in the form of metadata, they enable a scene to be analyzed for data that can be used for making smarter business decisions. This can help organizations reduce costs and increase efficiency with a return on investment that can be measured through tangible business results. For example, video analytics can be used for enforcing health and safety regulations — such as no-parking zones or detecting blocked emergency exits — or for monitoring presence to reduce utility bills, identifying patterns in customer activity in a retail store, and much more.

What is your company’s overall value proposition to installing security dealers/integrators? Why should they do business with you?

Bosch offers high quality products backed by excellent service and support. Our portfolio is broad to enable dealers and integrators to create solutions for a wide range of applications. But most importantly, our solutions for video surveillance, intrusion and fire detection, access control and communications work seamlessly together to increase security and reduce complexity for users.

What do you see as some of the top opportunities in the marketplace right now?

We are seeing more users asking for solutions to solve security and business issues that require systems to work together. Integrating security, safety and communications systems can help to streamline operations to improve efficiency, protect high-security areas and high-value assets, and keep operators and building occupants better informed. Integration and connectivity are the beginning steps toward the Internet of things in our industry, and integrators who identify how to create vertical-specific solutions that address common market-specific pain points will have an advantage over their competitors.

Anything else you would like to add?

We’re also working closely with ISS on a solution that combines our starlight cameras with the SecureOS enterprise VMS for license plate and cargo container recognition. In the next version of firmware, our cameras will feature a license plate recognition mode that will enable them to be used for plate and cargo container capture needs — overcoming issues like speed, headlights and low light conditions that are common in these applications. This solution will also be on display in the Bosch booth.

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