“The idea of sharing cameras with someone outside of an organization, even 911 centers, raises some questions about privacy — schools are concerned about it, businesses are concerned about it,” Drako said. “We addressed that concern by creating an appropriate window for the Emergency Communication Center to have access to cameras. Organizations are OK with allowing access to security cameras during an emergency. Once the emergency is resolved the ECC can no longer access the cameras.”

Drako continued, “That was a critical decision. We do give the emergency communications center access to the video for an hour to a few hours before the event actually occurs for investigation purposes. There may be important information, for example someone setting something up, what cars we have dropped somebody off or things like that. That may be relevant to them understanding the situation. But after the 911 case is closed by the emergency communications center, all the video access is cut off. At that point, only the owner of the security camera has access to the video.”

School leaders and public safety officials have lauded Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing as a groundbreaking technology that can quickly deliver important information when time is of the essence.

Damon Grant, co-principal of Oakland Unity Middle School, Oakland, Calif., said, “The Eagle Eye Networks 911 Camera Sharing solution we’ve implemented gives first responders critical information in real-time to guide their response to an emergency in our school. The presence of this technology serves as a silent guardian, ready to act if needed, but a resource we hope we will never need.”

Justin Ihne, CEO, Plattsburgh YMCA, Plattsburgh, N.Y., said, “It was an easy decision for us to add Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing as an extra layer of security that could help get services to our members as quickly as possible in the event of a medical or other emergency.”

Chief Don DeLucca, former president of the International Chiefs of Police, said, “Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing will be a game changer for active shootings, burglaries, alarms, and even medical and fire emergencies. We ask our field responders to manage millions of incidents a year with only the limited information that a distressed caller might be able to provide. Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing gives us a real-time view of exactly what is occurring at the scene of an emergency.”

This is how Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing works:

• The school or business predetermines which cameras are shareable via Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing.
• A 911 call triggers an alert that enables emergency communication center telecommunicators to instantly view footage from cameras at or near the crime scene. Video may be available from multiple sources, including any businesses in close proximity to the crime scene.
• The 911 telecommunicator can use the security cameras for situational awareness and to inform first responders.

Some of the first organizations to adopt Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing include schools and universities, retail outlets, facilities with lone workers, and businesses that may be unstaffed at certain hours of the day such as 24-hour gyms. Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing increases the value of any organization’s security cameras and greatly enhances emergency preparedness and response capabilities.

“When we started down the path, we thought obviously it would be of interest to schools and for public safety, but we’ve also had a lot of strong interest from corporations,” Drako said. “That has been a pleasant surprise, and it makes sense — Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing is inexpensive, easy to implement. If there’s an emergency, they want to have a better first responder response for their employees. People want to do the right thing.”

Schools and businesses do not have to be current customers of Eagle Eye Networks to take advantage of this technology, as this feature is also available to non-Eagle Eye Cloud VMS customers as Eagle Eye 911 Public Safety Camera Sharing Complete. For existing customers, Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing is available for a small per-camera fee and/or is included in the Professional and Enterprise Editions of the Eagle Eye Cloud VMS. Initially, the 911 camera sharing products will only be available in the United States.

“Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing is an option or a feature that’s available to all of the Eagle Eye Networks existing customers,” Drako said. “They can simply enable this function and share their cameras. But we are also offering 911 Camera Sharing to non-Eagle Eye customers. They can add Eagle Eye 911 Public Safety Camera Sharing Complete to their existing video management system or DVR and NVR. This will give them the ability to share their cameras via the Eagle Eye Cloud VMS platform. These very low-cost packages (Eagle Eye 911 Public Safety Camera Sharing Complete) are designed to be an add-on to the customers’ existing VMS, DVR, NVR.”

For more information, visit Eagle Eye Networks. — Christopher Crumley, SDM Staff Editor //

When users log into their cloud platform, they may pull up installed cameras from any of the five partnering manufacturers and use a simple dropdown menu to associate them with PDK-controlled doors. PDK.io will automatically begin associating bookmarked video clips with each logged access control event, with no programming necessary. The interface also includes toggle switches to create soft triggers that unlock and lock associated doors. This new feature eliminates downloading and setting up drivers for camera integrations, creating a fully turnkey solution. PDK plans to add many additional partners within the Integrations Tab over time. Ultimately, PDK’s Integration’s Tab will become the default method for users to implement all integrations.

Brach Bengtzen, vice president of marketing at ProdataKey, said, “This enhancement of our settings interface represents another way in which PDK strives to be the most user-friendly, partner-centric access control solution on the market. Today’s customers want to manage their many security solutions through a unified platform, and PDK now makes that possible from day one with almost no time required for set-up. You just map your cameras to your doors within using the Integrations tab, and you’re ready to go.”

For more information, visit PDK. //

Long-time WeSuite client Erin Macauley, system administrator at Allied Universal Technology Services, said, “At Allied, we have a need for capturing data that is not necessary for the quoting process but is crucial for our finance and operations teams at the point of sale. As just one example, WeSuite’s Business Forms Module will allow us to ensure invoicing is handled accurately from the start, not 120 days later, when we’re wondering why we haven’t been paid. This module has so many applications; I am extremely excited about its release. We asked WeSuite to develop a module like this, and they did. It’s a software company that really listens to its clients and responds.”

WeSuite’s popular automated approval feature requires any presale estimates that fall outside specified parameters (high dollar amounts, low gross margins, etc.) to be reviewed and approved by designated personnel before a salesperson can send them to the customer. The new email feature alerts the assigned reviewer that an estimate awaits approval. They no longer need to log into WeEstimate or QuoteAnywhere to receive notifications. The email includes a summary of the job information, and the reviewer can make comments, suggest additions and changes, and deny or approve its release. The email approval feature uses WeSuite’s API to connect with the application, allowing the salesperson to send out jobs as approved. Currently, this feature is available to WeEstimate users, but with the release of QuoteAnywhere 6.11 scheduled for Q2 2024, it will also work for customers using solely the QuoteAnywhere platform.

Tracy Larson, president and co-founder of WeSuite, said, “It’s very important to us to be in touch with our clients and understand their challenges and changes within their businesses. In the past several years, we’ve seen increasing demand for a fully functional web-based sales platform that lets our clients do everything they need from an iPad or tablet. The introduction of our new Business Forms Module and email presale estimate approvals for QuoteAnywhere are just the first of many enhancements that will allow our clients to leverage the power of our fully mobile sales solution, whether or not they also utilize our other products.”

For more information, visit WeSuite. //

i-PRO underscores the critical importance of ethical and responsible AI practices in the physical security domain, according to the announcement. Recognizing the profound impact of AI on society, i-PRO said it has always placed paramount importance on fostering an environment of responsible and ethical AI usage. To this effect, i-PRO has formulated its Ethical Principles for AI, creating a framework designed to balance the advancement of AI technology with social responsibility and ethical considerations.

“While we believe AI solutions can enhance automation and inform decisions, we also believe that this should not come at the expense of responsible usage, ethical standards, or privacy compliance,” said Masato Nakao, CEO, i-PRO. “As the physical security industry continues to embrace the promise of AI, we look forward to working together with our industry colleagues, partners, and customers to foster a culture of responsible AI development and usage.”

By championing ethical principles, i-PRO said it endeavors to set a new standard of integrity within the physical security industry, reaffirming its unwavering commitment to safety, security, and societal well-being.

For more information, visit i-PRO. //

Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Omnilert Gun Detect is an active shooter solution that can reportedly save lives through the combination of early visual detection, mass communication and automated response. Once a gun detection is verified, multi-channel alerts and automated safety protocols and systems can be instantly activated by Omnilert Gun and/or Genetec Security Center through the integration to help stop active shooters, warn those in harm’s way and potentially save many lives.

“The ability to quickly detect, notify and manage an active shooter crisis is critical for ensuring a successful outcome that prevents loss of life,” said Dave Fraser, CEO of Omnilert. “Through this integration, Genetec customers can now have access to these capabilities, turning their existing video surveillance investment into an always-on and effective gun detection and automated response platform.”

Mathieu Goloubiatnikov, DAP team lead at Genetec, said, “The integration of Omnilert Gun Detect with Security Center will help security teams respond quickly and support their actions by automating essential safety protocols in gun threat situations, all while using the existing cameras and hardware.”

The Omnilert active shooter solution leverages a company’s existing investment in video surveillance because it uses standardized protocols that can seamlessly integrate with most existing IP-based security cameras and video management systems already in place. Adding Omnilert’s AI capabilities with this existing equipment can transform video surveillance from a forensic system typically used to review situations post-event to a preventive solution that is capable of proactively spotting and potentially preventing harm from gun violence.

Genetec Security Center is a unified platform that blends IP video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, and communications within one intuitive, modular solution to enable organizations to be more efficient, make better decisions, and respond to situations and threats with greater confidence. The integration of Omnilert Gun Detect with Security Center can help manage the workflow of active shooter incidents, including multi-channel notifications, safety system integrations, automated management and intelligence gathering from those affected.

As part of the integration, Omnilert’s integration will automatically configure the camera set up, including IP address, camera name and location, which will help speed up the deployment of Omnilert’s active shooter solution. The integration also supports selectable bookmarking and/or alarming of cameras in Security Center, in response to a gun detection, and further alert users and perform additional response actions.

For more information, visit Omnilert and Genetec. //