ONVIF Newsletter February 2020
Greetings from Per Björkdahl,
The global climate in which we live today can be rich with possibilities and at the same time rife with challenges. Our interconnectedness can accelerate the pace of innovation with collaboration, as we have seen over the past weeks and months, and just as quickly and unintentionally spread a powerful virus. This growing worldwide health crisis is impacting the lives of thousands, in addition to our ability to meet and exchange ideas to continue to move our industry forward.
So regrettably, we’ve had to postpone our quarterly ONVIF face-to-face committee meetings to be held this month in Singapore. We hold our colleagues, their families and all those affected by the spread of the novel coronavirus in our thoughts.
Our work, however, certainly continues. The committees and working groups of ONVIF that are responsible for new profile development, as well as specification maintenance, are working to ensure ONVIF continues to meet the needs of the market. Our current focus involves two new profiles, which will address the evolving role of metadata in the security industry, as well as expand the continuum of access control specifications within ONVIF to include additional integrations between access control and video.
One important agenda item for the Singapore meetings was a series of sessions – open to all ONVIF members as well as other interested industry stakeholders – to explore aspects of open specification development, and in general, discuss various ideas and perspectives about the future direction of ONVIF.
Although these specific discussions have been temporarily postponed, we invite anyone with questions or feedback on this topic to send us a message by emailing help@onvif.org, posting a comment on social media or our blog with the #AskONVIF tag, or dropping by our booth at the upcoming ISC West event in Las Vegas, March 18-20. You’ll be able to find us – and #AskONVIF – at booth #L18.
Kind regards,
Per Björkdahl
Chairman, ONVIF Steering Committee
News
ONVIF at ISC West 2020
ONVIF is exhibiting at this year’s ISC West, March 18 – 20, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Members and visitors are encouraged to stop by the ONVIF booth, #L18, to see Profile T demos and learn more about our activities. We hope to see you there!
Greetings From Dubai
ONVIF executives and members traveled to Dubai in mid-January to attend Intersec 2020. ONVIF member companies Avigilon, Axis Communications, AxxonSoft, Pelco, Siqura and Videotec demonstrated the use of Profile S and T.
ONVIF was also involved in the conference’s educational programming. Per Björkdahl, chair of the ONVIF Steering Committee, participated in a panel discussion titled “Enterprise Security: Challenges for New Age Security Managers.” The discussion focused on developing, implementing and maintaining resilient programs in complex operating environments, while also touching upon the need for flexible, simple and modular integrated systems.
Additionally, Stuart Rawling, ONVIF Steering Committee member, presented on the topic “Converging systems into one operational interface to improve the security, intelligence and oversight of shopping malls and retail parks.” Attendees learned how using standardized interfaces for security systems help mitigate risk, provide scalability and aid in capitalizing on business opportunities.
ONVIF Launches Mandarin-language Website
In January, ONVIF officially launched its Mandarin-language website in an effort to make information more accessible to a wider audience. With more than 500 members across six continents, the new website, www.onvif.org/ch, aims to improve the market’s understanding of ONVIF, and enhance collaboration and contribution from China-based companies.
ONVIF Hosted its Developers’ Plugfest in Rome
In late November 2019, ONVIF hosted its 21st Developers’ Plugfest – an event that highlighted the continued demand for interoperable solutions. Featuring more than 30 developers and engineers from 18 ONVIF member companies, this multi-day event saw 164 hours of testing. Attendees tested their implementations of ONVIF profiles, along with other ONVIF profile-conformant products. Developers could also test products independently for profile conformance, as well as assess interoperability between their devices and those from other manufacturers. ONVIF hosts two Developers’ Plugfests each year, with the next planned for May 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
