During the last 10 years there has been a demand for integrating all 3 physical security functions and this has gradually progressed top down from the Enterprise to the SMB market. Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software has been adopted in the public sector to create interoperability between safety & security systems including fire detection, extinguishing, evacuation, mass notification. These systems have been normally connected at the top of each system silo and have been the command posts for very large projects. Other services in buildings such as Building Automation (BAS), Building Energy Control Systems (BECS) and Lighting have further extended demand for integration. Here progress has been made in connecting at the field level through applying one common communication protocol to join sensors and controllers across these different systems in buildings. The use of a common operating platform can be used but this does not necessarily make it “open” and often requires using software […]