Genetec is also introducing new cloud services destined for the enterprise security market that will add to its current portfolio of services, including the Security Center Cloud Archives service, launched in 2014. Expected to be available in Q2 2015, the first of these new services will be Federation-as-a-Service or FaaS, which will allow organisations to leverage the cloud to interconnect multiple independent sites for centralised monitoring, reporting and alarm management operations and enabling public/private data sharing. Genetec’s new cloud services will also allow large-scale or multi-site organisations to more effectively manage the expansion of their Security Center system without having to invest in and maintain additional IT infrastructure.

Genetec Cloud Link enhances the interconnectivity between on-premises wiring-closet security devices and security application servers located in either the server room or the cloud. Providing an asynchronous, encrypted, load-balanced, and failover-savvy communication channel to the server, Cloud Link is an intelligent application gateway that implements the Genetec “secure reverse-tunnel protocol”. Cloud Link enables Genetec devices to act as ground-stations, or links, which can seamlessly connect legacy applications to the cloud, while ensuring load-balancing and failover of communications. This follows Genetec’s fundamental belief that as both technology and cloud adoption in the security market accelerates, on-premises and cloud-enabled security systems will converge. Access control appliances, for example, can be deployed as standalone on-premises devices, or together with hybrid services that enable communication to the cloud.

The first appliance that will leverage Cloud Link technology will be the Synergis Cloud Link. This new appliance builds on the legacy of the Synergis Master Controller (SMC), and will provide a clear path for Genetec users toward more powerful hybrid access control services. Synergis Cloud Link is an intelligent PoE-powered appliance that will connect to industry leading door control hardware such as HID Global Vert X Evo panels, Assa Abloy IP and Aperio electronic locks, Salto Sallis wireless locks, Axis A1001 door controller, and Mercury intelligent controllers. Built to address the needs of on-premises and hybrid cloud customers, this appliance will bring intelligent control closer to the door and act as a fail-safe mechanism when either Internet or LAN connectivity is unavailable.

Genetec’s Federation-as-a-Service (Faas) capability will offer customers who have distributed security systems the ability to centralise their multi-site monitoring operations, while at the same time reducing the hardware and maintenance required to manage their federated system. Based on Genetec’s powerful Federation feature, organisations can subscribe to FaaS in order to manage their head-end system, including Security Center system management, graphical mapping, and mobile capabilities. This unique hybrid cloud service will eliminate an organisation’s need to purchase and manage on-premises Federation servers, and will ensure that the head-end system is always kept up-to-date with the latest Security Center functionality and integrations. Support for backward compatibility further guarantees that remote sites will be able to update their systems at their own pace, and avoid compatibility issues when connecting to the Federation system.

Federation-as-a-Service will monitor events, status information, and alarms from video devices, doors, ALPR cameras, and intrusion panels between all participating sites in real-time, while also allowing independent sites to maintain local autonomy of their system. Benefitting from the elasticity of the cloud, organisations will also be able to seamlessly add federated sites to their system, on-demand, as their business grows.

“Cloud-based security services are gaining momentum in the physical security industry and it’s happening quicker than most anticipated. Genetec is taking an leading role by offering our enterprise and SMB customers a variety of options to get to the cloud at their own pace, be it through pure-play cloud services, or hybrid services that leverage Genetec’s on-premises portfolio of security products,” said Christian Morin, Vice President of Cloud Services at Genetec. “Our new Cloud Link technology and cloud services lay the foundation to ensure our customers have access to cloud-ready technology helping them benefit from the cost savings and accessibility made possible in the Cloud,” added Morin.