Sebastiano Vento, Export Sales Manager at Sicurit, the Italian security equipment manufacturer, was interviewed by ­Matthias Erler of GIT-SECURITY.com and asked about his outlook for 2012. His views provide an insight into the integration challenges that lay ahead.

Sebastiano, there are three parameters that are important for perimeter protection systems: the probability of detection, the nuisance alarm rate and the false alarm rate. Which trends do you see in 2012 that will help in balancing these rates with new technologies?

Sebastiano Vento: I don't think brand new technologies in perimeter protection systems will appear in 2012. Nowadays the main challenge is to improve our own already proven technologies through more sophisticated detection algorithms, in order to reduce the false/nuisance alarm rates (we don't make a distinction between the two as both are unwanted alarms that have to be properly filtered). Actually, Sicurit has been meeting this challenge for almost 15 years with its Dual Technology Barrier called Absolute, and now, with the recent release of the digital version Absolute Plus-RS in which new patented bi-directional IR beams have been integrated, we have achieved really impressive results.

Looking at the current perimeter protection market development: what market requirements do you see, what do the customers want?

Sebastiano Vento: Just two words can summarize what customers want: Plug & Play. This concept, acquired by the security industry thanks to the fast growth of IP systems, should form the basis of new product developments for those companies that aim to be a part of large and complex projects. Sicurit has been following this concept for many years, delivering pre-assembled and sometimes pre-configured solutions to its partners worldwide, focusing today on system set-up and developing more intuitive configuration software.

What will be the largest technological challenge in the perimeter protection market in 2012?

Sebastiano Vento: As I explained above, plug & play solutions are the main challenge. The development of special interfaces to link together the technologies of different manufacturers is one important aspect of this challenge and Sicurit, thanks to the Hyperpower security integrated platform and its IP based interfaces, has made a big step forward in meeting this market demand.

What new solutions can we expect in 2012 from Sicurit Alarmitalia?

Sebastiano Vento: Sicurit is largely investing in the Hyperpower security integrated platform, and continues to develop new interfaces for horizontal and vertical integration. The latest development is the CMH9000M, a device for linking Hyperpower into the Geutebreuck Gevisoft central CCTV management software through a Getas interface.

Could you give us an example of important applications where Sicurit systems are installed?

Sebastiano Vento: We are proud to be a main supplier to highly sensitive areas, such as are found in the energy and transportation sectors. Our products are installed in many governmental, industrial and military applications, and our main reference is surely the Israeli Parliament (The Knesset), where Sicurit product's main challenge has been the competition against local but internationally well known manufacturers in terms of system reliability. After the execution of some hard tests, Sicurit Dual Technology Absolute Plus was chosen for protection of the entire Parliament.

You plan to expand your company and to grow - what news do you have for our readers?

Sebastiano Vento: Our development program, despite the global economical crisis, will not slow down in 2012 but on the contrary is forecasting new employment to enlarge our R&D department. This will enable to announce new product releases us in the third quarter of 2012 that will be displayed at Security Essen in Germany. New ongoing partnerships will then allow Sicurit to penetrate the major markets with more emphasis and more qualified partners. 2012 will be the real challenge and will decide who will be the main players in the next decade, and ­Sicurit wants to be one of those.