Month: May 2022

HID Global, a worldwide company in trusted identity solutions, announced the successful implementation of its HID Mobile Access solution and mobile-enabled readers in Varso Place, the site of the tallest skyscraper in the European Union, which allows more than 7,000 people to move more freely and securely throughout the building. Located in Warsaw, Poland, Varso Place is HB Reavis’ latest development and most ambitious project to date. Designed by world famous British architects, Fosters + Partners, it comprises three buildings in a 144,000 square meter area. The project’s showstopper is the fully glazed 53-story Varso Tower standing at over 310 metres tall. The mixed-use site features prestigious office and public spaces on ground levels, including shops, restaurants and an observation deck at the top of Varso Tower. Due to the size and scope of the project, HB Reavis – a renowned international workspace developer – sought a single access system for the entire building so that every tenant would have a simple, easy-to-use, one-stop solution for security management. It wanted to move away from tenants having to use a traditional keyfob or card-based solution and rather implement a high-tech system that also allows for the management of digital credentials using smartphones as a primary form factor. The solution of choice included HID Mobile Access and mobile-enabled readers from HID Global which are equipped with Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies, as well as a Software Development Kit (SDK) that integrates with HB Reavis’ More App. The app covers all building services from concierge services, events, room booking systems, car or bike sharing, and of course, easy access when people enter and exit and move around. As the SDK can be developed and upgraded over time as requirements change, HB Reavis is able to maximize the long-term benefit of mobile security. The mobile, contactless solution – which supports Android and iOS-based smartphones – has been particularly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic as it minimizes surface contact and the human-to-human interaction that is typical when issuing and managing physical cards and keyfobs. “Not only does mobile access provide state-of-the-art security control, there is no need to remember to take a pass with you when you leave home or move around the building. When security is based on the phone, it is frictionless, because people always have their phones with them,” said Jakub Kacer, Security Manager at HB Reavis. With the support of HID Global, HB Reavis can ensure a seamless access control solution that enhances the user experience for tenants and employees at Varso Place who access the building’s facilities every day.  

Everbridge, Inc., the global provider of critical event management (CEM), recently announced that Continental, one of the world’s leading global automotive parts suppliers, will deploy Everbridge CEM solutions to integrate and streamline the company’s emergency and crisis response initiatives across four global teams. Everbridge was selected to enable the integrated communications and response platform after an intense and deep project evaluation by Continental. Continental AG, headquartered in Hanover, Germany employs more than 190,000 people in 58 countries and markets. The global manufacturer recently celebrated its 150 year anniversary. “In a crisis situation, it is especially important that our teams can work together across one unified response and mitigation tool,” said Frank Busch, Chief Security Officer, Continental AG, “If the processes and tools are not aligned and not in sync, this will cause disruptions and delays. Everbridge brings a market-leading enterprise resilience solution to our company so that we can effectively bridge both our digital and physical security remediation requirements.” In today’s increasingly digital world, organizations must balance investment in uptime, ongoing innovation, and customer experience. Everbridge provides businesses, and their respective IT organizations, with the ability to automate and streamline incident response across teams and toolsets, enabling enterprises to deliver both continuous service uptime and great customer experiences. Everbridge provides Continental with a unified, common operating platform for managing organizational risk and accelerating communications, response, and recovery efforts to mitigate impact to employees or disruptions to business. Over 6,000 businesses, governments, and healthcare organizations currently rely on Everbridge’s CEM Platform to assess threats, monitor the wellbeing of their workforces, rapidly communicate warnings, protect business assets, and accelerate the analysis of their operational response. “Continental selected Everbridge after a long and intense technical and legal review process,” said Andreas Junck, GM for Everbridge DACH Region, “We are honored to support a market leader like Continental with their security incident response initiatives. This win further demonstrates that our integrated platform is a game changer in the industry and in the DACH region.” As the global provider of critical event management and public warning solutions, the Everbridge platform offers the ability to reach over two billion residents and visitors in more than 200 countries and territories, serving leading Fortune 500 companies as well as cities, states, and entire countries. Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2021, Continental generated sales of €33.8 billion and currently employs more than 190,000 people in 58 countries and markets. On October 8, 2021, the company celebrated its 150th anniversary.  

Evolv Technology, the player in weapons detection security screening, recently announced results from its partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to provide a more enjoyable, frictionless, and safe experience for fans. The stadium uses the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based system, Evolv Express®, to screen fans as they arrive at the stadium for games and other events, without requiring them to stop or remove items from their pockets or policy-compliant bags. Prior to installing Evolv Express, seven out of ten fans cited their arrival at the stadium as an area of frustration and dissatisfaction. Since implementing Evolv Express, nine out of ten fans say that security screening is not a point of contention for them. The stadium has also dramatically reduced the percentage of guests flagged for a security recheck and increased the speed of entry for fans. The stadium, home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United, hosts an average of 40-50 major events and more than 200 private events each calendar year including the SEC Football Championship, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and countless concerts by world-renowned artists. “Our objective is to make attending events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium feel like you’re walking into a friend’s house – to a place you belong or even own,” said Karl Pierburg, Chief Technology Officer, AMB Sports and Entertainment, parent company of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, “It was critically important to us to find a way to allow secure entry without degrading the guest experience at all. Evolv has transformed the entry experience for us and contributes to the high marks we get in general when it comes to entry experience, where we rate in the top quarter of all NFL stadiums.” Evolv Express uses powerful sensor technology with proven AI to provide safer, more accurate threat detection at unprecedented volumes and speed of entry. With Evolv Insights, security staff can use historical screening data to make predictions about throughput, with the goal of improving the fan experience while making the stadium more secure. “Venues like Mercedes-Benz Stadium are recognizing that fans should not have to sacrifice experience for safety,” said Peter George, CEO of Evolv Technology, “Finally, fans are able to gather back together after almost two years of capacity limitations, isolation, and health concerns – and they should be able to enjoy these gatherings safely, from the moment they arrive at the stadium until the game clock ticks down.” Evolv’s innovative security screening technology has been used to enhance safety at a number of major sporting events, including the U.S. Open Golf Championship, and it is part of the stateof-the-art fan experience at Lower.com Field, the brand-new home of the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer. Evolv Technology is a player in weapons detection for security screening, securing the world’s most iconic venues and companies. Its mission is enabling a better experience and better security for venues, creating a safer world to work, learn, and play by transforming physical security to make everywhere safer. It gives sports fans, theme park visitors, concert-goers, shoppers, employees, students, and others peace of mind so that they can gather without fear of violence. Its security screening has scanned more than 200 million people, second only to the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States, and its technology combines powerful, advanced sensors with proven artificial intelligence (AI), security ecosystem integrations, and comprehensive venue analytics to reliably detect threats 10 times faster than traditional metal detectors. Evolv Technology, Evolv Express®, Evolv Insights™, and Evolv Cortex AI™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Evolv Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions.  

Double the pleasure – double the fun! The tourist attractions of ‘twin’ coastal airports in Varna and Burgas, Bulgaria, bring throngs through customs and ensure a busy scene for Fraport Bulgaria. They have partnered for over 10 years with Milestone Systems for ongoing development of their centralized, efficient and flexible video surveillance system, which meets their security demands as they grow. Fraport Bulgaria moved from analog security technology to an IP-networked Milestone and Axis solution, which enabled them to later add Agent Vi AI analytics then progress into a cloud solution to ease the burden on storage. The networked video management platform centrally navigates all the physical security needs at both airports. CHALLENGE: Analog troubles caused delays Before the migration to Milestone’s virtual solutions, the security and safety at both airports was based on different systems, each with a separate server, with physical storage on local hard drives. Archiving on these video recording servers often had damage from harsh weather conditions. Each system was accessed differently and so slowly that it wasted a lot of time, made it difficult to monitor the condition of all hardware and even impossible to recover data in cases of shutdown. This lack of reliability in the analog approach failed to facilitate the security team’s work. Fraport Bulgaria also wanted the alerts and analytical functions of a digital solution with alarms for violations, so they could operate both reactively and proactively. SOLUTION: Smooth flying with a unified security center Today, an in-house cloud solution for video management with Milestone’s software platform provides centralized, optimized, easy operations, processing the entire flow of security information in a virtual infrastructure. Milestone XProtect Corporate manages over 500 AXIS network cameras. Analytical functions are integrated for metadata utilization. VMWare, Agent VI’s InnoVi™ analytics, AXIS Perimeter Defender. Border crossing signalization alerts to unauthorized access and more. The video Smart Wall has 12 big screens, each with 2 workstations and specialized graphics cards. The system alerts when an event occurs and directs the security team’s attention right to the location. Everything is recorded and documented. Human intervention has been minimized by automating the analytics and response. The Agent Vi software detects and tracks objects, violations or other incidents, and based on pre-set rules, sends a signal for actions. Limiting the people factor helps to avoid human error. “Our response is faster and better informed on which actions to take.” Vladimir Petrov Former Head of Information Technology Fraport Bulgaria RESULTS: An easy, scalable, virtual journey The Fraport Bulgaria solution is a living virtual system that can be upgraded quickly and easily, expanded and reconfigured depending on the changing needs of the airports. When Fraport Bulgaria wants more cameras, adding and integrating is very fast – with just a few clicks. Resources can be added quickly. There is no need to buy additional storage hardware and install it on premises: it’s all organized in a private cloud system. Each virtual machine is protected from unforeseen interruptions at the circuit level, and with access to a centralized disk. The advantage of this architecture is flexibility, security and quick response if necessary. Benefits: Keep climbing over time, open to innovation The changing needs of the company are met by the ongoing updates over time. In 2018 a project was initiated adding AXIS thermal cameras to detect unauthorized stays in certain areas. The airports’ integration of Milestone with the corporate Microsoft Active Directory meant user access to the system could be set based on their security groups. Another platform update gave the integration of a mobile server for user access via a standard web browser, incorporating a mobile app which makes any smartphone or laptop function with the video surveillance like an additional camera, to send other views back to the central system. “The value of Milestone software is it’s an open system that can be upgraded and connected to other systems at any time, to ensure the highest level of security” Vladimir Petrov The Milestone open platform allowed Fraport Bulgaria to add facial recognition for access control in areas that were only admissible with a physical pass. The company also plans to integrate AI for information on crowding and non-compliance with the recommended distance between people, as required by pandemic regulations.