There are no flashy changes or broad shifts to be found in the fire alarm market in 2012. In fact, in a lot of ways, the 2012 fire alarm market looks very similar to the 2011 market. Despite a lack of healthy construction in the commercial space, the industry continues to move forward — supported by code requirements, mandatory inspections, insurance incentives, and the simple unremitting need for life safety.

For years, the physical security industry has predicted the “tipping point” in the video surveillance market as the point in time when Internet protocol (IP) video will outsell analog video. But are you paying attention to the other tipping point? Yes, access control has a tipping point of its own — the point when smart cards will outsell legacy cards.

Video surveillance, for all its clear benefits, comes with its equal share of barriers: storage limitations, image quality and resolution demands, price concerns, a painfully absent ease-of-use. There’s a whole list.