Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software integrates disparate security systems like video surveillance, access control, and building management into a single interface. It collects and aggregates data from these systems to help security operators better manage situations. PSIM uses workflow technology to provide guidance to operators and enforce security policies. True PSIM solutions are flexible and can adapt to an organization's changing security needs unlike some products falsely marketed as PSIM. PSIM helps improve security response times and situational awareness through a common operating picture.

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CNL Software White Paper
PSIM: Why Should I Be Interested?
February 2012

2. What is PSIM?
Physical Security Information Management (PSIM)
software enables security departments to manage an
enterprise’s exposure to security risk. It is designed to
aid decision making and deployment planning within an
organization.
Within physical security operations it has been widely
accepted that critical information from numerous sources
is left to system operators to interpret and act upon
consistently and correctly. Most end users have video
surveillance, access control and building management
systems. These systems are not integrated together and
work independently with no communication with other
systems in the ecosystem.
Security breaches and challenges
Following several large security breaches, such as 9/11
and 7/7, security professionals have recognized the need
bring together this information in a format that can be
visualized and distributed. As a result the security industry
is now in transition; moving from disparate systems to
integrated and interoperable systems.
Whilst system integration might not seem much of a
challenge in the world of IT where standards have been
around for decades, the physical security world has been
much slower to adapt to change. This means a large
number of organizations are using lots of systems in their
control room which cannot work with each other.
How does PSIM help?
Firstly, PSIM provides an of the shelf platform to manage
all of these systems, including both legacy systems and
new technology, by connecting them together through a
single interface. This is far more cost effective than other
forms of integration such as bespoke turnkey solutions
offered by some integrators.
Secondly, it uses workflow technology to provide
operators with guidance and intelligence for situation
management. This enforces all policies, increases
effectiveness and provides evidence of compliance for
auditing and risk mitigation. For example it can perform
intuitive prioritization and escalation according to a range
of predetermined criteria that might include chronology,
location, priority and prevailing threat.
PSIM: Why Should I Be Interested?
February 2012 Confidential © 2012 CNL Software Page 1
How does PSIM differ from other forms of
integration?
Several studies have been carried out in this area by
research companies including Frost and Sullivan and
IMS, which have highlighted some of the features that
distinguish a PSIM solution from other physical security
and event management products. These key points define
a PSIM product, and have been collated below;
Open Platform: It provides easy integration with a
variety of systems from leading manufacturers. It is
therefore essential that the PSIM vendor is not tied to any
manufacturer of the underlying systems.
Data Collection: Device level information is collected
from all connected systems. It should provide the ability
to integrate events and alarms from these systems along
with information such as time and geography, allowing it
to automatically identify situations and then dynamically
update them as they unfold.
Data Aggregation: The PSIM software should have the
ability to evaluate the information that is gathered to
identify and priorities real incidents and situations.
Visualization and Collaboration: It should provide the
ability to visualize a situation as is evolves and to share
this intelligence with response teams, ensuring responses
are fast and appropriate.
Geospatial Engine: Dynamically locating and creating
relationships between devices, people and assets
relationshipsisessential.Forexample,itmayautomatically
identify the nearest cameras to a situation’s address or
locate the security person closest to a medical emergency.
This should offer the ability to displays situations, devices,
people and alarms—and shows what is happening in
real time within a given situation or globally across all
situations.
Incident Resolution: The PSIM system software should
facilitate the presentation of logically displayed and
clearly communicated actions. It should enforce standard
operating procedures to an operator, along with the
information, tools, and contact information needed for
resolution—all within a single user interface. It should
provide a set of easy-to-use visual tools to generate
policies that are automatically imported into the system
for use in the identification and resolution of situations.

3. February 2012 Confidential © 2012 CNL Software Page 2
About CNL Software
CNL Software is a world leader and global provider
of Physical Security Information Management (PSIM)
software, designed for complete Integrated Situation
Management. Our award winning PSIM technology is
deployed to secure major cities, critical infrastructure and
global commerce. CNL’s software sits at the heart of some
of the largest, most complex and ground-breaking security
integration projects in the world. Our work with leading
organizations is helping to shape the future of security by
offering thought leadership on key issues such as asset
protection, energy reduction, process compliance and
business advantage in converged physical environments.
About IPSecurityCenterTM
IPSecurityCenter is the ultimate PSIM software based
integration and management platform. It connects and
manages disparate building and security technologies
such as video surveillance, life critical systems, radar,
analytics, HVAC, PIDS, GPS tracking and GIS mapping.
Through aggregating intelligence from these systems, it
allows organizations to react faster and more precisely
to incidents. IPSecurityCenter provides operators with
real-time Situational Awareness through a Common
Operating Picture (COP) and following an alert, alarm or
event presents step by step process guidance, ensuring
complete compliance to security policies.
Need more information?
For more information on PSIM and how it benefit your
organisation visit www.cnlsoftware.com
Reporting: All activity should be monitored, including all
operator actions, to aid compliance management, provide
training scenarios and as an auditable record of activity
subsequent to a security incident. It should gather all
information (videos, alarms, audio), actions taken, and
results into one folder for compliance and investigative
analysis or post situation training.
Modular Platform: It should dynamically adapt to
changes in devices, configurations, situations, policies,
and reporting while the system is running and support a
distributed architecture for high availability and disaster
recovery.
Are all PSIM solutions the same?
There are several true PSIM vendors in the market place
who have been deploying their PSIM solutions for more
than five years now. These vendors are several versions
in to the development of their software, giving them vital
experience that only comes from successfully deploying a
number of large scale installations. This has enabled them
to understand the challenges and create products that are
mature enough to meet the wide number of applications
seen in PSIM today.
Unfortunately, there are also a large number of companies
who are now marketing their old products under the PSIM
banner; which is creating confusion in the market place as
these products do not have many of the features essential
to a PSIM solution.
True PSIM solutions have become more sophisticated,
emphasizing added organization value through hardened
security and increased efficiency or reduced ongoing
costs. The crucial factor being that the customer can
decide what their priorities are and implement all or just a
few modules of a PSIM according to their unique situation.
This flexibility is key when selecting a PSIM solution.
Organizations should research the product and ensure
the PSIM solution is future-proof and can adapt to the
organization’s changing security needs. This will reduce
the risk of purchasing a system that will need replacing if
the organization’s circumstances change a few years down
the line.
PSIM: Why Should I Be Interested?

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Copyright © 2012 CNL Software. All rights reserved. IPSecurityCenter is a trademark of CNL Software. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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