May 2008

As far as ‘green’ computing is concerned, the IT industry does not have a particularly good record. In the past, it has been poor in a whole range of ‘green’ areas, including power consumption, the use of toxic substances, over-packaging, air conditioning and product life cycle.

However, customer demand is now causing ‘green’ issues to become increasingly important in IT. Companies are looking more and more at implementing ‘green’ policies, both in their use of IT systems and in the design, manufacture and disposal of computer equipment. Those responsible for securing IT networks are also beginning to look at whether the solutions they choose live up to ‘green’ principles.

The first step is to look at suppliers and their approach to ‘green’ policies. Typically, a ‘green’ supplier would implement ‘green’ issues throughout the company and in product design and manufacture.

Does the supplier create designs that reduce materials usage and waste, minimise packaging, increase recyclability, lengthen life cycles, and minimise energy consumption, in all aspects of distribution and operation? Are the company’s products designed to comply with specific environmental directives and legislation?

IT security staff might also consider the use of UTMs as a ‘green’ component of their security. According to IDC, the minimum requirement for a UTM is a firewall, VPN, antivirus and intrusion detection/prevention. UTMs have, however, evolved from this to incorporate additional capabilities which can include URL filtering, spam blocking and spyware protection, as well as centralised management, monitoring, and logging capabilities.

UTMs integrate several security functions into one single appliance and this fact alone could qualify them to be ‘green’. One single UTM appliance can replace up to five or six separate security appliances or servers. So a single UTM appliance saves space in the office and significantly reduces power consumption.

This reduction in the power needed is felt both in the rack and in the air conditioning necessary to cool multiple products. Indeed, in smaller organisations, it can completely remove the necessity for 24×7, year-round air conditioning.

A UTM could also be considered ‘green’ if it can easily upgrade to add more functionality and performance, such as solutions from companies like WatchGuard and Check Point. These facilities would allow the UTM to grow and change with a company’s needs, rather than having to be wastefully ditched when it fails to cope with a burgeoning business.

The ability to increase performance and function is particularly relevant for companies with less than 200 users, where it is often difficult to predict traffic volumes, usage patterns, or indeed numbers of users, more than a year ahead.

Other ‘green’ considerations, when looking at security solutions, are recycling, disposal and whether or not the solution contains toxic substances. There are two legal requirements which cover these areas. The first is WEEE, the European Community directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment and the second is the RoHS Directive.

WEEE sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods, including computer equipment. The RoHS directive restricts the use of certain substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and two flame retardants - PBB and PBDE) in electrical and electronic products sold in the European Union after July 1, 2006.

Computer equipment purchasers should be aware that there are companies which, for manufacturing reasons, were granted RoHS exempt status rather than RoHS compliant status, and you should be careful you choose solutions with the ‘compliant’ label.

Conclusion
Considering and implementing ‘green’ issues is increasingly important in IT and IT security is no exception. Choosing suppliers who implement ‘green’ policies, considering solutions such as UTMs, and selecting products which conform to WEEE and the RoHS directive are all ways in which IT security can be ‘greener.’

Bio – Ian Kilpatrick
Ian Kilpatrick is chairman of Wick Hill Group plc, specialists in secure infrastructure solutions. Kilpatrick has been involved with the Group for more than 30 years and is the moving force behind its dynamic growth. Wick Hill is an international organisation supplying most of the Time Top 1000 companies through a network of accredited resellers.

Kilpatrick has an in-depth experience of computing with a strong vision of the future in IT. He looks at computing from a business point-of-view and his approach reflects his philosophy that business benefits and ease-of-use are key factors in IT. He has had numerous articles published in the UK and overseas press, as well as being a regular speaker at IT exhibitions.

For further press information, please contact Annabelle Brown on 0191 252 8548, email abpublicrelations@btinternet.com. For reader queries, please contact Wick Hill on 01483 227600, web www.wickhill.com.

It has always been a motive of URADICS to create awareness among students. Many students doing professional courses in IT have heard of these technical jargons, but are still not aware of what they mean and how it affects our life. We hope that these seminars will help students in having a better understanding and eventually create a strong globally competent workforce for the benefit of both, the industry and the individual.

“Today’s students are going to be the future of tomorrow. So it becomes very necessary for our workforce to know the implications of various issues regarding security. Security is one of the primary issues requiring attention in any organization and we hope that these seminars are going to have great value-addition to the professional’s knowledge.” says, Pulkit Agrawal, Director, URADICS.

About URADICS

URADICS an Ahmedabad based Indian IT Finishing Institute, provides high end training in verticals related to IT, to make the students employable. Driven by high demand in the current industry; URADICS’s innovative methods of grooming also promises a progressing career for its students and steady supply of skilled manpower.

• First cooperation in the security industry to establish a global open standard for the interface of network video products
• Interoperability between different vendors’ products will simplify installation of network video products regardless of brand
• Greater freedom for end-users when choosing equipment, resulting in more cost-effective and flexible solutions
• Creation of an open forum for further development of the new standard

Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems and Sony Corporation announce that they will be cooperating to create an open forum aimed at developing a standard for the interface of network video products. Currently, there is no global standard defining how network video products such as cameras, video encoders and video management systems should communicate with each other. The new standard is expected to comprise interfaces for specifications such as video streaming, device discovery, intelligence metadata, etc. The framework of the standard, incorporating the key elements of network video product interoperability, will be released in October 2008 at the Security show in Essen, Germany.

The main goal of this new standard is to facilitate the integration of various brands of network video equipment and to help manufacturers, software developers and independent software vendors ensure product interoperability. A unified open standard will also offer end-users greater flexibility of choice, enabling them to select products from different vendors in order to develop systems that fully meet their needs. This standardization initiative demonstrates the strong commitment of Axis, Bosch and Sony to supporting the ongoing shift from analog to digital surveillance in the security market.<

A forum set up by the said three companies will be open for all companies and interest groups who would like to participate in the standardization work. The forum will be established in the fourth quarter of 2008, and will work on further development of the standard and on reaching agreement on how the new technology should be implemented.

“We are very pleased to announce this cooperation between our companies,” says Ray Mauritsson, President of Axis Communications. “An open standard will make it even easier for integrators and end-users to benefit from the many possibilities offered by IP-based video surveillance technology.”

“This cooperation represents a great leap forward in establishing an international open forum focusing on network video surveillance,” says Gert van Iperen, Executive Vice President at Bosch. “For manufacturers of network video hardware and software, the forum and its standard will be an efficient way to ensure product interoperability.”

“We entered this discussion based on our common belief that an open standard will provide great benefits for users and everyone involved in the security industry,” says Yoshinori Onoue, SVP, Corporate Executive, Sony Corporation. “Representatives from Axis, Bosch and Sony are now working intensively to develop a framework for the standard and to establish the guidelines for the standardization forum.”

Additional information
Please note ‘Axis, Bosch and Sony co-operate in industry standardization’ picture above features, from left to right: Matt Soga, Senior General Manager, B&P Marketing Division, B2B Solutions Business Group, Sony Corporation; Gert van Iperen, Executive Vice President of Bosch Security Systems; Ray Mauritsson, President of Axis Communications