Frank LaPlante, vice president of marketing at Anixter (www.Anixter.com), will make a case for why physical-security infrastructure within an enterprise is, or should be, the concern of that enterprise's information-technology staff when he presents "Video Surveillance for a Digital Age" at the Cabling Systems Conference's opening day, Monday, September 22.

His presentation will comprise three parts: the history of traditional security, the evolving security market, and the bridge to the digital age. Earlier this year, Anixter introduced its CCTP (Closed Circuit over Twisted Pair) surveillance system, and LaPlante's presentation summarizes his company's findings as it researched the possibility of entering the security/surveillance market.

He will point out three primary factors that have driven change in the market. First, security has changed from reactive to preventive in nature. Second, non-traditional security applications and technologies are emerging. And third, there has been a rapid shift of security ownership and responsibilities within an organization. That third factor is what places responsibility squarely on the desk of the same professionals who make decisions about their organizations' data networking systems, LaPlante explains in his presentation.

The presentation describes the implications of these factors on IT professionals, and also details technical requirements of surveillance systems that call into question the capabilities of traditional surveillance-infrastructure setups.

LaPlante's presentation is one of five being made on the opening day of the conference. Other topics covered on Monday, September 22 are: TIA standards update, National Electrical Code update, Bandwidth-demanding applications and their effect on structured cabling, and Category 6 cabling for modern communication systems.