Supporting small manufacturers
Interestingly, middleware has been around for a while, but many in our industry, especially manufacturers, don't seem to understand its value. For example, many startups bemoan the cost of integrating their technology with enterprise platforms like Software House C-Cure or Genetec Security Center. It's true that many of these enterprise platform companies ask for significant fees to certify the integration, but without the integration, smaller startups would struggle to gain end-user adoption.
That's where middleware companies come in: they've already built back-end application programming interface (API) connectors and firmware for these large companies that allow other companies to connect to their middleware, allowing data to flow bidirectionally between them without the need or cost of direct connections.
Why it matters to integrators and end users
Another key element of middleware is that, by its very nature, the companies that provide it are customization companies. In fact, middleware is one of the technology trends (the other being digital twin) that is solving technology integration for business intelligence use cases.
The reality is, enterprise end users have use cases to solve that require more than just another camera or access control reader. They need integration partners to work with their existing technology ecosystem. The problem is, enterprise software is less agile to meet these unique use case requirements, usually due to scale, complexity, or lack of willingness to migrate.
This is where middleware solutions come into play: a simple redirection to one of the middleware customization houses turns “impossible” into “possible.” And for end users and integrators who want to ensure a certified integration, middleware companies are certified as connectivity partners by enterprise applications. Because of their tight integration relationships with the systems they connect to, middleware software providers know ahead of time about most changes to their software platforms and also have the agility to update their platforms quickly, ensuring little to no service interruptions.
Experience middleware at the exhibition venue
My first exposure to middleware was with Convergence to Pixels (https://c2p.com) about 8 years ago. Since then, I've come across companies that have developed ways to solve these unique use cases and integrators with a deep software understanding, such as Z9 Security (https://www.z9security.com).
At ISC West, the Z9 came up time and time again as “the solution” to a variety of problems: An enterprise software provider said the Z9 added value to their solution, and a connected software vendor said the Z9 helped bring their product mainstream.
End users would never see the Z9, nor would they know it existed, but it was a critical part of the access control solution. More importantly, it opened the door to interoperability through standards such as Public Key Open Credential (PKOC) and Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP), as well as hardware and software communication between multiple access control platforms.
Unlike most middleware platforms, Z9 also has a hardware middleware component. For simplicity's sake, z9/op=n is the hardware component, and Z9/FL=X is the middleware designed for interoperability.
“z9/op=n is an open architecture technology for wired access control panels and smart locks that connects to the Z9/FL=X, enabling interoperability across a wide range of hardware and software from multiple vendors,” explains Ken Larson, president of Z9. “The past few years have seen an explosion of new access control hardware platforms and vertical-targeted software experiences. As the number of possible hardware and software combinations increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to connect all of these 'dots' one by one. A unified, central integration point with a single API is the only scalable, streamlined way to achieve the level of interoperability the industry and its customers require, and this is what the Z9/FL=X provides.”
Middleware solutions like the Z9 are making waves in the security industry. Fully validated and supported, these solutions connect independent systems, providing the ability to solve next-level use cases while being robust enough to run on enterprise platforms, while providing agility and cost savings.
