'Security is everyone's responsibility' – Firas Jadalla, Genetec

Tahawul Tech

24-04-2025

Firas Jadalla, Regional Director for the Middle East, Turkey & Africa at Genetec spoke to Daniel Shepherd from CPI Media Group at the Genetec empower360 roadshow in Dubai. The event delved into the importance of open architecture and IoT technologies in developing smarter cities. There was also a strong focus on new trends in access control technology, simplifying video management and providing advanced scalable solutions.
With almost 20 years at the Genetec, Firas Jadalla has witnessed their humble beginnings in 2005, to its expansion across nine Middle Eastern cities. In addition to their focus in Dubai and Riyadh, Genetec has local teams in Doha, Cairo and Cape Town South Africa. They have also been recognised as a leader in innovation worldwide with headquarters in Montréal and offices in multiple countries.
Which security trends do you believe organisations should keep in mind when it comes to secure solutions?
When you consider security, we are seeing more awareness around cybersecurity which was triggered by the pandemic. We see more end users and system integrators looking for solutions that can meet the current challenges of cybersecurity. Another element is an increased focus on unification. 20 years ago, people were interested in the idea of having an interface between physical security solutions. They wanted to have alarms, control systems and video feeds interfaced together, which we now know as integration. Today, the trends are more focused around unification. In integration multiple different systems are combined definitively for efficiency and unification represents a unique concept.
To elaborate on the last point, how does unified security differ from current security solutions businesses use?
When we talk about a built-in unified product there is a big difference between that and an integrated solution. A unified solution is built from the ground-up with the same code and aspects as most physical products. With unified solutions we take one solution that can meet all your requirements such as physical security, video management, access control system, license distribution system, intercom and more. Some projects might not require all these features, but broadly it provides one solution with one interface. Consider it like Microsoft Office which includes Excel, PowerPoint and Word under a familiar interface. With the Genetec Unified Platform, it is one platform and one interface that meets all these requirements in a seamless package. This is advantageous because it becomes easier to deploy, train employees or perform updates without breaking any links.
Do you see cloud security solutions becoming more common or is hybrid still popular with your customers?
All of us in Genetec agree that the cloud is going to dominate the future of security solutions. For us it is not a question of will, it is a question of when. When will we see this adoption reach over 50%? When will over 50% of physical security installations rely on an on-prem cloud? When you look at enterprise solutions, there is a bigger appetite for hybrid verses cloud. If we look at small deployments like shop cameras, the owners will likely prefer everything to be linked via cloud. However, with bigger examples like airports that use thousands of cameras it becomes more meaningful and cost effective to use a hybrid solution. Hybrid offers the best of both worlds as you can address issues related to bandwidth and the cost of bandwidth whilst being able to use cloud access from anywhere to gather insights.
Can your security centre solutions incorporate and develop alongside the changes we are seeing in access control technology?
Our flagship product offers a unified platform for management control. What you get with this platform is that every time a software update is available you only need to do it once to keep things running smoothly. There are no unnecessary integration links or interfaces. Our latest products feature an element called GUS (Genetec Upgrade Service) which when enabled, automatically checks for updates during night hours.
Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
As a company, Genetec has taken a very strong stance on cybersecurity since 2016. We've seen people become aware of the importance of having a secure security solution right after the pandemic. During that time more people were working from home leading to an increase in the number of cyberattacks. We've continued to encourage our system integrator, channel partners and end users to give cybersecurity the importance it is due. At Genetec, with have improved our solutions with built-in cybersecurity and created guidelines for our system integrator during deployment to tighten security measures. Our solution includes many features such as, encryption to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks between cameras and the servers' workstation. I would like to take this opportunity to remind people of the critical nature of their own security systems and at the end of the day it is everyone's responsibility. Whether it's Genetec being the supplier, our system integrator deploying it or the end user running it, everyone is accountable. We must all work together to share the responsibility.
Image Credit: Genetec