ONVIF, the global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, has announced that it is streamlining the user experience of its interoperability specification by developing a Profile concept so users can more easily identify interoperable solutions to deploy within their organizations.

The Profile concept will enable end users to easily identify features that are supported by a profile without requiring them to have extensive technical knowledge of the specific version of the ONVIF specification. Users will no longer need to determine if specific devices introduced in ONVIF 2.0 are compatible with clients that conform to ONVIF 1.0 or with newer versions introduced in the future. Instead, users will be able to easily select the appropriate profile that offers interoperability at a specific functional level between units and software that fits their needs.

As of October 2011, ONVIF membership had grown to nearly 340 companies, with more than 1,100 conformant products available in the market. [www.onvif.org]