Security software looks at the big picture.

• Position: TECHWIRE

It's easier to keep an eye on one big picture than 1,000 little ones.

That's the premise behind AWARE, an automated warning and response engine developed by New Jersey's Abeo Technical Solutions. The company's approach to large-scale surveillance was born out of research by the Department of Homeland Security and Florida State University that found, not surprisingly, that two or three security guards couldn't adequately monitor 500 camera feeds.

"Human vigilance only has 50 much elasticity," said Bob Allen, head of business development at Abeo. "We watch cameras for camera watches at the speed of electorns."

AWARE software gives security professionals a look at an entire property and the location of each camera on the grounds. The system takes into account a client's internal policies. It becomes accustomed to regularly occurring activities and sends alerts to appropriate parties when something out of the ordinary...