The surveillance industry, one of the more mature technology-oriented industries in South Africa, is going through a period of dramatic change. Video surveillance technology has evolved significantly over the last decade, driven by persistent, uncompromising innovation.
The challenge currently facing IT managers and network designers is to incorporate these new systems into the existing corporate network.
Andy Robb is chief technology officer of Duxbury Networking.
Starting out with 100% analogue systems, the industry has witnessed an unrelenting march towards digitisation. Today's systems have come a long way from the early analogue tube cameras connected to video cassette recorders. An increasing number now use network-linked IP (Internet Protocol) cameras and employ servers for image recording in hybrid or fully digitised systems.
Last year, researchers at IP Video Market, an independent video surveillance information source, predicted that global IP video surveillance product sales would increase by 200% between 2010 and 2012, significantly disrupting and overtaking analogue CCTV sales.
The IP video surveillance marketplace is being boosted by more demanding requirements for government, municipal, facilities, and enterprise security systems - together with the greater demand for the integration of these systems into larger public security 'ecosystems'.
The market is also being advanced by users' needs to monitor more locations, serve larger geographic areas, view clearer images and automatically analyse large amounts of data.
Increasing complexity
Vendors are thus moving away from simple, legacy solutions showing only indistinct camera images, towards the provision of higher resolution cameras with higher frame rates, supported by platforms facilitating the 'plug-in' of many other complementary technologies. These include storage, analytics and two-way audio.
Important advances in new products offered by both start-up and established manufacturers have significantly enhanced the competitiveness of IP video.
The challenge currently facing IT managers and network designers is to incorporate these new systems into the existing corporate network, and integrate them with information management systems in order to give management and security professionals better visibility of the processes associated with surveillance in the broadest sense.
Traditionally, organisations built separate surveillance networks alongside the regular corporate networks. This practice remains prevalent as surveillance systems integrators struggle to incorporate their systems into the corporate network, and similarly, network specialists grapple with the requirement to establish a service model based on an integrated IT-based network - be it wired, wireless or wide area.
Incomprehensible
The ability to provide an end-to-end, integrated, fully functioning corporate network incorporating video surveillance often seems as enigmatic and as out of reach as the Holy Grail.
One of the reasons is the 'compartmentalised' approach to procurement on the part of the end-user. Network specialists called in to establish an integrated network may confirm that the infrastructure is operational, and in the same way, the video camera technicians may give 'their equipment' the thumbs up.
But problems often surface when the systems are fully activated, or perhaps one or more cameras is added to the network. Then the image quality may suddenly fall below specification, or network performance may become compromised.
End-users should be encouraged to source from single suppliers who understand the requirements in terms of an overarching, end-to-end solution - from the camera to the disk drive. These suppliers will have the ability and the means to install and integrate best-of-breed products, not necessary single branded offerings.
This lack of understanding pervading the networking and video industries is exacerbated by the momentum of change and a lack of willingness among some traditional video surveillance players to readily embrace the digital revolution.
Installers must come to terms with the fact that the video surveillance industry is now moving forward at the same pace as the IT industry, and the transition from analogue to digital represents a fundamental change in marketplace topology, which requires new skills sets for sales, installation and management.
In the past, the specialist skills lay in specifying and positioning the cameras correctly. Today, expertise is focused on the understanding of the various interfaces needed to effectively integrate myriad different system elements, and achieve the ultimate goal of protecting people, property and assets in increasingly unlawful times.
The next imminent challenge is not only to integrate business and surveillance networks, but all building systems, including access control, fire, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), lighting, human resources and others, incorporating advanced sets of actions or real-time command-and-control dashboards.
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