With the move to smart solutions, an increasing number of businesses and organisations are seeking solutions which not only protect their building, people and assets, but which also enable added value and deliver advanced efficiencies. Key to many advanced solutions is the use of video, which is a great enabler for businesses. Managing video and other data via a cloud service can not only reduce costs, but can make solutions more effective.
The use of video has, in recent years, become a cornerstone of many business solutions. Whether offering high levels of security and safety, monitoring activity across the site, providing business intelligence such as customer flow or traffic management, or triggering other systems such as signage, access control or marketing data management, video is a powerful and flexible part of many smart solutions.
Video provides real-time information which can be mined for vital data. The growing use of metadata allows video footage to be interrogated with ease, delivering actionable information which ensures businesses and organisations are able to implement efficiencies and enhance their return on investment. As the use of smart applications increases, systems inevitably generate ever greater amounts of video data. This can increase costs if sites need to expand their hardware and storage capacities to manage the additional data loads.
The traditional approach to video involved the use of ‘siloed’ systems. This was predominantly because limitations in technology made such an approach simpler and more cost-effective. Interestingly, ‘siloed’ systems were never implemented because they were best practice. Systems were built around centralised hardware, often limited in the number of video streams it could support. If a system needed to be expanded due to changing needs, this often necessitated the installation of additional servers, associated infrastructure and management software.
Where an organisation had a number of distributed sites, each would need a complete installation of servers, switches, infrastructure, etc.. This created problems in ensuring all sites could communicate with each other, plus software needed to be updated at the same time to ensure all systems were compatible. At times, managing the complete solution became problematic, resulting in fragmented coverage. All too often, many of the benefits of a converged solution were lost.
The Cloud alternative
Many of the issues associated with traditional siloed on-premise systems can be alleviated through the use of Cloud-based services. When considered against hardware-based localised systems, cloud-based solutions offer enhanced storage capacity, simple sharing of data, flexible management and a more manageable total cost of ownership.
For many applications, the migration from a siloed hardware-based system to a cloud-based alternative is beneficial, allowing upgrades and system expansion without the capital expenditure required for on-premise systems. In many cases, it is also possible to upgrade legacy video systems to cloud-enabled solutions in a cost-effective manner.
Eagle Eye Networks is a leading expert in cloud-based video surveillance, and provides a secure, open platform video solution that provides the flexibility and scalability to meet the needs of business and organisations operating in today’s turbulent times. The platform enables advanced but flexible video management, recording and retrieval, to allow added-value solutions which deliver benefits and enhanced efficiencies.
The cloud platform is compatible with a wide range of third party devices such as cameras and encoders, as well as other systems such as access control and alarm management, as well as non-security systems such as POS. The platform can also support smart technologies such as AI-enabled video analytics, automatic numberplate recognition and business intelligence reporting. This ensures the Eagle Eye Networks solution not only enhances security and protects people, premises and assets, but also allows business managers to access real-time actionable data to improve operations.
Footage, reports and alerts can be managed via any network-connected device such as a workstation, laptop, tablet or smartphone. This ensures operators or managers can access data no matter where they are, even on the go. This adds benefits as it enables personnel to have full situational awareness as incidents unfold. It also means staff are not tied to watching monitors in a control room; they can go about other duties secure in the knowledge that alerts and notifications will be delivered to them in real time.
In summary
Whether you are looking for enhanced cost-effective security, cutting-edge smart solutions, business intelligence or building management, or a combination of all of these, a cloud-based video surveillance system can play a pivotal role in delivering the right solution.
In its position of leadership in the cloud-based video surveillance sector, Eagle Eye Networks can maximise benefits while minimising costs, to ensure the solution meets all operational requirements.