Optimizing Security & Surveillance Systems Through Integration

By Gadi Piran

In many organizations, investment in physical security systems has often been considered a necessary evil. And who can blame management for viewing it this way, when the result is a combination of disparate systems with different upgrade cycles that rely on different budgets and require a variety of vendors and services to maintain them. The responsibility for these systems is often divided among the facilities, security and IT departments, thereby adding to the complications of the integration plan while reinforcing how difficult it can be to invest in security with no clear evidence of ROI.

The advent of digital video surveillance and security systems has overcome many of these issues and helped to integrate disparate systems into a true, unified business asset. A digital, end-to-end system that features a non-proprietary, open architecture design can facilitate the integration of multiple physical security applications such as access control, video surveillance, visitor management and alarm/fire safety systems, with the end result being a much more manageable system.

In an integrated system, the combined data from all of the systems (safety, security, POS, surveillance) can be accessed instantly based on time, motion or event, and be more efficiently analyzed and acted upon. At its most basic, an alarm that indicates a door has been opened is much more valuable information if it is accompanied by live video images showing the activity that caused the alarm. More sophisticated systems, such as those found in casinos, integrate business and operational processes (i.e. POS terminals) with security systems (i.e. video surveillance, biometrics, access control, etc.) to minimize risk and ensure operational integrity.

Bringing the systems together onto a single platform represents a monumental step forward toward optimizing the investment in physical security. The next and most logical step is to develop and implement open-platform software control suites. In addition to providing the multi-application IP system control and management functionality, these software products offer powerful supplemental features such as video content analytics to enhance the value of the data. Some examples include detection of very specific movements and behaviors; motion detection targeted toward size, shape, speed or direction; non-motion detection such as a stalled vehicle or an abandoned object; and behavioral analysis including tailgating at entry points or loitering.

The same intelligence, or video data, utilized to assure security, can be of significant value to other departments in the enterprise. For example, in retail, the marketing, merchandising and product management organizations will benefit greatly from an enhanced understanding of customer shopping behavior, traffic patterns and the implications of specific product placement. Other enterprise groups who will be able to leverage the video data include the legal, maintenance and operations departments.

In short, the implementation of integrated multi-application systems over a network can have major implications, impacting an organization's security strategy and day-to-day operating efficiency.

About the Author:
Gadi Piran is president and CTO, On-Net Surveillance Systems, Inc. (OnSSI). Piran was honored as one of the five Influential Leaders from the Vendor Community in Security Magazine's Top 25 People in the Security Industry, Dec. 2007. Find out more at www.onssi.com or www.securitymagazine.com

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