Technologies and trends shaping the video security market

Security threats keep the demand for advanced security measures high in different industries

Terrorism and other security threats around the world are generating high demand for advanced video security solutions that can help detect threats, and protect lives and assets. Elan Moriah President of Verint Video Intelligence Solutions and Verint Witness Actionable Solutions, explores some of the key technologies and trends that are helping reshape the security industry.

Across a wide range of industries -banking, retail, critical infrastructure, government, corporate campuses, education, airports, seaports, public transportation and homeland security - government entities and organizations are interested in a broader deployment of video security solutions. Using a more proactive approach to leveraging existing video infrastructure, organizations continue to increase the safety and security of their facilities, improve emergency response, and enhance their investigative capabilities.

Technology transition in video security

Consistent with the ongoing demand from heightened security needs, the video security market continues to experience a technology transition from relatively passive analogue CCTV video systems to more sophisticated network-based IP video solutions that include integrated analytics.

CCTV systems use analogue equipment and closed networks providing mainly basic recording and viewing capabilities. Conversely, IP video solutions use network-based video management software that can efficiently collect, manage, and analyze large amounts of video over networks. The transition from analogue systems to network-based digital video surveillance systems can help improve an organization's ability to detect security breaches, deliver video and data across the enterprise, and quickly provide outside agencies the information they need to address security threats, improve operational efficiency, and comply with cost containment mandates.

Network-based digital video surveillance improves the ability to detect security breaches

The technology transition from analogue CCTV systems to IP-based video solutions should be looked at as an evolution, rather than a revolution. Many users of analogue technology will need to continue using their existing analogue video infrastructure in parallel to newly introduced IP-based video solutions. As this technology evolves, the market will favour those able to support their customers through the transition.

In conjunction with IP video platforms, video analytics technology also is poised to continue gaining momentum. Video analytics are designed to help organizations make sense of huge volumes of information by automatically pinpointing activities indicative of security threats.  When video analytics were first introduced to the market, there was a great deal of hype around this new, innovative technology. As such, the expectations from video analytics have resulted in some disappointment. Without tight integration to the video security solution, the value of analytics is very limited. In order to be effective for security operations, video analytics are now becoming a very important feature of an integrated video solution - not a stand-alone proposition as it originally started a few years ago.

Investment and purchasing patterns for video security solutions

As technology advancements continue to change the landscape of the industry, so do customer demands.  Similar to recent trends we've witnessed with enterprise applications, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer

Today, more and more organizations are leveraging networked video to improve business and operational effectiveness

relationship management (CRM) systems, buyers are transitioning from multiple suppliers to single vendors that can provide a comprehensive IP video solution. It's expected that this trend will be driven further by the increased involvement of IT departments in the purchase decision-making process of video solutions. 

As such, these departments and broader organizations are opting for a single source for all their IP video surveillance needs. This movement bodes well to the value of integrated security solutions in that they can help drive a more streamlined connection to PSIM systems, such as access control and other security subsystems. The end result: buyers can receive higher value for their video systems at a lower cost. 

Impact of networked video surveillance on business and operational effectiveness

As technology transitions to a more sophisticated, network-based IP video system with integrated analytics, organizations are leveraging their current video infrastructures. In addition to enhancements to video technology come more return on investment (ROI) objectives for these organizations.

Today, more and more organizations are leveraging networked video to improve business and operational effectiveness. The retail sector in particular has seen significant interest in using IP video solutions featuring integrated analytics. Armed with this technology, retailers find themselves in a better position with the ability to make more informed operational decisions and validate assumptions for key in-store marketing, product placement, and advertising decisions. 

IP technology has enabled retailers to make more informed advertising decisions

By leveraging existing video surveillance footage, retailers are able to quickly extract and search for trends and patterns in customer behaviours related to operational issues, such as staffing at peak times, or for real estate evaluation purposes when leasing to third-party vendors. Further, when combined with point-of-sale data on customer buying patterns, these video solutions can help determine the success rate of specific promotions, and optimize store layout and design to influence traffic patterns, maximize sales, and improve the customer experience.

In the future, we can expect to see integrated video analytics applied across an array of markets, helping improve the customer experience and providing a quantified ROI. Such verticals include the finance and transit sectors, where customers have a multitude of choices, and service is a key differentiator.

More efficient, better security management with integrated solutions

Today, there is an ongoing focus and priority around the need for and value around integrated security systems that combine traditional physical security with IT-based security platforms. This demand for security solutions paves the way for advanced practices in information management. Making video available on the network and an integral part of the data sources available to users will enable them to make faster, more proactive, and better informed decisions. And as the market continues to evolve, we can and should fully expect demand for safety, security, convenience, and design to follow suit - fuelling product development and innovation to revolutionize the IP video marketplace.

Elan Moriah President Verint Video Intelligence Solutions and Verint Witness Actionable Solutions