Qognify provides Cayuga VMS to enhance monitoring solutions at IFEMA MADRID

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Institución Ferial de Madrid (IFEMA) Exhibition Centre hosts over 100 events every year including trade shows and business meetings, but also large public events in the fields of sport, culture, and leisure. Boasting an exhibition area that covers 200,000 square metres of covered pavilions, 12 halls, two convention centres, and 14,000 parking spaces, the complex is operated by IFEMA Madrid and is one of the most up-to-date, technologically best equipped exhibition venues in Europe.

Visitors from all over the world trust to be in a safe and pleasant environment, which is secured by systems that are state-of-the-art and cover the entire site – indoor and outdoor areas, parking garages and logistics zones.

Analogue video system

The sheer size of the exhibition grounds, the large number of events in a wide variety of very different setups and a large number of people on site – visitors, exhibitors, service providers, suppliers – require a high-performance, holistic physical security system.

IFEMA MADRID required a solution to replace its analogue video system that had reached end-of-life

IFEMA MADRID required a solution to replace its analogue video system that had reached end-of-life. It expected the new solution to provide substantial improvements in processing video footage and helping them resolve incidents quickly. Prerequisites included state-of-the-art technology, an open and integrated platform, with easy integration of third-party solutions such as video analytics, access control and LPR and event search.

Physical security ecosystem

As a public body, IFEMA MADRID launched a public tender for the update of their video system. Qognify together with Sicuralia System and video analytics partner Briefcam, presented the best overall solution, complying with all the customer needs, thus winning the contract. The powerful security functions of Qognify’s Cayuga VMS, as well as its openness to third party software integrations, especially with video analytics, tipped the scales and it was chosen to be at the core of its new video-based security system.

To achieve overall surveillance for the entire complex within one system, Cayuga is used as a video surveillance platform to not only expand and upgrade the technology, but also offer complete integration with IFEMA’s physical security ecosystem.

Responding to developing situations

To date, more than 650 cameras – both fixed and PTZ models – have been installed to improve the security

To date, more than 650 cameras – both fixed and PTZ models – have been installed to improve the security and safety on site and to allow for video analysis in critical areas, thus making the video system more efficient and actionable.

The VMS’s reliability was key, to ensure the continuous protection of people and goods in coherence with the envisioned growth of the events that take place at the Madrid Exhibition Centre. At the heart of the installation sits a central control room that was designed from scratch. It is here where all information converges – allowing for immediate assessment and response to any developing situations.

Video security system

The implementation of Cayuga has improved the performance of the video security system, accelerated investigations, and is delivering improved situational awareness. It has helped to produce a better resolution on the video stream, combined with the ability to easily switch from live to recorded video for investigation.

All this allows the security team to get a better overview of every situation, while at the same time reducing the number of people needed for monitoring or patrolling. The new system makes easier to provide a higher level of security for exhibitors and for the visitors to IFEMA MADRID.

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