Video management systems evolve beyond traditional physical security

Over the course of 2016, we witnessed a continuation of the prevalent trend towards more integrated and intelligent networked systems using Video Management Systems (VMS) as the central control platform.

One of the drivers behind this is open platform solutions that support more advanced physical devices such as IP cameras with on-board analytics, which continues to shift emphasis from the physical aspects of video and access control systems to the collection and correlation of data for more advanced analysis and prevention. As a result, we are now seeing more and more interest in applying conventional surveillance and security systems to provide true business intelligence for operations beyond security.

Data security threats

As the industry continues to migrate to more data-based applications, the ongoing threat of network and data breaches has prompted organisations to take a much closer look at their physical and logical security networks. With VMS solutions increasingly functioning as the primary platform for centralised, integrated security systems, their ability to collect data from various security and non-security systems makes them a real target for hackers. Therefore, OnSSI continues to address this challenge by incorporating full data encryption in our VMS solution so that all data transfer between Ocularis’ clients and servers and between cameras and servers provide end-to-end encryption of all data.

The ongoing threat of network and data breaches has prompted organisations to take a much closer look at their physical and logical security networks

Emerging technologies and analytics

End users and integrators alike continue to look for ways to further improve overall situational awareness to better protect people, property and assets, as well as new cost-efficient ways to further integrate formerly disparate system devices and emerging intelligent technologies and analytics. There are many factors that affect this transformation, including VMS licensing and recording costs, open platform integration capabilities, network security, the frequency and ease of automatically being able to update software, and platform compatibility with HD and UHD cameras and devices. Over the course of 2017, we will continue to see the level of professional surveillance and security technologies continue to rapidly advance and evolve from a physical security to data-intensive driven market to accommodate the industry’s growing needs.

Integrated security systems

VMS has evolved from being considered a video software solution to a platform and management tool for integrated systems. New advancements in scalability, workflow, performance, overall situational awareness and data analytics are now being complemented by the ability of advanced VMS solutions such as OnSSI’s Ocularis 5 to transcend traditional physical security applications for more enterprise wide business intelligence applications. This represents a significant shift in dynamics and mindset for security professionals and the industry at large.

See the full coverage of 2016/2017 Review and Forecast articles here