Sony network solution increased reliability and robustness for security logistics at Panaxia

Sony solution delivers a robust security system that can connect all of Panaxia's separate units to a central control centre

Panaxia is one of Sweden's largest security logistics companies with responsibility for more than 450,000 secure deliveries last year alone. The company's customers include major high street banks, retailers and fuel stations.

Customer challenge/business needs

Panaxia's business is built on its ability to secure other people's valuables, which calls for a robust, reliable and consistent approach to the creation, construction and management of its security infrastructure.

The impact and cost to security companies of lapses can be dramatic; reputation damage alone can seriously dent a company's ability to gain future contracts. That is not to forget the financial cost of replacing a customer's financial assets and other valuables or even the increased cost of insurances should security breaches become a regular concern.

It is therefore little surprise that security companies in particular are leading the way in the adoption of innovative approaches to surveillance that involve network video monitoring (NVM) technology.

The Sony solution

In its continual drive to optimise the security of its customers' assets, Panaxia selected a Sony NVM solution to monitor the transportation of security-critical assets such as cash, SIM cards and pharmaceuticals. The choice of Sony represented a major overhaul and upgrade of Panaxia's existing surveillance infrastructure.

Working closely with Panaxia, Sony provided a range of cameras, servers and Sony's RealShot Manager software. "Sony is by far the best solution on the market today," said Peter Johansson, Marketing Manager for Panaxia. "The advanced software and the quality of the cameras provide us with a cutting-edge solution to meet a wide variety of customer needs."

Recognising the ability of Sony's NVM technology in simplifying the management of its security infrastructure, Panaxia realised they could move away from the extra cost and time burdens of managing a

Prior to the deployment of the Sony network video monitoring solution, Panaxia operated an analogue closed-circuit television (CCTV) security system. In common with many analogue systems, the company's CCTV network was very time and people intensive and therefore represented a significant operational overhead to the business.

The previous analogue system operated on its own dedicated network with material on the cameras being recorded onto tapes. While the company had already instigated many procedures to ensure the analogue system provided comprehensive monitoring, the inflexible nature of the existing surveillance solution created inefficiencies within Panaxia's workflow. The system was dependent upon people carrying out manual tasks, such as changing tapes in the video machines once a particular recording cycle had finished.

The Implementation

The new Sony solution delivers a robust security system that can connect all of Panaxia's separate units to a central control centre and provides a seamless way to monitor deliveries across vast geographical areas. Distance is a challenge for such companies and by using an IP-based (Internet Protocol) network, Panaxia can benefit from a secure and scalable solution, which can be extended as business needs dictate.

Panaxia discovered that migrating to a Sony Internet Protocol based solution enabled the company to deploy a new security system onto their existing network infrastructure. This meant they could better leverage their existing investments in IT and use these same systems to monitor and maintain high levels of security across their operations.

The NVM solution also uses the existing IP infrastructure, eliminating the need for additional expensive cabling, consequently avoiding any potential disruption that could have been caused by the upgrade.

The Sony NVM solution also enables the company to make a gradual, managed migration to IP-based monitoring, due to the technology's integration with legacy analogue CCTV cameras.

Customer Benefits

The new control centre connects Panaxia's 14 offices and 150 vehicles, enabling all of its customers to be monitored efficiently and securely from one location. Johansson added "We needed a number of different cameras and levels of functionality to cover all of Panaxia's security operations, and Sony's comprehensive range enabled us to choose units specifically suited to each location."

With Sony's technology, security operatives are now able to react more rapidly to any potential breach and it provides both a simple and quick way to retrieve footage. Today, footage is captured and recorded onto PC hard disks, which can be accessed remotely via standard Internet browser technology.

Sony - The market leader

Sony's one-stop-shop approach to providing network video monitoring made it an obvious choice in promoting security at Panaxia. The company has already installed around 140 cameras and following the huge success of its initial work with Sony, has planned to increase these numbers in the near future.