6 Aug 2020

Cozaint Corporation, a developer of ‘smart’ physical security solutions, has announced the launch of askALICE, the industry’s most economical video surveillance management hardware and software system that delivers extreme long-term retention.

askALICE VMS suite

askALICE provides an enterprise-grade video management software suite integrated with server and multi-tiered storage. Cozaint has developed the capabilities of the VMS software to easily play back video from either initial storage or second-tier storage without any additional steps needed by the surveillance operator.

This breakthrough now enables the Cozaint VMS Software, titled BOBBYvms, to seamlessly and effortlessly play video from various tiers of storage.

Integrating LTO-storage

askALICE integrates industry-proven LTO-storage as a second tier of affordable long-term retention space

askALICE integrates industry-proven LTO-storage as a second tier of affordable long-term retention space, while allowing surveillance operators to play back video from any point on the recorded timeline. No extra steps or processes are necessary for the operator to view and playback recorded video from days to years ago.

"Video surveillance footage has traditionally been stored on hard disk drives, but with increasing camera resolution and the desire for longer retention periods, storage has become a big challenge," said Peter Faulhaber, President and CEO, FUJIFILM Recording Media U.S.A., Inc.

Affordable, long-term video retention

Peter adds, "Tiering to LTO tape can make a significant difference by improving total cost of ownership based on low acquisition costs, low energy consumption, and reduced floor space requirements. As video storage needs grow, LTO offers unmatched reliability, longevity, and delivers affordable long-term video retention.

With scalable initial hard disk based video storage, customers can playback video immediately with Cozaint’s BOBBYvms, the video management software suite used within the askALICE platform, which has been developed to seamlessly manage the cost-efficient second tier of video storage.

BOBBYvms

When the surveillance operator traverses far enough back on the recorded video timeline, BOBBYvms will automatically retrieve the appropriate recorded video from the second-tier storage of askALICE in just a few minutes.

askALICE is tremendously scalable, making it suitable for medium and large camera-count environments. Whether an organisation needs long-term video retention for legal, compliance, liability, or simply corporate policy, askALICE is significantly more affordable in delivering six months, one year, two years, or even longer video retention.

Widespread use of LTO technology

The media industry has been using LTO technology for years and it is a reliable and economical storage solution"

The media and entertainment industry has been using LTO technology for years and it is a proven, reliable, and economical storage solution. Being able to deliver a video management software solution that puts no extra burdens on the surveillance operator to go back in time, any amount of time, and easily play back recorded video is what makes LTO video retention truly viable,” said Jay Jason Bartlett, Cozaint’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Jay adds, “It has taken us years to develop the right software and hardware combination for askALICE to allow for the seamless playback of recorded video from multiple tiers of storage. The costs savings of this solution are truly significant.

askALICE product line

As an example, a 100-camera, 500-terabyte storage requirement, requires a traditional hard disk-based solution at over US$ 112,000 versus an askALICE solution at around US$ 62,000, which represents a 55% cost savings. 

A 400-camera, 2.25-petabyte storage requirement would require a traditional hard-disk based solution of around US$ 367,000 versus an askALICE solution at US$ 149,000. And this is before all the extra ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ savings LTO also brings to the user.

Cozaint offers the complete askALICE product line direct to end-users and will build systems for the specific needs of medium and large camera-count environments. The Cozaint sales team will work with customers to appropriately size and design the needed server and multi-tiered storage requirements while showcasing the significant savings an askALICE system will deliver over traditional hard-disk video storage systems.