Technology & Trends - Storage

2017 witnessed a continued decline in the cost of cameras. While this creates a challenge for camera companies, it creates two clear opportunities: (1) Product differentiation now relies more heavily on software rather than camera parameters, which drives more focus and rapid innovation on the software side, and (2) cameras have become more affordable which encourages an increase in the adoption rate and size of surveillance projects.   Artificial Intelligence surveillance applications Ad...

The physical security market continues to experience growth as users look to capitalise on the promises of emerging technologies and because of this, 2017 proved to be a great year for Oncam. In fact, this year was the best year in Oncam's history in terms of sales, as 360-degree fisheye cameras have gone from being a “specialty” camera used only in certain applications to a primary device for enabling total situational awareness. Today, many of our customers leverage 360-degree ca...

SourceSecurity.com’s most trafficked articles in 2017 reflected changing trends in the market, from facial detection to drones, from deep learning to body worn cameras. Again in 2017, the most well-trafficked articles posted at SourceSecurity.com tended to be those that addressed timely and important issues in the security marketplace. In the world of digital publishing, it’s easy to know what content resonates with the market: Our readers tell us with their actions; i.e., where they...

The security industry remains interested in capturing actionable data from video analytics and this year we saw increasing interest from non-security industries. While still a relatively young industry for our market—think of where Google was with collecting metadata 10 years ago—video security works with similar algorithms for capturing various scenarios. The data this provides is becoming more valuable not only for security purposes, but also for business operations, such as deter...

An increase in spending on security, more focus on data security, higher demand for integrated solutions, and steady progress to move beyond the pixel race were key trends in 2017. As we look forward to 2018, we will continue to see development in these areas as well as greater impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on the video security market. Potential of video security data More and more, users are realising that the real issues in video security are not about pixel counts. Managing incre...

Last year, Genetec predicted that cybersecurity would be taken much more seriously as the Internet of Things (IoT) opened more doors for hacking and network take overs. We also predicted that that there would be an increase in the adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS), expanding choice and convenience from new ownership models via hybrid (on-premises and Cloud) and Cloud-only models. Cyber Accountability awareness 2017 was also a year of awareness about ‘Cyber Accountability’....

As the economy improved during 2017, the security industry also experienced an increase in new projects and upgrades for existing customers. Security dealers have been busy adapting to the new services that customers are now demanding and trying to stay competitive within their market. Many have changed their strategies—offering not only professionally installed systems but assisting with DIY and self-install products. Overall, the goal of forward-thinking security dealers has been to ele...

Overall, it’s been quite a year for the industry and Vanderbilt. Last year, we predicted that the security industry would see a rise in cloud-based systems in 2017, and based on the developments and trends we've seen over the last 12 months, that forecast has come true. ACT365 access control and VMS Vanderbilt introduced the ACT365 cloud-based access control and video management solution to its portfolio, and it has plans to educate the marketplace on the technological and economic advan...

News of cyberattacks seems constant these days. Recently, Equifax, a US-based consumer credit reporting agency, announced that a private customer data breach impacted 143 million people. Earlier this year, 1.5 million connected cameras around the world were hijacked in an unprecedented DDoS attack. As cyber-attacks become more rampant, it’s hardly surprising that governments are stepping in to hold organisations more accountable. One of the most recent examples of this is the European Un...

Today’s security industry has reached a critical mass in the volume of collected data and the limits of human attention to effectively search through that data. As such, the demand for video analytics is increasing globally and we believe that all video surveillance systems will eventually feature video analytics. Artificial Intelligence solutions Through the power of artificial intelligence (AI), Avigilon™ is developing technologies and products that dramatically increase the effe...

The number of security cameras in use today is growing exponentially. At the same time, resolutions are getting higher and higher. These two factors are placing heavy demands on servers and storage equipment. Of course, the capacity of these systems is also increasing, but that alone does not make the equipment truly suitable for the most demanding applications - such as camera surveillance. A video stream is not comparable to 'normal' data, for which storage systems are usually designed. This a...

A tipping point is defined as: “The point at which a series of changes becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change”. In the same way that IP video changed surveillance a decade ago, our industry is now feeling the impact of recent developments in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Big Data, and Intelligent Video Analysis. Keyword definitions Let’s start with a few more definitions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) deals with the sim...

Video. It’s a central part of everyone’s lives — whether it’s streaming content to your home television, sharing your own recorded movies on social media or transforming video into actionable intelligence in the business environment — and the value of video from all aspects and markets in the world continues to expand. Use cases are growing as well: Employee training, student learning evaluations, marketing reviews, drone video capture for real estate sales and cu...

End users can add security, safety and business intelligence – while achieving a higher return on investment at their protected facilities – with live streaming video. It can be deployed effectively for IP video, network video recorders (NVRs) and body-worn cameras. The growing use of streaming video is resulting in vast technological developments and high-end software that promotes reduced bandwidth, high scalability and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Here’s how users c...

In the digital age, speed has never been more critical. Customers expect an instant response to a query. Executives expect sales data on their tablets in front of them in real-time. A site manager at an oil refinery needs an instant alert about a defective valve. An IT manager expects to know about a phishing email before it hits his employees’ inboxes. The 'need for speed' is impacting the physical security sector too. Customers increasingly expect their security systems to identify and...

If I asked you today how your video surveillance environment has changed over the past few years, how would you respond? I bet the answer could include the following options: An increase in the number of cameras The addition of more advanced technologies such as high-definition video, video analytics, 360-degree video devices, cloud-based services and more IT innovations. Demand for more video data to drive business, IT and security initiatives. Modern video surveillance The modernisati...

After a lot of studying and getting ready for what seems like an endless stream of exams, teachers and students alike will enjoy having some much-needed time off — whether it’s just for a weekend, a break during the school year or the long summer holidays. Schools that are left empty for a sustained amount of time obviously increases the risk of arson attacks, thefts and vandalism. Staff members at an establishment should therefore work through this checklist before they leave the c...

When a news story of global interest begins to break, reporters across the world will scramble to find CCTV footage of the event, however isolated the incident may seem. Given the average of one camera installed for every twenty-nine people on the planet, it is perhaps unsurprising how often a persistent journalist, investigator or member of the public will actually be able to uncover footage. In fact, this number is estimated to be as high as one camera for every eleven people in mature market...

Adoption of the cloud is not slowing down. In fact, what’s happening is quite the opposite. According to IDC, worldwide spending on cloud computing is expected to reach $162 billion USD in 2020, growing at a compound annual rate of 19%. This isn’t surprising when you consider that more organisations are looking outside their own environment for solutions that will help them become more agile, maximise resources and save money. Yet, while this study and countless others show that mo...

Everybody has been hooked on the discussions about Analogue HD or IP systems, but shouldn’t we really be thinking about WiFi and 5G connectivity, removing the need for expensive cabling? Are wireless networks secure enough? What is the potential range? Even the basic question about whether or not the network is capable of transferring the huge (and growing) amount of data required for High Res Video, which will soon be quadrupled with the advent of 4K and higher resolutions. The future o...

In a world where hacking and denial of service are everyday threats, many feel that it is about time for the world of the Internet of Things (IoT) to undergo a reality check over its strategy and promotion before disaster strikes, reputations are lost and investors pull up stakes and run for the hills.   What is new about IoT? Having made, lost and then re-made my fortune in and around the industry over the past 20-plus years, I cannot help but smile over the level of hype — an...

To say the surveillance industry has changed over the last quarter of a century is an understatement. From high-definition cameras and TVs to high flying drones and video analytics – the surveillance industry has shifted in ways we never expected to see in such a short space of time. What’s more, with such advancements in both quality and choice that’s now available in the market, it’s no wonder that revenue in the video surveillance market is set to double to $75.64 bill...

Edge storage technology - the recording of video and storing it at the camera or on a directly attached storage device instead of in a centralised recording facility across the network - is quickly gaining acceptance and is being more broadly adopted into IP video surveillance applications. The use of edge storage in an IP camera enables video surveillance solution developers more flexibility and cost benefits in system design. By leveraging local microSD card-based storage, system integrators...

The corporate mantra “Utilise TCO instead of purchase price when making purchasing decisions” means evaluating a project’s Total-Cost-of-Ownership over its lifetime period as the primary cost factor. It requires the corporate buyer to scrutinise the entirety of the investment as opposed to just the upfront purchase price. Like an iceberg, where the majority of the ice is below the surface, the total cost of ownership of a security system is typically much larger than the upfro...

With 60 percent of all of the world’s data expected to be created and managed by enterprises by 2025 according to IDC, it’s not surprising to learn that enterprise players have moved swiftly to help their customers and organisations maximise the opportunity around this massive data growth. However, when it comes to one of the most significant drivers of this growth in information—surveillance data— many enterprises struggle to understand how they can apply it to do more...

Remember the old adage “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” Nowhere is that truism more evident than when you add network video to the current generation of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Whether we’re talking about industrial IoT applications, “Smart – X” (city, building, parking etc.) or retail operations, integrating network video into the solution provides value far beyond simple situational awareness. Optimising sophisticated video tec...

What do users want from their surveillance system? Ask any security professional, and you will hear answers like these: sharp, high quality images; widespread camera coverage; real-time analytics; fast search and retrieval of video footage with minimal, if any, intervention from people in the information technology department. In other words, they want the tools they need to do their job. Delivering those tools requires an underlying technology infrastructure that includes a storage file system...

  Video surveillance systems have some unique requirements that set them apart from other types of enterprise applications.   Determining where and how the cloud can support these systems depends on a set of five primary requirements: bandwidth, storage, cost, security and accessibility. This March Networks white paper outlines some of the key considerations mid- and large-sized enterprises need to examine before deciding to move their video surveillance systems into the cloud...

Energy security, access to the electrical grid and police and fire safety are just a handful of the networked services that we take for granted and rely upon on a daily basis. Every second of every day, sensors are digitising the real world, creating information and transporting it across multiple networks and interfaces to a broadening audience. While there is obvious utility being gleaned from this process, from our vantage point here in the physical security space, information sharing and tra...

The role of storage in video surveillance systems has  evolved, from a means of preserving evidence to an evidence search tool, and soon as the main data repository for predictive analytics. Old analogue systems are now being replaced with massive multi-camera IT systems. Necessary storage volumes keep growing as video resolutions increase. 1K, 4K, and 8K megapixel cameras require such gigantic storage space that network video recorders (NVRs) can hardly handle more than a handful of the...