3xLOGIC, Inc. highlights the importance of advanced video analytics to enable business optimisation and efficiency

Businesses have always sought to lower their costs, increase productivity, and better serve their customers, but these goals have taken on increased importance in the last year. Organisations are cognizant of their expenses and are seeking to get the most out of their investments, including security solutions.

For example, in the current environment, it is no longer sufficient to install video systems purely for security purposes, especially when they can do so much more to help businesses achieve their objectives. Advanced analytics are the catalyst that is enabling this shift from security-only to beyond-security applications.

Video and data integration from multiple sources

The primary value proposition for advanced analytics is the ability to integrate video and data from many other sources, in order to create intelligence that drives business decisions, processes, and overall efficiency.

Current analytics are more accurate than in the past, and therefore, generate far more useful data than previous solutions in the market.

Data and analytics on the edge

One key to higher-performing analytics is the availability of cameras that perform video analysis at the edge

One key to higher-performing analytics is the availability of cameras that perform video analysis at the edge, eliminating the need to transmit to a central server. This not only makes the process more efficient, but also increases the effectiveness of the analytics.

Combining analytics with cloud-based video recording and management allows data from other systems and devices to be collected, collated, and analysed, in order to generate even more robust intelligence.

Number of systems combine to provide data

In addition to cameras, there are a number of additional systems that can be combined to provide data that will improve the analytics. These include POS, access control, or virtually any security or non-security edge sensor.

When data from all these edge devices is coupled with video, a complete view of the enterprise becomes available at a level that human perception alone cannot achieve. This view encompasses not only security, but also marketing, staffing, customer service, and other operations functions.

Advanced analytics goes beyond security

Advanced analytics allow retail businesses to drive more revenue, by using an asset that’s connected to their security system, so as to transition from a focus on loss prevention to overall operational efficiency.

For example, staffing a business currently is already difficult, so it’s important to make sure that enterprises can keep the employees they have. Using advanced analytics, a business could identify ways to help employees be more efficient at certain tasks or find gaps in their day, where they could focus on other things, which could help reduce their stress, improve their effectiveness, and as a result, reduce turnover.

Dashboard that provides reporting is critical

A dashboard that provides reporting in an easily digestible format is critical

The best intelligence in the world is useless if there is no sense of the way it’s reported. Once the analytics have collected and analysed all the available data, it’s critical that management and employees be able to understand the resulting intelligence and what it means for them. Therefore, a dashboard that provides reporting in an easily digestible format is critical.

Ideally, the information should be presented in easy-to-consume visual indicators that provide everything a business owner needs, in order to track and improve metrics that optimise the success of their businesses in key areas, such as people development, store performance and efficiency, cash tracking, and much more.

Advanced video analytics

When data is presented using intuitive icons and colour groupings, for example, identifying areas to increase profits and reduce loss becomes easier than ever. Current advanced video analytics, combined with powerful cloud-based solutions, and the rich data from multiple sources are allowing organisations to step out of a purely security and loss prevention mindset, to take a new perspective of their security solutions.

Proactive notifications from integrated security solutions, using actionable intelligence, are giving business owners the advantage to drive major business decisions and processes.