Proactive video monitoring platforms are hot and most recently, video analytics provider Cernium Corp. Reston, Va. added a new dealer initiative to the mix for its CheckVideo offering.
The new initiative, designed to enable dealers to offer the solution to their existing customer base, will help the “dealers that focus on the small- to medium-scale businesses that have assets to protect that they were not able to in the past,” confirmed Phil Robertson, vice president, Security and Alarm Division, Cernium. “It’s a clear ROI and has an added value for the dealer to be able to offer their customers.” And while the dealer initiative is aimed more towards the commercial business side of the alarm industry, Robertson confirmed that the company does have its share of residential customers as well.
One of the other benefits the CheckVideo solution offers is to central stations that are looking to keep up with changing technology.
“Monitoring providers are looking for a way to add value to their current system without having to recapitalize their entire central station,” he explained. The new initiative will help dealers promote the video alarm verification hosted solution, which incorporates advanced video analytics and web-based video management, to such central stations who are looking for the added benefit of video alerts, which “are based on the presence of people and vehicles, not just motion.” “The central station doesn’t have to make a huge investment to utilize such technology, which offers a lot of inherent advantages such as built-in redundancy,” said Robertson.
Business is good
With the advantage of utilizing the cloud, the possibility to offer this service globally is one that Robertson confirmed he has had inquiries for already. And while the CheckVideo platform has not been expanded in areas other than North America and the United Kingdom, “we definitely have a lot of interest from other countries,” he added.
As monitored video continues to grow, he identified the importance of criteria that users should be looking for in the different platforms available on the market.
“Without the intelligence of video driven by real analytics, you’re basically trying to operate a remote VMS system, which is very labor intensive,” he explained. “Having video analytics at the core is the first step. The second step is to have something that is repeatable and easy to use across sites. You don’t want to have a different type of interface for every installation. One of the biggest challenges is training your people to consistently deliver a solution that works the same wherever you deploy it,” he confirmed.
Here are some other questions you should ask when looking into a video monitoring solution (Information courtesy Cernium Corp.):
• Does the system require IP or analog cameras?
• What is the impact on bandwidth? Does the solution require you or your customers to replace the existing network or replace it?
• What is the impact to the security of your customer’s IT network? What security risks do they have to consider?
• Is the solution simple to install and set up?
• Does it fit within your organizations budget?
• Does the system meet the functionality and features that you are looking for?
Natalia Kosk, Security Dealer & Integrator
