According to the results of a new study conducted by MeriTalk, a public-private partnership dedicated to improving the outcomes of government IT, 54 percent of video surveillance data gathered by the federal government goes unanalyzed leaving a vast amount of information on the table when it comes to improving the nation’s security.
However, of the 151 federal decisions makers (evenly split between physical security and IT managers) surveyed for "The Video Vortex" report, 99 percent believe that video surveillance technology will play a significant role in their ability to prevent crime, theft and terrorism over the next five years.
Among the most common current applications for video surveillance noted by respondents include; monitoring of suspicious behavior (57 percent), traffic monitoring (49 percent) and anomaly detection (38 percent). Looking to the future, survey respondents said that they see potential in increased integration of video and big data analytics, including instant event search, facial recognition, and inter-agency real-time surveillance.
Survey respondents also said that they see significant promise in the area of collaboration with 79 percent indicating their agency needs to improve collaboration between physical security and IT in order to be successful. At present, less than half of civilian agencies (47 percent) have collaboration as part of their standard operation procedure (SOP). The study shows that working together is a critical piece of the plot, indicating that agencies that require collaboration are significantly ahead. They are more prepared for the influx of data (81 percent versus 24 percent), more likely to analyze at least 50 percent of their data (63 percent versus 47 percent), and more than twice as likely to operate an edge-to-core platform architecture for surveillance (92 percent versus 44 percent).
“The numbers say it all – the key to a more secure country is improved collaboration,” said Michael Gallant, senior director, video surveillance, EMC Corporation, which sponsored the survey. “Physical security and IT need to avoid being ships passing in the night, and join each other at the helm. A more collaborative approach will make agencies more prepared, and more likely to analyze video surveillance data to derive actionable insights.”
Nearly all respondents say their agency’s IT infrastructure is not ready to keep pace with the growth in data volumes and identified three key investment areas: storage (91 percent), computing power (89 percent), and personnel (84 percent).
“More than the same old movie, video empowers Uncle Sam – whether it’s identifying trends or catching the bad guys,” said Steve O’Keeffe, founder, MeriTalk. “Teamwork and innovation are the keys to ensuring the story is happily ever after, rather than a horror movie.”
