John Lewis, one of the UK’s leading retail groups and IndigoVision, the leading supplier of complete IP CCTV security solutions have won the prestigious ‘Security Initiative of the Year’ category at the recent Retail Systems Awards 2008, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
The judges were looking for a retailer who has implemented loss prevention or anti-fraud measures across its operations, with the ability to instill confidence in its customers without restricting the level of service they provide. The judges also considered how the application of the technology achieves business benefits, along with the degree of innovation present in the IT solution. The successful implementation of IndigoVision’s IP Video surveillance systems in 9 of John Lewis’ department stores met these criteria and beat off stiff competition to win the coveted award.
"The judges were particularly encouraged by our approach to both protection of Partners and Customers, tightening down on risk internally and externally, and the Health & Safety aspects we have been able to address," said Paul Newbury, John Lewis’ Development Manager for Business Protection. "This success has been made possible by the excellent surveillance technology and support provided by IndigoVision."
Commenting on the awards Oliver Vellacott, IndigoVision's CEO said "The retail sector has been very successful for IndigoVision over the last year as shown by the John Lewis project. It is however, not just about deploying the very best technology, but about working closely with the client to overcome the myriad of security challenges that retailers face."
Over the last year IndigoVision has as been working with John Lewis to migrate 9 of its existing stores from analog CCTV to a digital IP solution. IndigoVision has now been chosen to provide the CCTV surveillance for the first 3 of the planned 10 new stores, including the recently opened branch in Liverpool, its largest store outside of central London. IndigoVision’s IP Video system is ideal for migrating existing analog CCTV systems to digital solutions, re-using much of the original investment such as cameras and control room equipment. Analog systems can also be expanded using IP video, creating a hybrid solution. This flexibility was demonstrated with the upgrade of the existing John Lewis stores that had their own unique analog CCTV configurations.
