Exponential security technology advances warrant a close look at upgrading to future-ready systems.
Q: Cloud-based systems are emerging. I know IT can help me with product selection and cybersecurity requirements. How do I deal with OPEX vs. CAPEX funding?
A: There are special considerations for electronic physical security systems. However, the transition from CAPEX to OPEX is usually doable. It takes planning and good stakeholder collaboration.
This topic comes up more and more regarding cloud VMS deployments, as they are subscription-based.
Most electronic security system technology is attached to buildings (such as security surveillance cameras and electronically controlled access gates. It has a site-specific function. Funding is done on a site-by-site basis, according to the facility’s budget options and with timing being established based on security risk priorities and funding availability.Switching from CAPEX to OPEX Funding
At many facilities, the budget for contract security officers is an annual OPEX expense. With planning ahead of time, at the next security refresh cycle, it is possible to reduce the CAPEX funding allocated for on-premises VMS equipment and expand OPEX funding to cover the cloud-based VMS.
If the switch to cloud-based VMS is being performed on a company-wide basis, it is still possible to continue funding at the site level, because cloud VMS subscriptions are based on the camera count. Each facility’s share of the subscription cost can be based on its camera count.
However, there is no hard-and-fast rule about funding subscription-based electronic security technologies. It really doesn’t matter which approach is used for the technology, as long as it complies with the organization’s funding policies. IT functions have been down this road already and can share their experiences and often provide advice relating to the situation.
AI-Based Business Video Analytics
A significant change in the security video surveillance picture is the introduction of high-accuracy video analytics that provide non-security business value. Analytics for retail store and service center operations have already proven their worth in an improved customer experience and increased sales and customer service levels. It makes sense for the part of the business that benefits from the business video analytics to pay for the analytics subscription, as the results directly contribute to that portion of business operations.
Similarly, if new security video cameras are added primarily for non-security use, it makes sense for the benefitting business unit to bear the cost, as already being done for most such business applications. There are integrators who provide cameras and related equipment as a subscribed service, to make it easier for OPEX funding to be applied.
Who “Owns” a Cloud-Based Security Technologies?
In recent years in some IT domains, IT leaders insist that IT should “own” the security cloud-based subscriptions because IT “owns” all the other cloud-based subscriptions. In large part, such discussions evolve around semantics (use of words and expressions) because in truth, neither IT nor Physical Security “owns” their technologies. The organization owns the technologies, and IT or Physical Security has been delegated the responsibility of managing them. There is no physical security or IT ownership of, for example, a cloud VMS. But there are important managerial responsibilities.
Use Cases Matter
Using cloud VMS as an example, there are multiple security and business use cases involved for the video meta-data – the data about what’s in a video camera’s field of view:
- Real-time facility security surveillance
- Security and safety incident investigations
- Retail store customer behavior analytics
- Marketing campaign effectiveness (per store, per product, per region, etc.)
- Customer service center staffing and customer analytics
- Facilities integration of video data for smart building applications and building operations and maintenance optimization
Discovering these use cases and enabling the capture and use of the data is a business digital transformation mandate for purposes of business advancement. This is the provenance of an organization’s Data Governance function, as I have written about earlier in Real Words or Buzzwords? Anonymization, Encryption and Governance.
An important role for IT is to foster the collaborations required with various business units that have use cases regarding security video camera data. There are data governance roles involved, with which IT leadership is very familiar.
Security Use Cases Have Highest Priority
The safety and security of a workplace cannot be effectively achieved without the use of security video surveillance. The primary purpose of the camera surveillance system is for security use cases. Because video technology is advancing at an exponential rate, as are its emerging AI-based video analytics offerings, security video use cases are possible that were not possible last year, last quarter or even last month. It must not be forgotten that business digital transformation and business advancement mandates warrant the discovery and utilization of these new capabilities – with security use cases taking high priority.
This gives security directors and security operations managers a special seat at the table when discussing new electronic security technology advances – especially for security video. It is the job of the data transformation leaders to see that these are fully addressed.
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