Video: Your New Business Partner

 

Now you can leverage cameras for more than security

Video surveillance continues its rapid mainstream march—with internet Protocol (IP) network cameras accounting for 53 percent of all CCTV shipped in 2015 and one billion active camera streams forecast by 2020. Intelligent analytics are producing more data from cameras, and that information can be leveraged for additional functionality beyond security prevention, detection and identification.

Analog cameras, while not having the same embedded processes that yield more detailed analytics, may still be leveraged to gain more intelligence from the devices when networked. This is accomplished easily with the addition of hardware such as encoders that take the signal and digitize it for network communications. APL Access & Security is your surveillance expert, and can provide a free consultation to help you migrate to newer technology, at your pace, thanks to some of these and other ‘bridge’ hardware products available.

Business process intelligence from video

The case for networked video surveillance cameras with analytics is particularly compelling, with the ability to add accountability and business process improvement across many different vertical markets. For example, heat mapping, a common analytic, can be used in retail or hospitality applications to show the paths of customers, where they lingered longest (dwell times) or even alert management when cashier checkout lines have risen so additional staff can be called upon to ensure a positive customer experience. License plate recognition (LPR), another form of analytic, can be deployed by drive-through or retail locations with pick up operations so orders are ready and waiting when the customer’s license plate is detected entering an area. In warehousing, analytics continually evaluate and assess stocking operations, when more products or other goods must be ordered, or even alert when a distribution line process has failed or gone awry.

Video surveillance also tracks products and supplies as they enter and leave a facility during order fulfillment to prevent theft and shrink. High-resolution cameras may be deployed to address proper compliance with rules and regulations, especially critical in hospitality, food service or pharmaceutical production. High-resolution video also yields positive identification throughout a wide expanse of an area to quickly identify any problems or exceptions, in real time, which may be occurring on the manufacturing or distribution floor, in the example of work-related slip and falls or liability claims.

For businesses without a receptionist, video cameras provide extra eyes and alert occupants when a visitor approaches or enters the area. Coupled with motion detectors, they sound an alert or chime and indicate on a computer, smartphone or other connected device that someone is waiting at the entrance.

These applications and others yield new intelligence that can be parlayed into better management and operations for your business or facility. APL Access & Security can help assess your needs and devise a plan to optimize video surveillance. Contact APL Access & Security today to learn how easy it is to extend video to benefit the bottom line.

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