Training is a significant and generally hidden cost. The task of training your staff on the operation of a video management system (VMS) can sometimes be difficult enough. So why go through this training twice?
Many VMS require one system to handle analog video feeds from DVRs and another to control and manage IP video. As the bulk of video systems today are a combination of analog and IP infrastructures, that means most security departments spend precious seconds and minutes toggling back and forth between open windows on their computer monitor (sometimes even different computers altogether) to track an intruder’s movements from analog camera to IP camera or to investigate and clear multiple alarms during the busy morning and evening rushes in and out of the office building.
A growing number of security directors are saying “No,” to maintaining these separate systems, along with their individual needs for maintenance, updates, training, and upgrades. For Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, deploying two separate systems to handle the institute’s significant infrastructure of analog cameras along with a multitude of new IP cameras was not an option Security Manager Ralph Nerette was willing to consider.
As part of a three-year construction project to build the institute’s new Yawkey Center for Cancer Care and the center’s 180 new IP cameras, Nerette and his security team designed and outfitted a new security operations center, which handles the institute’s two million square feet of clinical, research, and administrative space in the greater Boston area. At the heart of the new space is Nerette’s solution — the victor video management system, which allows security officers to unify security management functions and have a set of tools to view, search and export video from both Intellex DVRs and VideoEdge NVRs.
With this approach, Dana-Farber has managed to streamline its video management, putting the institute back into the technology driver’s seat. You can read more about how Dana-Farber was able to take control of its security management in this news story from Security Director News.
Has your organization struggled with multiple systems? Let us know your concerns by leaving us a comment.
