Holding Your Currency

Company dedicated to protection of people, assets and reputations

• By Daniel Bachmann
• May 01, 2017

If you know GardaWorld, it’s likely because you’ve been behind one of their ubiquitous and hard to miss red and white armored trucks as they go about the business of being North America’s largest cash-handling service provider. At hundreds of facilities and handling centers in the United States and Canada, the company processes currency for an entire continent, monitored by complex video surveillance technologies, working together to ensure the integrity of their processes and operations.

Headquartered in Montreal, the company provides business solutions and security services through the efforts of more than 62,000 staff globally, making GardaWorld one of the largest privatelyowned security companies in the world, dedicated to the protection of people, assets and reputations on a daily basis and performing critical tasks to protect and secure all three in an increasingly chaotic world.

When the time came to upgrade existing video surveillance operations for the company’s cash handling business as well as installations for the company’s newest sites, the task was complex with unique requirements and a massive scale spanning two countries. The company’s exceptional footprint and storied legacy in North America meant there was a highly varied set of conditions and requirements for optimizing video surveillance operations.

With a mix of existing analog and digital surveillance in existing facilities and requirements for initial installations in newer facilities, GardaWorld articulated complex security needs for more than 250 individual sites throughout Canada and the United States, each requiring high quality video surveillance and networking with a mix of analog and digital technology.Within individual facilities, existing video surveillance reflected a substantial level of upgrade complexity. The number of cameras at each site varied, with additional variances in age and operations for prior installations. Due to the nature of security operations, it was imperative that no interruption of security monitoring would occur during any technology transition. Further, the rollout of technology upgrades would require training for operators and monitors of surveillance equipment at various locations, a potential challenge given the scale of the endeavor.

“GardaWorld is a known global leader in security, cash logistics and cash management, with a reputation for excellence and customer satisfaction in all we do,” said Guy Côté, vice president and chief security officer for GardaWorld. “The safety and security of both our customers’ assets and the employees in our family is our paramount concern. So it is no exaggeration to say that our standards are high when it comes to the security solutions we, in turn, deploy to secure our own operations.”

After an extended evaluation period, GardaWorld selected IDIS to craft the comprehensive solution needed to meet these requirements. The comprehensive nature of the total solution provides end-to-end analog and IP options—cameras, recorders, monitors, software and accessories—all designed, developed and manufactured in-house, guaranteeing seamless, plug-and-play interoperability and guaranteed backward compatibility for customers with complex requirements.

A team from IDIS worked closely with Côté and other stakeholders to craft a customized solution able to meet each specific requirement and deliver a holistically improved security environment. Upgrading the legacy video surveillance solution across their 250-plus sites required initial installations of more than 700 IDIS cameras and the establishment of two major central monitoring facilities. The inter-compatibility of the analog and IP components of the IDIS Total Solution allowed the powerful and intuitive VMS solutions IDIS DirectCX and IDIS Solution Suite to harmonize new and existing technology for monitoring at the company’s central facilities. DirectCX TVRs were installed at legacy sites to ensure zero downtime for video surveillance capabilities, and DirectIP NVRs, purpose-built for ease and speed of installation and auto-configuration, installed quickly, addressing downtime concerns.

The IDIS solution selected by Garda- World proved an economical choice as well, delivering IDIS’s multiple award-winning technologies with a low total cost of ownership, due to a reduction of cabling cost thanks to IDIS DirectCX TVRs, the lack of any annual service management agreement or licensing fees for most IDIS technology, and the reduced training time required by IDIS’s plug-and-play design, reduced overall complexity, and unified UX across software and platforms.

The abilities of the powerfully modular and customizable IDIS Total Solution proved an ideal fit for the company’s security needs, delivering benefits from the start, and are still ongoing. GardaWorld benefitted from worry free integration of existing technologies and the installation of a flexible, customized solution that blended analog HD-TVI technology with next-generation IP networked surveillance, as appropriate to each site, linked and managed by the powerful and highly customizable IDIS Solution Suite VMS. The installation met the company’s requirements for seamless upgrade and technology handover, minimizing downtime and supporting the critical nature of operations.

“The solution IDIS crafted [is meeting] our high standards and more with a surveillance offering that is as committed to our security requirements as we are,” Côté said. “The technology delivers powerful features and capabilities in a variety of ways that meet needs as diverse as our differing locations and custom requirements. Whether analog or IP networked solutions, new installations or upgrades, or at urban or remote sites, the IDIS solution has proven flexible, scalable, and customizable to deliver the appropriate technology in the ideal way for each requirement. We are pleased with the partnership we have created with IDIS over the past year and look forward to the continued benefit we’ll receive from current and planned installations of this technology.”

The facilities now benefit from modernized, functionally rich cameras and recording devices that deliver clearer and smoother surveillance and hasten an operator‘s ability to identify and mitigate potential incidents and fully review and respond to questions about operational security. The seamless integration under IDIS’s powerful connectivity and simplified installation and use has reduced training time for staff and eliminated the most common headaches associated with mass upgrades and new installations of security technology. Better surveillance and security operations for pass through to a more secure position for staff and customer assets around the world, further confirming GardaWorld’s place as a market and innovation leader in the security space.

“GardaWorld’s reputation as a global leader in the security space preceded it and it has been our honor to partner with them to maximize safety and security,” said Andrew Myung, president of IDIS America, characterizing the international project as a partnership first and foremost. “As a security company, they speak the same language we do, and share the same values and commitments. We are proud of what we have done with GardaWorld so far and look forward to our future work with them.”

The project is ongoing. Current installations now include more than 800 IDIS cameras and recorders, a number that will continue to grow with ongoing and planned installations well into 2017.

This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Security Today.