Trends in the Market
The transition continues toward IP
- By Elan Moriah
- May 01, 2010
The use of video surveillance in business began
with the introduction of CCTV in the early
1960s. Throughout the years, we have witnessed
the rapid uptake of some technologies, while
others showed promise but never experienced widespread
adoption.
Today, there are four trends that are shaping the
video industry.
The Transition to IP
A trend that continues to evolve and prove its value
is the video security market's transition from analog
CCTV video systems to more sophisticated, proactive,
network-based IP video. The transition from
passive analog to network-based intelligent video
solutions has greatly improved the ability to quickly
and efficiently detect security breaches, as well as
deliver video and data across organizations and to
outside agencies.
Network-based IP video more effectively addresses
security threats, improves operational efficiency and
complies with cost containment mandates. This transition
to IP also refl ects customers' desire to treat video
as any other network data asset and integrate video
with other types of network-based security and corporate
data to create a more holistic security solution.
The Move to End-to-End Solution Suites
The video security market is fragmented, and the
players vary by vertical, company size and breadth
of offering. As the market matures, the question remains:
How fast will the process occur?
As we have seen in other sectors, more organizations
are looking for a comprehensive suite for their
security systems—one that is delivered by a single,
trusted vendor, rather than purchasing niche solutions
through different providers. In addition to the
integration challenges of disparate solutions, other
end-user burdens include having to rely on multiple
sources for support, maintenance and upgrades.
We have reached a point in the industry at which
customers are looking to video as a solution rather
than as a disparate number of products or technologies.
They are comparing the benefits of the overall
suite, not necessarily each and every suite component.
While an end-to-end solution may sound counter-
intuitive to the previous trend of open IP-based
systems, it is actually quite logical and complementary.
As long as the end-to-end suite is based on non-proprietary
standards, IT platforms and the various
modules within the solution—such the video management
software, encoders and IP cameras—can operate
with other vendors' products.
A Focus on IT-Savvy Customer Service
The benefits of an open, standards-based architecture
that can readily integrate with an organization's current
IT infrastructure—and commercially available
network, server and storage technologies—are obvious.
Those benefits drive the need for vendors to deliver
a different type of service and support. It is much
less about "break and fix" and much more about network
configuration, remote access, solution troubleshooting
and network monitoring tools.
This represents a change in mindset and expectations
from customers. It is not just about how good
the product is; it is more about how well the vendorpartner
can scale, how IT-savvy employees are, and
the level and breadth of expertise that is available to
support the solution within a network environment.
The Rise of Integrated Video Analytics
Video analytics always carried the promise of a simplified and automated process to help elevate manual,
resource-intensive operations. When video analytics
was introduced a few years ago, it was perceived as
a stand-alone market with exponential growth possibilities.
But over time, it became a niche that has since
evolved into a powerful capability within today's endto-
end video suites. As such, video analytics is actually
driving greater impact, business value and results
as part of an offering. Tighter integration within a
broader set of applications and the price efficiencies
this structure can carry as part of a broader suite are
but a few of the end benefits.
The video security market is going through a very
exciting change. We have witnessed a dramatic evolution
from "box-based" to "comprehensive solution"
sales for video security needs. This is not a revolution
but an evolution that will take years, and it is reflected
in the four trends highlighted above.
Better understanding of the trends and the changes
they bring will enable organizations to more efficiently plan, determine requirements and identify key
criteria vital to their success. Acknowledging such
trends also will enable vendors and integrators to
evolve and expand their solution sets and support offerings
to better serve customers' changing needs. All
in all, these trends will serve as a catalyst to improve
business value, while protecting the lives and assets of
people and data around the world.