On December 7th leaders in the surveillance industry gathered at The Address Downtown, Dubai, for Teleste’s exclusive Video Surveillance Summit. Supported by partners CNL Software, Ipsotek, IT-Serve, Arecont Vision, Arrow Labs and Wavesight, the one-day event featured a range of presentations and discussions, including a keynote address from Ben Selier, Sales and Technical Director at 4Trust.
Teleste, whose shares are listed in the Helsinki stock exchange, celebrated its 60th anniversary in January 2014, and over the last six decades the company has become a truly global market leader in the surveillance industry, with offices in 20 countries and a presence in over 30, while remaining true to its Finnish roots. Not only does Teleste provide a range of reliable and scalable IP video management systems and software, the company has demonstrated its capability of engineering and works closely with a range of third parties, including other industry leaders, public sector organisations and government entities throughout the years to provide segment specific end-to-end solutions. Teleste focuses on large multi-site and multi-user networked systems and it can boast a list of references that are world class.
Having a finger firmly on the pulse of the surveillance industry meant that Teleste was able to outline key megatrends that are going to affect the way video surveillance advances, including:
• Strong development of video and secure data transmission technologies
• Increasing volume of video and data traffic
• Growing need to ensure the safety of people
• The increased needs of vertical segment specific solutions
It’s this view of the future of the industry, and Teleste’s own customer centric, results driven attitude, that drove the company to bring so many industry leaders together and to generate a discussion on how the industry needs to evolve for modern, urban environments.
Speaking about the event, Soren Kannov from Teleste said “I’m very happy about the diversity of attendees, which include everyone from police chiefs, to system integrators, to Minister of Interior officials – all sizes and segments are represented. What we get out of this event is the fact that we have selected a number of partners and we are showing as a family that we can solve any problem. Teleste is driving this. We’ve been called the best kept secret in the surveillance industry – I’m sure after this event we are no longer a secret in the Middle East.”
Ben Selier delivered a well-round talk entitled ‘The Importance of electronic security in the Modern City’. 4Trust provides both Turn-Key and Powered Base Building options, meaning we have the resources and experience to give you what you need. 4Trust focuses on technology areas that it believes have the power to propel the industry forward and improve the way we live and work. 4Trust data centre solution represents a comprehensive suite of products combined with a unique leasing program and domestic and international property portfolio.
In his presentation, Selier stated that traditionally, the concept of security has been linked to the challenge of defending the state and the whole of its territory through the use of military instruments, saying, “Security depended, above all, on the state’s capacity to maintain, increase and use military power”. Selier explained that following the end of the Cold War, the dimensions of the analysis of security (economic, social, cultural, environmental security and cybersecurity, etc.) were multiplied. He told the audience that an alternative point of view should not simply be based on these security dimensions or “sectors”, but rather should also focus on their geographical analysis.
In other words, it is necessary to examine urban security, as well as national and international security.
Of note were Selier’s thoughts on the militarisation of urban spaces.
“Technological progress in the military sector has changed the patterns of war, mainly at the tactical and operational level,” he said. “What has remained as a characterising factor, however, is the role that cities play in armed conflicts – being both the theatre and the target of war in all their forms. In addition, according to many experts, we are witnessing the militarisation of urban spaces, even under circumstances that have very little to do with war. In other words, cities are affected by demonstrations of political violence of all types – from ‘traditional’ conflicts motivated by economic resources, battles to take control of political power, terrorism, insurgent activity, through to other conflicts that could be classed as civil or civic, public demonstrations and state reactions to them. The militarisation of cities has also been evident in the security measures adopted for certain recent sporting events, like the controversial 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, and Rio de Janeiro 2012.”
He added that the enormous complexity of cities today means that the demands on their infrastructure are relentlessly challenging. To cope with these challenges, many cities are adopting an integrated approach to their urban planning. Rather than planning for the separate provision of transport and housing, for example, a more holistic view is being adopted that seeks to measure the combined impacts of different types of development.
Speaking to us about this event, he said, “For us it was great to speak here to put our needs as an integrator forward and actually see them being answered.”
Looking at the role of megapixel technology for urban surveillance was Sanjit Bardhan, Arecont Vision’s Director for the Middle East, Africa and India. Bardhan outlined the most important requirements in Urban Surveillance as being:
• Identification of license plates
• Identification of driver face/details
• Dwell time
• Incorrect driving behavior
• Usage of high-end analytics to determine the above and more
Looking at each of these requirements, Arecont Vision’s Director explained the importance of pixel density and a good quality camera – demonstrating how the company’s cameras are tailored to provide high quality images for urban surveillance.
Bardhan said, “This event has been a fantastic platform for multiple technologies and partners together. The topic being urban surveillance, some of the solutions that were spoken about were extremely important and critical for today’s business needs. From a partner perspective what’s been interesting has been being close to technology partners like CNL, Ipsotek and Wavesight as it gives us the opportunity to work with them to address more city and urban surveillance issues in a more pragmatic and effective manner.”
Picking up on the need for high-end analytics to get the most out of urban surveillance was Charlie Bennett of Ipsotek. Bennett spoke about the key challenges that need to be overcome in order to get the most out of an analytics system, namely the following:
• Performance
• Legacy vs new build
• Move to HD and Megapixel
• Large system deployments
• Managing Expectations
• Move to BIG DATA
Bennett spoke about the event, saying, “Today has been really good, I’ve really enjoyed meeting the other Teleste technology partners and the system integrators and consultants that are working with Teleste. It’s been a good opportunity for to share what Ipostek are doing in the industry and being able to prove that the technology works.”
Rami Darwish, from Arrow Labs, took the stand with a presentation entitled “Mobility Solutions in Urban City Security”. He explained that mobile security systems are becoming increasingly important in modern cities because:
• Cities are growing at a phenomenal rate outpacing infrastructure growth required for fixed systems,
• The upgrade of existing legacy systems to modern technologies is time consuming and costly,
• It is enormously challenging to provide full security coverage with fixed systems,
• And there is a growing importance placed on live information from the field to enable fully informed decisions by command and control.
Rami told us, “It’s been great how we’ve been able to showcase how different aspects of technology come together provide a true city solution, and each partner at the event brought a different perspective. From our perspective I’ve demonstrated how demand for mobility in urban security is growing and how integrated systems makes life easier for those tasked with keeping us safe.”
Emergency management and intelligent policing are on-going issues in urban environments that must run efficiently. CNL’s Daniel Bloodworth took the audience through the role of PSIM in the future of these issues.
He explained that Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) is software that provides a platform and applications designed to integrate multiple, disparate security applications and devices, allowing management of an entire enterprise through one comprehensive user interface. That user interface can be quickly, cost effectively customised to meet the exact requirement of each and every user.
PSIM systems, according to Bloodworth, help overcome some of the key security challenges within cities, such as:
• Open and easily accessible environment with dense populations, opportunities for:
a. Organised crime
b. Public disorder
c. Robberies and muggings
• Major events and unrest provide opportunities for:
a. Terrorism
b. Activism
c.Hooliganism
d.Looting
• Vulnerable municipal transportation systems
• Secured buildings such as police stations requiring high levels of security
Wavesight’s David Saldanha’s presentation, “Reliable Transimission and Hybrid Solutions for the Future”, had an eye on the next generation. He discussed the importance of creating hybrid systems that generates reliable and stable electricity using integrated solar and/or wind energy, as Wavesight currently supplies.
Such networks are ideal for areas where electricity is impossible to draw, or is very expensive to provide, as well as being ideal for remote locations where silent energy is required (no diesel generator sound). These solutions have very low operating cost and maintenance and can be easily adapted to work on street light poles, stand alone masts, mobile trolleys, and more.
Saldanha commented about the event, saying, “The benefits of this event for us are twofold, first that the technology on show is high end and complimentary to one another. The second thing is that we ourselves become aware of other technologies that exist so we can provide integrated solutions.”
All of the solutions discussed thus far during the event covered a range of themes, except installation. IT-Serve’s Jens Lund picked up this thread when he discussed the pitfalls of installing large urban systems. Lund categorised the top nine pitfalls of installation as:
1. Legacy Systems
2. Legal
3. Environment
4. Power & Data
5. Communication
6. Security
7. Services, Maintenance & CIO
8. Success Criteria
9. Training & SOP
According to Lund there are several key steps to ensuring a successful installation, namely designing, installing, integrating, operating and maintaining.
Lund said, “There’s a number of advantages for us to support this event, I think the most important is the fact that we get visibility with a trusted international partner. The people at the event are very interesting. It’s like anything where you get a number of events together and share the results of their products and experience – you get a lot of value. An added bonus is that we’re speaking to industry experts and industry leaders and that makes this event unique.”
All in all, the event was very well-rounded and well received with speakers and visitors alike leaving feeling they had learn some valuable lessons.
What did the audience think?
Phillip Johnson, Senior Project Manager, Abu Dhabi Airports “I’m here to see how well all of the different vendors work with each other, because nobody does everything and everyone has to rely on somebody else, so if they don’t know each other well and they don’t know each of their limitations and strengths then they won’t work together. I’m not buying a card access system, I’m buying a full, complete, integrated solution to security so it’s interesting to see how they do things.”
Ahmad Pervez, Managing Director, Blaze Computers “Teleste is one of the leading companies in the security and surveillance market so it has been a very informative event.”
Khalid Almasri, Director of Technical and Security Solutions, Vortex Technology “We have arranged for Teleste to meet major military and security agencies in Jordan so they invited us to attend this summit. It’s been interesting for us as a learning tool Jordan is a hot spot so security demand is very high.”
Jihad Al-Bakri, MD, Smart3 “For us as a system integrator we like to meet vendors to get the latest on technology for IP CCTV solutions. It’s a good opportunity for us to hear how to integrate these solutions.”
Anil Babu, Manager – Business Operations, Zahra Security Systems and Electronics “The event has been very useful and the concept of getting the different suppliers to give a complete solution is great.”
