Market Focus: IP Video for Banking/Financial Customers

Technology innovations provide financial institutions with new and more effective ways to increase security and reduce fraud — as technical achievement leads to vastly improved capabilities in computation, storage and data communication. These new innovations are being driven largely by IP-based security solutions as opposed to analog.

Fully integrated IP-based systems, which incorporate IT infrastructure with rich feature sets purpose-built for the financial market, are more effective, cost-efficient and reliable; however, advanced technical capabilities demand more sophisticated sales, installation and support resources in order to sell and support these new and emerging features.

Here’s how dealers, integrators and resellers can play an important role in helping their financial customers embrace new technologies to ensure safety and security.

Offer the Right Technologies and Features

Solutions providers should be committed to delivering products that enable users to have the flexibility and capabilities necessary to enhance safety and quickly perform investigations — thus improving the efficiency of financial customers’ normal operations and procedures.

Open platform IP-based video solutions support a range of sensors and intelligent systems that enable banks to purchase the level of surveillance they need now and add more as needed. IP cameras provide much higher video resolutions and rates, as well as many more customization options to ensure effective investigations.

Of course, high-powered computing resources deliver enhanced services beyond simply capturing and recording video. Analytics send automatic detection of “rules violations” and a high probability of detection with low false alarm rates to help security prioritize action.

Remote video viewing enables users to manage video functions remotely, including system configuration, event search, software upgrades and more, while having access to live and recorded video. Users can view video alongside events and multiple cameras associated with events simultaneously. Thumbnail searches locate video quickly.

Centralized security management increases security intelligence and situation awareness. With a centralized structure, users can utilize health checks on system status and be notified when it is not running at an optimal level.

Customer expectations on video quality and storage reliability are rising and therefore, stored video is a more critical asset. Video storage options — many purpose-built for surveillance — can be deployed more cost-effectively than ever, enabling users to store high-quality video over longer retention times.

As robbery rates in banks have decreased, fraud rates have increased. This fact necessitates new security tools that tie into video systems — such as face capture and mobile applications. These solutions provide many benefits; however, it is critical that integrators work closely with their banking customers to evaluate emerging technology implementations.

Managing all these new resources is very challenging if the process is not automated. Integrators should work closely with their customers to ensure technologies are being leveraged correctly to gain the most benefit, and secure a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

Openness and Scalability

As video security systems begin to interface to other enterprise systems, such as access control, building management, fire safety and alarm systems, communicating with third-party systems is increasingly important. Open platforms support an environment that enables integrated systems while scalability protects the investment and future-proofs the system to accommodate tomorrow’s innovations and needs.

A comprehensive, end-to-end IP video solution is a critical component. Open and scalable networked technologies help users achieve a high level of situation awareness for quick response and more informed decision-making in crisis situations. By choosing a system built on an open architecture approach, end-users can leverage these investments to achieve immediate and long-term goals.

Processes and procedures need to be in place to accomplish close integration in a cost-effective and timely manner. The testing of such systems is particularly challenging, but critical in planning the lifecycle of a system. Successful integration of enterprise systems enables integrators to deliver a best-in-class solution that meets the specific needs of a banking customer’s organization.

Being a Trusted Partner

Commoditization of security hardware brings opportunities for large-scale and geographically diverse deployments. Integrators with experience in the financial market can capitalize on these growth opportunities by offering intelligent systems that reach beyond everyday expectations.

Experience counts as systems expand and a lack of experience in large systems can cause failures in scalability. Integrators with extensive market experience share common best practices on how to gain the most benefit from today’s advanced surveillance platforms. A deep penetration in the banking vertical and a focus on designing products for use in this sector demonstrates long-term commitment and keen understanding of the challenges banks face.

As technologies become more advanced and deployments become more complex, your banking/financial customers will come to depend on you, the integrator for support — which can become exceedingly expensive if the correct tools and training are not in place. Today’s leading manufacturers offer a variety of options to train, educate and support integrators and end-users alike. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it is critical to take advantage of these offerings.

Matt Tengwall is General Manager, Banking and Retail Markets for Verint Video Intelligence Solutions. To request more info about the company, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/10215514.

Case in Point: Texas Dow Employees Credit Union

Technology solutions enable TDECU to advance security, streamline operations and expedite investigations

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU) is using technology from Verint to help ensure quick access to video data and analytics to monitor operations and expedite investigations, while building more proactive security processes across its organization.

As the fourth-largest credit union in Texas and the largest in the Houston area with 56 locations, TDECU leverages an array of video surveillance solutions to help migrate from an analog to IP infrastructure. IN 2014, it extended its investment in the Verint EdgeVR network video recorder (NVR) that delivers hybrid analog/IP capabilities and a range of analytics to address retail banking and corporate facility needs. It integrates with various edge devices and systems to deliver flexibility to bank customers.

“We require technology that keeps pace with our growth,” explains Jason Miles, director of security and investigations, TDECU. “We have a solution that is optimized for today’s security needs and that can easily scale to meet the demands of tomorrow.”

TDECU also deployed the Verint Vid-Center and Op-Center client software to manage NVR configuration, live and recorded video viewing, and event search. Other capabilities include instant alerts and surveillance analytics, health monitoring and remote system administration. In addition, TDECU is upgrading to Verint IP Cameras at high-traffic locations.