John Lutz Boorman, Head of Product and Marketing, Hanwha Vision Europe on how to choose the right video management system (VMS) for your goals.

Beyond tradition

As more organisations seek growth and innovation opportunities, video has moved beyond its traditional roots in security to add value across the business.

At the heart of this transformation is the video management system (VMS), which provides a way to consolidate and analyse the disparate data streams coming from cameras, access control, other sensors, maps, messaging and more.

Understanding your options

Modern VMS has a myriad of features to suit businesses of all sizes and growth stages.

At its core, a VMS can consolidate information, analyse data to deliver insights through dashboards and reports and make investigations more efficient with live, playback and exporting features.

Additional features may include the ability to view footage remotely or business intelligence analytics such as heatmapping and people counting.

One size does not fit all and your choice of VMS can make a significant difference to your data-driven insights and overall competitiveness.

So, how can you ensure your VMS is the best one for your organisation? There are several areas to consider when picking your system and vendor.

Tip 1: Align with the business

To deliver tangible value across your organisation, your VMS needs to fulfil the needs and goals of your business strategy.

For example, if a retailer aims to improve customer satisfaction this year, look for a system that supports this through queue management that proactively reduces check-out times.

Map out what you want to achieve through your VMS, cameras and other connected devices.

Then, consider what features are needed to fulfil this and meet your budget.

Remember to consider features that ensure business continuity and reduce risk, such as recognised cybersecurity credentials that protect your video data and IT systems.

Tip 2: Pick the right size VMS for your needs

Early on in your buying decision, you will also look at your site requirements and what’s needed for daily work and team efficiency.

This is where you can make sure your VMS meets your needs today but also has some futureproofing against short and medium-term plans.

You don’t need the most complex, feature-heavy system if your site requires something lightweight with streamlined features.

If you want a VMS that can cover a large site and deliver useful data insights, such as time-of-day patterns, consolidate camera footage for easy retrieval and search and automate some actions, then a system such as Hanwha Vision’s Wisenet WAVE would be best suited.

For organisations with multiple recorders on networked sites, for example, universities or hospitals, a system such as Wisenet SSM would be ideal.

If you have many cameras, multiple sites, sensors and highly complex data streams (as is the case with a smart city, transport hubs or large logistics organisations), then an enterprise-grade VMS such as Milestone or Genetec should be considered.

Tip 3: Consider ease of use for operators

Modern VMS has evolved from providing simple alerts to more complex automation and deep-learning powered alerts with reduced false alarms.

Rules can be created that make a VMS highly flexible and tailored to your organisation’s needs, which improves team efficiency as operators only respond to relevant events.

If the VMS integrates with other devices, automation can carry out some tasks such as opening a car park barrier or door.

Integration with digital signage or audio devices can make it simpler for operators to communicate with the public without leaving the control room — deterring potential anti-social.

Because a VMS combines the data stream from different security devices and vendors (if it is an open system), operators don’t have to waste time switching between applications and screens.

Operator fatigue is reduced, along with training requirements, as they only need to understand a single system.

There is flexibility in how you display video streams and other information based on what your operators need to understand and monitor.  

If your operators are often patrolling grounds or working remotely, you’ll want to consider a VMS with mobile access.

If your organisation works with other agencies such as law enforcement or needs to provide authenticated evidence for criminal charges, your VMS needs to support this with tamper-proof, cyber-secure processes for collaboration, plus transmitting and storing data.

Tip 4: Understand your AI options

Advances in AI are shifting security from reactive to proactive, while providing business intelligence to operations, sales, marketing, customer service and other departments.

It improves operators’ situational awareness and response times with real-time alerts and accurate object detection with fewer false alarms.

Forensic search is significantly more efficient when your VMS supports object and attribute detection with metadata, as operators can search through footage quickly based on someone’s clothing colour or gender or vehicle make, model and colour.

Tip 5: Look at your infrastructure and partner options

Choosing a VMS vendor who is partnered with other security vendors in your infrastructure will help your system integrate seamlessly.

A VMS, such as Wisenet WAVE, can integrate with Hanwha Vision cameras and the Wisenet Access Control System to provide users with real-time access control and area monitoring in one place.

Tip 6: Think about storage

There are many ways to store video footage now, from cloud to on-premise, hybrid and even on-device storage and processing for smaller installations.

Whatever your choice, a VMS will remain your central managing point, bringing all data streams together (even those from edge cameras, where AI analytics is carried out initially on the device).

The best VMS options offer flexibility in how you store and transmit your video footage, giving you flexibility to choose the option that suits your infrastructure, access rights, computing, bandwidth and budget.

Tip 7: Consider your licensing options

VMS vendors offer a host of licensing options from owning a system outright with on-premise servers to cloud-based subscription models and hybrid options.

This means that installing a security system no longer needs a significant investment at the start, however, costs can quickly increase as your installation scales and you add more devices requiring additional computing power.

When considering your VMS and camera options, look at your plans for the next five to ten years to understand how your needs may change and impact your costs.

Also, check your licensing for repeating or new user licences, ideally, you want your VMS pricing to be transparent: One payment and you are done.

Tip 8: Cybersecurity is critical

The cybersecurity of your VMS is vital to protect the potentially sensitive video data of factory floors, commercial operations and personally identifiable information.

A data breach will not just lead to unexpected downtime and information loss but also damage customer trust and risk fines and legislative action.

Choose a vendor with robust cybersecurity practices and recognised credentials such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) compliance and ISO 27001 certification.

Make the most of your VMS investment

Installing a VMS will be groundbreaking for your organisation, from improving security and team effectiveness to influencing operations, boosting the customer experience and supporting health and safety.

Having read this piece and actioned these tips, you will be on the right track to get the best returns from your VMS now and for years to come.

This article was originally published in the July edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.