Modernizing security infrastructure requires research and planning to build intelligent, connected systems that are secure, scalable and positioned to take the organization into the future. Prioritising needs, total cost of ownership, interoperability, resilience and sustained value will help ensure that a surveillance system upgrade will deliver both protection and measurable operational impact.
Before making that investment, however, security leaders must answer a few key questions to manage expectations, gain buy-in, and minimize disruptions or hurdles during the upgrade itself.
What are our needs?
First and foremost, leadership must define the overall need for a surveillance system. Some organizations use surveillance purely for security and protection. Others will have additional operational requirements or wants, such as streamlining visitor management, providing data to other departments, or automating specific operations. Defining current and potential future applications is an important starting point.
First and foremost, leadership must define the overall need for a surveillance system
Surveillance systems are more capable than ever of tackling applications beyond security, including safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Therefore, security teams should loop those areas of business that may have a stake in the system into the discussion as early as possible to further determine must-haves and manage expectations.
Managing specific access
Next, security teams ought to consider lapses in the capabilities of their current system, along with protocols or compliance requirements already in place. Other considerations include determining how many locations and users will access the system (which is especially important if considering business intelligence opportunities), how many cameras and which types are necessary, and whether the organization plans to manage specific access.
Unless already specified by their business, security leaders should also weigh the pros and cons of a cloud-based system, on-prem system or hybrid approach — taking into account the rising costs of memory and servers.
How can we plan for the future?
AI and advanced analytics have rapidly changed the security landscape
AI and advanced analytics have rapidly changed the security landscape, enabling businesses to ramp up protection and operational efficiencies with just an upgrade. But, in order to take advantage of many of these intelligent advancements, security leaders have to verify that their surveillance system, and the manufacturing partners they are working with, can handle today’s — and tomorrow’s — technology.
An open platform, open standards system gives security teams the flexibility to upgrade, add or integrate other systems or new technology over time as the organization’s needs evolve, technology advances or compliance changes.
Open platform systems
Flexibility can benefit organizations when it comes to video camera compression. For example, while much of the compression currently is driven by the H.264 codec, the industry is moving toward AV1. Considering cameras that handle multiple types of compression, including H.264, H.265 and AV1, empowers the organization to pivot and adapt without ripping and replacing all devices.
Flexibility can benefit organizations when it comes to video camera compression
When taking a long-term approach to planning, if a path toward interoperability could potentially help with operations, communication or workflows in the future, security leaders should confirm that a new surveillance system has those capabilities before upgrading. Open platform systems that support ONVIF open standards protocols, for example, allow organizations to create interoperable platforms with other systems across the enterprise, including mass notification, two-way audio, access control and HVAC systems.
What infrastructure do we have in place?
Understanding system capabilities is imperative to managing expectations and determining the best system for the organization, but it’s crucial for security leaders to look at the existing infrastructure in place, from cabling, network and servers to operations staffing and number of locations — all during the research and planning phase.
It’s important to take a current assessment of existing equipment and complete a needs analysis to determine which systems should work together or be integrated with the surveillance system. These findings can change potential capabilities and budgetary requirements.
Cutting-edge analytics
Another consideration when looking at infrastructure is bandwidth and storage capabilities
From a practical standpoint, evaluating the existing network, along with cabling and conduit, is critical to understanding if adding additional systems or devices are physically possible within the current infrastructure. Another consideration when looking at infrastructure is bandwidth and storage capabilities.
If bandwidth and storage are pain points or roadblocks for a surveillance system, unless businesses are required to process at the server for compliance reasons, processing analytics at the edge could be more economically feasible. Some cameras come with built-in analytics for a wide range of applications and, with an open platform system, custom, cutting-edge analytics can be loaded directly onto the camera without purchasing additional servers as needs or technologies evolve.
How can we manage cybersecurity across device lifecycles?
In today’s world, with systems such as surveillance often living on a shared network or network governed by IT, it’s necessary for security teams to understand compliance requirements from a cybersecurity perspective.
Researching manufacturing partners and their built-in protections to aid with compliance and tighter cybersecurity is an important consideration before any surveillance system investment. Features such as signed firmware prevent third parties from loading firmware that could contain malware onto a camera or other device on the network. Another feature such as secure boot assures that a device boots up using only software that is trusted by the original equipment manufacturer or OEM.
Mitigating larger risks
Security teams must also factor in when a manufacturer will stop supporting specific firmware
Built-in cybersecurity features, health checks and batch updates are essential for ensuring the physical security technology is not the weak point on the network. Many video management systems can alert staff when a camera is not working or there is a problem with network communication. Cloud-based automated device management can perform health checks, track warranties and streamline updates.
Security teams must also factor in when a manufacturer will stop supporting specific firmware and confirm that that timeline matches with the organization’s replacement strategy. Robust lifecycle management will not only address vulnerabilities and mitigate larger risks, but contribute toward a lower cost of ownership as well.
Can we quantify our total cost of ownership?
Tracking the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the organization's current surveillance system and planned upgrade empowers leadership to compare similar solutions to find the best long-term option, taking into account, purchase price, implementation, training, maintenance and hidden costs.
TCO is much more than the cost of the hardware, itself, but the cost of bandwidth, storage, operations staffing, maintenance costs, and even energy consumption of the devices on the network. For example, if an organization has 1,000 cameras across the enterprise, quantifying the energy costs between devices and product offerings can add up to significant differences.
New technology capabilities
Third-party consultants can help organizations with planning and design
Security stakeholders can turn to a number of resources to help them make an informed decision about upgrading their surveillance system, as well as to help ensure their current and future needs will be met.
Third-party consultants can help organizations with planning and design. Some manufacturers have customer-facing teams and field sales engineers that can conduct site walks and help security teams understand new technology capabilities, current infrastructure and potential use cases. Researching case studies and custom applications both online and through manufacturers is another avenue that allows security leaders to see how specific technologies can help their organization.
By remaining agile and understanding where to start and what possibilities exist before a surveillance system investment, security teams can justify the cost of ownership and future-proof their organization with stronger, more integrated, traceable security that leads to a strong return on investment.