Today’s video management software must be powerful enough to keep up with the demands of analytics based on artificial intelligence, yet be flexible enough for growing businesses.
Today’s video management software (VMS) has more to contend with than ever. To do so, VMS companies must adapt to trends and adopt new technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud have had a big impact on video surveillance in recent years and its impact on VMS is also being felt.
Open platforms continue to grow
The Internet of Things (IoT) opened up the ability to connect an infinite number of devices. Insecurity, the number of connected devices (especially cameras) has grown exponentially over the years and there is a desire to connect even more devices. An open platform VMS gives security operators the ability to connect devices from different vendors to one system.
Video analytics today have become a must-have, and while there are no VMS providers that can cover all types of existing and new analytics, open interfaces have been developed to integrate with different analytics. This will be one of the driving forces for new VMS development.
Andreas Conrad, Head of Marketing,
Qognify
“Today, most video platforms have very capable surveillance functionalities , but managing and connecting systems across geographies become more and more important as the systems keep growing,” said Andreas Conrad, Head of Marketing at
Qognify. “This also differentiates solutions from a total-cost-of-ownership perspective (e.g., how much time is needed to change configurations globally) or to push new firmware to thousands of cameras worldwide.”
Investing in an open-source VMS gives operators the flexibility to implement more advanced video capabilities, like AI analytics. It also future-proofs the IP systems through an adaptable platform that can keep pace with new and constantly developing technologies, according to Benjamin Low, VP of APAC at
Milestone Systems.
“Beyond being able to manage budgets and downtime, investing in an open source VMS means that security users will also be able to receive feeds from many different types of visual and non-visual sensors — both legacy and new — from many different manufacturers, all at the same time,” Low explained. “Not only does this result in a greater breadth of choice for security professionals, but it also allows for the surveillance network to evolve in line with changing requirements.”
AI impact on VMS
John Kedzierski, SVP, Video
Security Solutions, Motorola Solutions
Artificial intelligence has had a major impact on video surveillance in recent years and is expected to continue in 2020. Applying AI and deep learning to video analytics has given security operators more actionable intelligence in real time, but it also requires VMS that is capable of effectively and efficiently handling the technology.
Video management software powered by AI can help security operators focus their attention on important activity rather than watch live video. For example, Motorola Solutions’ AI-powered video management software works to make security operators more efficient and effective at their jobs by proactively bringing unusual activity and events to their attention.
“By using this technology, users are empowered to make better informed decisions that help them respond to incidents faster. These capabilities will continue to advance as we look to offer more products and integrations that work to make watching live video obsolete,” said John Kedzierski, SVP of Video Security Solutions at
Motorola Solutions.
More cloud solutions
One area with a great opportunity for growth is cloud-based security solutions. Cloud is becoming a more viable solution for security operators as costs become more affordable and storage needs continue to increase. Video management companies are working on new ways to deliver access and manage security systems, especially for large distributed security systems.
Motorola Solutions will soon announce its Avigilon Cloud Services 3.0, which will enable its VMS customers to connect to the cloud and benefit from a series of capabilities and subscription-based add-ons. “The Avigilon Cloud Services platform will help deliver value-added services to customers, while increasing the manageability of these security systems,” Kedzierski said.
However, not all cloud is created equal, and more user education is required to ensure the best cloud offering is chosen to fit the environment. With options for public, private and hybrid solutions, each has their own set of pros and cons. Security operators should choose the solution that is most suited to their needs.