To dramatically update and improve its video surveillance, River Island decided to transition from legacy analogue systems to an IP-enabled approach.
With over 60 years of fashion retailing experience, River Island is one of the most well-known and loved brands on the UK High Street. Renowned for its stylish, affordable fashion, its customers can always rely on River Island for great going-out looks and occasion wear. It prides itself on being the perfect store to pick up everything for a brand new head-to-toe look. Almost all of its products are designed in-house and, with one of the largest design teams on the High Street, it is proud to bring original new fashion in-store and online for its customers every single week.
River Island has more than 350 stores, plus a network of offices and warehouses across the UK, Ireland and internationally throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe. As with many retail brands with multiple, widely dispersed stores, surveillance capability across the River Island network had evolved organically over many years on a site-by-site basis as the business expanded.
Challenges
To dramatically update and improve its video surveillance, River Island decided to transition from legacy analogue systems to an IP-enabled approach. Historically, each store’s video surveillance had run as a stand-alone system. This made it increasingly difficult for the business to operate, maintain and upgrade the surveillance systems efficiently, and in the event of an incident a security operative would physically need to visit each store to retrieve footage.
Furthermore, it limited scope to introduce next-generation features that could drive value. With the decision to manage a phased introduction, River Island scoped its specification for a futureproof system that would be easy to install, cost-effective to run, easy to operate and simple to maintain with responsive customer service. To deliver easily retrievable high-definition images fast, the solution had to include IP cameras, network video recorders and video management software. The solution would need to provide reliable 24/7 cover for strategic locations, including entrance doors, stairwells and transaction areas throughout each store.
Solution
The wholly IP-enabled
IDIS DirectIP solution being rolled out by River Island includes a mix of HD cameras (between 7 and 30 per store), network video recorders and licence-free IDIS Center video management software with five stores and a logistics centre now complete. Designed with robust, resilient network security in mind, the solution eliminates any complexity, making it extremely easy for in-store staff to operate. DirectIP utilises true plug-and-play functionality with implicit pairing of devices, reducing the amount of information that River Island needs to manage.
The solution incorporates IDIS FEN (For Every Network) technology, which means that multi-site changes can be easily and simply managed from a single point. Used with all IDIS NVRs, FEN is an automated network configuration service that simplifies installation of networked surveillance systems. It also enables easy remote access without the need for advanced IT knowledge and requires no static IP addressing. As a result, a highly robust, resilient surveillance capability can operate 24/7, with updates automatically made with minimal additional resource required.
Results and Benefits
Combining the most cutting-edge surveillance technologies with advanced analytics and unparalleled ease of use, the solution is meeting all expectations. Simple and fast to install, it delivers robust performance with high image quality, super-intuitive ease-of-use that requires no specialist expertise, superb operational efficiency and responsive local support. Highly cost-effective, it also gives River Island the futureproof capability to integrate new features such as facial recognition and advanced analytics.