The job of selecting and procuring IP-based video surveillance products and solutions has increasingly become the responsibility of an end user organization’s IT department. Being able to convince IT that your solution is cyber-secure and effective in bandwidth utilization can give the systems integrator more of a chance to get business from customers.
Needless to say, video surveillance is becoming more and more IP-based. As a result, the job of selecting and procuring IP-based video surveillance products and solutions has increasingly become the responsibility of an end user organization’s IT department. Being able to convince IT that your solution is cyber-secure and effective in bandwidth utilization can give the systems integrator more of a chance to get business from customers.
That was the point raised by a recent
blog post by
March Networks.
The post began by stressing organizations are expanding the role of the IT department due to the rampancy of cyberattacks, which have become growing threats facing end user entities. The DDoS attacks in 2016, in which IP cams and NVRs were used to launch the attacks, speak volume of the kind of disaster cyberattacks can bring to the industry.
“Cyberattacks are now rated one of the top risks to global business, alongside natural disasters. Because no business wants to be the victim of a data breach, organizations are working hard to bolster their cyber defenses – and those responsibilities fall squarely on the shoulders of IT,” the post said.
Security-IT convergence
Given the increased convergence between an organization’s security and IT departments, the system integrator must become somewhat well-versed at the IT lexicon to be able to win the IT people's trust, the post said. “In the past, you may have dealt solely with your customer’s security department; but in many organizations the physical security and IT departments are becoming more tightly integrated, so speaking the language of IT can go a long way toward satisfying your customers’ overall requirements,” it said. “As a security integrator or installer of network video recorders and IP cameras, you must be able to answer questions from IT on how the system you’re installing could impact network security, as well as day-to-day network operations.”
Being able to address IT’s concerns and needs can help the integrator eventually win business. “Having IT’s blessing could also help free up budget for your installation,” the post said. “In some organizations, IT has decision-making power because they are tasked with improving businesses processes and driving revenue through new technology. If you partner with a video surveillance manufacturer that delivers business intelligence (BI), you’ll have a more compelling case for the value of video, and how investing in the right solution can help that organization’s operations and marketing departments, in addition to security.”
The blog post then went on to explain what March Networks has to offer to help increase the integrator’s value proposition. The first has to do with cybersecurity. “March Networks has a three-step process for dealing with cyber threats. Once we become aware of a potential critical vulnerability (through a U.S.-CERT notification or other source) we are committed to: 1) immediately assessing the vulnerability to determine if it affects our products; 2) addressing the vulnerability via a patch or software release, if required; and 3) communicating with our partners,” it said.
Secondly, helping minimize the impact of video on network performance is achievable. “For example, our recorders accommodate secondary networks so you can keep IP camera traffic on a separate local area network (LAN). March Networks’ recorders also support secondary stream recording, so your customer can record both a high resolution video stream for evidentiary purposes, and a low resolution stream for remote viewing using less bandwidth,” the post said.
Finally, the post mentioned the company’s enterprise management features, which help simplify device management “March Networks Command Enterprise video management software makes it easy to update multiple March Networks recorders and cameras simultaneously from one central location by allowing you to push mass updates and configurations with a few clicks of a mouse,” it said. “Command also allows system administrators to schedule these updates in the evening or weekend, so as not to disrupt network operations.”