Building the future of surveillance for a safer world
By Pascal Arthur Turchi, Chief Operating Officer, Scutum Group
Delivering on a true customer value proposition
Some companies are deploying security and fire services mostly to be compliant with insurance and, unless faced with a fire or intrusion alert, it’s often felt as an unnecessary pain. Yet, when potential consequences include stock destruction, revenue loss and even casualties, does it have to be a difficult decision?
Fragmented a few years ago, the industry has come together to rise to these challenges and to work on changing the perception of security. New business models, the integration of ground-breaking technology and innovative partnerships will enable to evolve from a preventive to a predictive 24/7 security – available to a greater number. The right balance between a robust tech-focused offering, meta data management and human surveillance will be crucial to the success of this new model.
Empowering security with new technologies
Alarm management used to be basic, with a status of retrieving the alarm being yes or no. We moved one step forward with the introduction of video, even though they are mostly processed today in a similar way to those early basic alarms. However, this is slowly evolving with the introduction of new technologies.
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), in the early stages of integration in surveillance systems, will only accelerate. For example, the ‘You Only Look Once’ (YOLO) technology, will revolutionise real time object detection, by enabling cameras to discern differences. Additionally Meta data collected globally will provide complex insight to security data being transmitted. When the two technologies combine it will make security data more robust.
Also, the introduction of drones and robots will be an exciting step. The market is still in its infancy, and not yet regulated nor fully industrialised. However, this is something we believe in at Scutum and we are looking at partnerships with platforms that will be used in drone operations, utilising video systems. This will be revolutionary. For example, when alarms are triggered, drones will be sent to investigate. Programmed with several reactions and scripted responses the drones will function as an assessor of risk. Also, for customers with hostile drones visiting, we may be able to offer analysis to clients by landing the drone in a safe space, extracting the data, and ascertaining a course of action.
With the advancement of technologies there are always new risks to mitigate, one such example is the deployment of IP devices happening right now. The benefits of analogue were so, that it is hard to gain access into a network, however the new all IP network is much more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. So, this is an area of protection we need to encompass as part of our cyber design and cyber readiness offering.
Delivering additional operational and marketing value
The integration of new technologies in security and safety systems means that they can be much more than ‘just’ asset protection, supporting customers’ own business models. As operational, safety and marketing needs increase, security systems technology can be used as a platform to springboard intelligent strategies based on the analytics provided, and enhance client experience, improve business operation flow, as well as employee safety mechanisms. This added value is what can make a difference when making a decision or when deciding budgets.
For example, surveillance systems can support industrial sites or retail organisations’ increasing needs with enhanced efficiency. Surveillance devices can help industrial sites monitor their production or constantly monitor employees’ welfare in what is a dangerous working environment. Retail organisations can rely on the systems to get some intelligent insight into client behaviours, enabling them to plan a more streamlined, customer friendly customer experience, in turn allowing a more efficient service ultimately increasing capacity and revenue. As an industry, we need to work with our customers to see how we can deliver this added value.
Data protection: a prerequisite for the future of the industry
The future of the industry will have to be built on a clear regulation framework set by each country. The sustainability of the industry will only be possible if a relation of trust exists with customers and end-users. This means that under no circumstance should client data be sold, nor should the industry benefit from it.
If data was ever to be used internally, it would be to create a more robust and efficient offering to help increase the security of our clients. With that, there would be various methods deployed to anonymise data helping maintain and protect the privacy rights of others.
As an industry, we need to be humble in the way we manage risk. There will always be challenges to overcome but working to forecast the future of technology allows us to plan and build more robust security systems in a prepared response.
