8 Things You Should Know About Surveillance Solutions In Schools

By Gadi Piran, President, OnSSI

Faced with limited budgets, school boards and other education management organizations are seeking more robust, budget-friendly security solutions. IP video surveillance is poised to meet these needs by providing better integration with other technologies, ease of access, network capabilities, and the ability to scale systems to meet the specific needs of educational institutions of all sizes.

Below are eight important things to know about video surveillance that should be considered in the selection process.

1. Video surveillance alone may not be enough. Schools often lack the resources to have someone monitoring live video at all times. As a result, surveillance is often used primarily to document and investigate incidents after the fact. Since there is a lack of security resources in schools there becomes an even stronger need for a video management system (VMS). Advanced capabilities of VMS enable increased functionality, integration with other security and non-security systems, ease of use, and cost efficiency. For example, schools can use VMS to combine surveillance, access control and other physical security information managment (PSIM) solutions into a single platform to provide an increased layer of security to help meet their security goals.
2. Surveillance doesn’t have to be expensive. Today’s IP-based solutions allow various systems, areas, and locations to be tied together for management of live and recorded video, eliminating the need for on-site staff to manage video at each location. Additionally, an open-platform VMS that conforms to security industry standards gives schools the freedom to choose best-in-breed components that fit within their budgets. Interoperability and connectivity can make it possible for users to consolidate and share information from video surveillance and other security systems that are not in the same building.

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