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Integrated end-to-end solutions

BT-SA is a technology systems integrator that started as a network cabling and wireless solutions provider. The company has grown into a full-service provider that is now able to install and maintain all aspects of a data centre, from cabling to air conditioning, building management and security.

Dewald Burger, senior manager of the wireless, security and fire division.

Dewald Burger, senior manager of the wireless, security and fire division says BT-SA’s move from IT into the security market was a natural progression for the company. The security world is migrating to IP networking, creating a growing market for integrators able to provide turnkey solutions.

Although BT-SA has provided security installations in the past, it has now launched a division focused on this market. Burger’s division is able to install and maintain complete solutions, or it can service only the security portion of a company’s infrastructure. An example of this is a government installation where BTSA has a strict service-level agreement (SLA) to manage the organisation’s fire panels, CCTV and access control systems.

BT-SA marketing manager, Elsie Potgieter, adds that while there are specific divisions in BT-SA, the company works as a unit to deliver a seamless experience to the customer. For example, the company has the skills to deliver a full data centre, from the bricks and mortar to the electricity, cabinets, raised flooring, suspended ceiling, precision cooling, environmental monitoring, fire detection and suppression, CCTV and access control.

Quality products and installation

And while BT-SA has a number of specialists on its technical team, Burger explains that training is a constant focus of the company to ensure its technicians are able to handle the latest technologies effectively. The result of this educational approach is that every team member is able to multitask and handle different elements of a security installation professionally.

Currently BT-SA offers the following security services:

• All cabling requirements: Whether wired copper or fibre networks or wireless connectivity.

• CCTV solutions: Analogue and high-definition analogue solutions over coaxial cabling, as well as the latest IP solutions. BT-SA also provides video analytics solutions covering a range of functionality, including tamper detection, masking, motion detection, tripwire alerts, licence plate recognition, face recognition, object tracking, people counting etc.

• Access control: Access control systems from gates and turnstiles, through to PIN and proximity card readers as well as biometric solutions.

• Intrusion detection: Building protection via thermal, ultrasonic, microwave, photoelectric, gas and vibration sensors, as well as perimeter solutions including physical and electric fencing and/or optical, fibre optic, microwave and thermal intrusion detection.

• Fire detection and protection: These are designed according to client requirements, making use of the latest proven technologies, installed by qualified technicians.

With all its installations, BT-SA offers business specific maintenance plans. This means clients can opt for a support plan that fits their budgets and their business’s needs. Burger explains that this can range from 24-hour standby support or a best-effort response to problems. The company also offers SLAs which see it maintaining and servicing equipment at regular intervals to ensure that everything is running at optimal capacity, avoiding unexpected surprises in terms of repairs or unplanned downtime.

Looking ahead at where his division of BT-SA is likely to focus in future, Burger says that intelligence is becoming a differentiating factor in the security market. The intelligence built into the latest high-level IP cameras will change the way the industry operates in future. For example, he relates features such as accurate gender and age recognition capabilities, facial recognition and heat map generation as some of the newer intelligence capabilities available.

At the same time, Burger notes that these amazing technologies require the appropriate infrastructure if they are to deliver value to a business. This is where BT-SA comes in as it can deliver the best infrastructure their client requires and maintain the whole solution – from cables to cameras and everything in between.

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