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Integrated campus security

While school and university campuses should provide a safe and collaborative environment for learning and excellence, they have regrettably also become targets for violent crime. On a global scale these institutions face the threat of abductions, shootings, vandalism and even bomb threats. Closer to home, the impact of mass protest action in recent years has threatened the safety and security of thousands of students and educators across the country.

According to Gus Brecher, managing director of Cathexis Africa and business development director of Cathexis Technologies, a comprehensive security management system, which incorporates every aspect of the security system is now a non-negotiable imperative for campus environments. “The good news is that modern video management systems (VMS) do provide the capability for these institutions to seamlessly manage their entire security operations from a centrally-managed control room environment,” says Brecher.

Cathexis joined the line-up of world-class vendors at the 2018 Camprosa conference, which was held at Spier Wine Estate in the Western Cape during September last year. This year’s conference theme was ‘Surviving the new norm’ within campus security and featured national and international panellists.

Traditionally, educational institutions and other large enterprises have struggled with the concept of integration due to using multiple vendors with different products and capabilities. Having proven itself in a wide range of market sectors across the globe, the Cathexis flagship VMS software suite, CathexisVision, boasts a range of features that have culminated in one of the most sophisticated and intuitive VMS software suites available on the international market today.

Brecher adds that campuses are looking for a simple and effective solution which is easy to manage while providing exceptional security, greater operational benefits and the scalability and flexibility to incorporate future technology.

With a clear emphasis on simplicity, the open architecture enables seamless integration with IP cameras and third-party systems, providing complete optimal solutions and maximum return-on-investment for the widest range of applications. All these tools and features are designed to significantly enhance the control room environment.

Third-party integration

One of the most distinctive advantages associated with CathexisVision is its emphasis on third-party integrations. Any system transaction or event can be enhanced by the association of synchronised video. Because we believe this so strongly, integration has become one of the major differentiating features of CathexisVision. Integrations include: access control, alarm panels, fire panels, analytics, building management systems and more.

This seamless integration provides a single-user interface and is enhanced by video verification of events that occur, as well as rules-based events that can be initiated from event data. The integration provides a dramatically enhanced centralised control room environment by improving site management efficiency and effectiveness.

Integration enables the system to guide the CCTV operators to specific cameras associated with third-party systems, speeding up response times and resultant efficiency. “Imagine control room operators having their world greatly enhanced by having the system automatically choosing cameras for them to view based on events or alarms from access control systems, alarm panels, fence monitoring systems and the like,” says Brecher. “Once the benefits have been experienced, their world without integration is almost unimaginable.”

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