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Remote monitoring as a service

Vox Orion is set to make a dent in the local offsite monitoring market with Guardian Eye.

Vox Orion is a licensed network operator that provides a suite of enterprise telecommunications solutions from alternative voice solutions, data access and ISP services, PBX and video conferencing services, telephony management systems, faxing and text messaging applications. The company is now empowering its clients to capitalise on their existing communications infrastructure by launching an offsite monitoring service.

More than simply another remote offering, Vox is offering a Security-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that provides a full monitoring service to clients for a set per-camera fee. There are no hidden costs, no insurance payments, no hardware or software fees apart from the managed service fee, which includes all customers’ need in an operational expense. Customers will also not have to concern themselves with depreciation, as Vox Orion is responsible for the hardware. The fee for the monitoring service is R750 per month per camera.

Speaking to Hi-Tech Security Solutions, Vox MD Jacques du Toit says the idea first caught on when Vox Orion realised that its telecoms clients all have leased lines dedicated to their communications needs that basically sits idle after hours.

Vox MD Jacques du Toit

Most remote monitoring services make use of contended communications services, such as ADSL, 3G and other wireless ‘best effort’ offerings. This means the quality of video you receive is determined by how many other people are using the same bandwidth at the time.

“By using dedicated lines, our customers are assured that their video monitoring is done over uncontested lines, which means our control room is able to receive a far better video image than others,” explains Du Toit. “Most importantly, the primary benefit is that the customer will be using existing infrastructure that is currently idle at night. This removes the additional expense that would have been incurred if they had not embraced a converged communications solution and bought the service from another vendor.”

He says potential customers that are not Vox clients will be encouraged to opt for a leased line, specifically to ensure video quality. Once the line is in, there are a number of other services these companies can opt for to ensure they get optimal value from their uncontested bandwidth.

Setting up the service

Once the company’s board had given the project the green light, Vox set about finding the right people to employ in its new division, called Guardian Eye. Victor Hugo has been appointed as divisional manager along with additional people who have been hired as operators for the company’s control room in Centurion.

“Offsite monitoring solutions protect assets worth millions of rand,” says Du Toit, “and we knew that hiring cheap labour was not the way to build confidence in the business or our capabilities. We therefore have experienced, well-trained operators in the control room that are able to handle any situation. We also update their training on a continual basis.”

To assist operators in delivering an optimal service, Hugo says they decided to purchase the best hardware and software systems for the control room. Guardian Eye’s control room, which launched on 17 October, uses the Teleste video management system and the I-Comply incident management solution.

“We opted for the systems we considered the best in the market,” adds Hugo. “The choice allows us to integrate whatever cameras the client has on their premises into our surveillance network without needing to write code or find the appropriate APIs. It also ensures our operators are supported by the best technology available.”

The incident reporting system, for example, is customisable to each client’s requirements. Should an incident occur on a client’s site, the operator is automatically prompted to follow that client’s policy to ensure the correct procedures are followed. “Guardian Eye will ensure that any insurance or corporate policies are implemented correctly in every event.”

The system also generates automatic reports and sends it to the responsible people, ensuring everyone is aware of the latest happenings.

No extra fees

“When comparing the cost of having a 24-hour guard onsite as opposed to, say, 10 cameras at R7500 per month, we believe we have a winning formula,” says Du Toit. “Moreover, to ensure we deliver the quality service required, we do not use cheap cameras to reduce our costs, but reliable systems we can rely on for long service and clear images.”

He notes that comparing the additional value by having 10 eyes monitoring your premises as opposed to one guard is almost impossible to calculate. One of the primary benefits is that the monitoring agent is removed from any potential physical conflict because he is not on site, while 2-way communications still takes place via Vox Orion’s VOIP infrastructure.

Before Guardian Eye’s monitoring service goes live, a test incident is played out to ensure all the systems work as required. During this staged event, the client is able to see if its procedures are ready for an incident and how the remote operation works.

While there are a number of offsite monitoring services in operation in South Africa, the SaaS concept is a unique angle that few are prepared to take as it requires a significant upfront investment from the service provider. Through Guardian Eye, Vox Orion has made this investment and not only offers clients a cost-effective monitoring service, but adds value in ensuring its existing clients take full advantage of their communications infrastructure. Instead of having bandwidth sitting idle at night, these companies can be assured that their premises and assets are under constant video surveillance. Vox also offers additional services, such as online backup (as seen in Hi-Tech Security Solutions, October 2011) as a value-added solution.

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