Over the past few years, Arteco Global has carved a space for itself in the African market. Arteco produces a video management platform that integrates a wide range of camera brands, as well as other security products, and offers a range of video analytics users can take advantage of.
Dean Sichelschmidt, Arteco’s country manager for South Africa, told Hi-Tech Security Solutions that Arteco Next, the current platform from the company, is about to be replaced by Omnia, a redesigned platform that offers a new look and many new features for users. Omnia was first revealed in South Africa at Securex 2019.
In terms of the look and feel, Omnia has been developed as a Microsoft Universal Windows Platform application, meaning it is designed for Windows 10 and adheres to the graphical standards inherent in Windows 10. This means the client application will be available from the Windows store, along with automatic downloads and updates, and is designed to take advantage of the full Windows 10 interface.
Additionally, it will be available on desktops and Windows tablets, and can push real-time notifications to the user. Even if the user has minimised the Omnia window, they will still receive alerts via Windows notifications.
One of the main benefits of the new Omnia is that it is significantly faster than Next, which means faster times for operator alerts and the corresponding responses. Being integrated with all GPUs (graphics processing units) that Windows supports, without restrictions, all transitions, analytics and multi-monitor operations are also smoother and faster. The company has also focused on keeping screens uncluttered to only display relevant information to the operator, with additional functionality and information easily available.
To facilitate better communications in control rooms, Arteco has a ‘chat’ feature included in Omnia, making communications and sharing information between operators easier and instant.
Mapping will also be improved in Omnia, which is integrated with Microsoft’s Bing Maps. This will allow all cameras, even body-worn cameras, to be mapped in real time, allowing live tracking. Sichelschmidt says this may also be expanded to drone tracking in future.
Integration expanded
As noted above, Arteco has integrated a number of brands into Next and this will be expanded in Omnia. The integrations go further than surveillance cameras, of course, including access control, alarms, fire systems and so forth, all managed from the single Omnia console.
In terms of analytics, Arteco has a range of analytical applications available, from licence plate recognition (LPR), facial recognition and more, through to warehouse management and logistics, retail and even the cannabis industry.
Furthermore, Sichelschmidt adds that the Arteco Security Connector is also available to assist in managing third-party IP devices. It does this by converting event and other information from IP devices into protocols complaint with those used in the Arteco management platform. This results in more IP devices that can be managed from the Omnia interface, avoiding the problem of needing different interfaces to effectively manage third-party devices – and more training required for operators to understand the different interfaces.
A relationship-based business
Sichelschmidt says that Arteco’s success in the local market is based on the ethos of the company to build long-term relationships with clients. Part of this focus is the company’s Software Protection Plan, which extends the support and updates customers receive for up to 10 years after the initial two-year licence.
This ethos is echoed by the company’s local distributors, which currently include Reditron, Sensor, MIA and Xtravision.
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