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Dispelling the myths of IP video - Myth #7: IP-surveillance cannot meet the demands of enterprise level applications

In this series, Roy Alves, country manager of Axis Communications South Africa, examines 10 myths about IP video.

Rumour has it that IP-surveillance cannot meet the demands of enterprise level applications. Quite the contrary, as Internet Protocal (IP) surveillance offers scalability and flexibility that CCTV installations cannot match. Not only does IP-surveillance offer technological advantages such as Power over Ethernet (PoE) but it comes with an added bonus of cost-efficient infra-structure.

IP-surveillance is used across all sectors worldwide including banking, education, government, healthcare, industry, retail and transport. Many of the world's largest organisations use IP-surveillance. Examples of these sites include Sydney Airport, Volkswagen China, New York Department of Transport, Moscow Underground and New Yorker clothing outlets throughout Europe.

The largest single installation to date has been 1300 cameras, with regular requests for 200 and 300-plus cameras being fielded by the industry. Internationally there is a trend that major government and airport surveillance deals are now specifying IP as the preferred architecture, this was not the case 12 months ago.

Yes, IP-surveillance is actually beginning to dominate the enterprise market because of five key characteristics, namely scalability, cost-efficient infrastructure, camera-level intelligence, secure remote accessibility and an overall lower system cost.

Another benefit of IP-surveillance is Power over Ethernet. PoE is a convenient and secure way to provide power to devices by injecting power into the network cable. It removes the requirement for local power at the location of a device, without any degradation of network performance.

There are a number of clear benefits associated with the use of PoE. These include, reduced cabling as only one cable is required. With no local power required, there is no need for certified electricians to install new power outlets. The central power source provides an easy platform to add UPS functionality resulting in no power interruptions due to 'borrowed' power outlets.

As image quality and frame rate from network cameras and video servers have now surpassed the performance of analog cameras.

In South Africa, high-speed networks are more commonly available and cost-effective.

There is now a strong business case for IP-surveillance systems based on streaming digital video over Ethernet. This technology is replacing the functionality of analog systems and is proving itself at enterprise sites around South Africa and the world.

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