The South African CCTV market is filled with many software platforms. These platforms range from the free software that comes with a specific brand of camera to the top-of-the-range expensive software that complicates your life beyond comprehension.
To try to understand the pitfalls of all the software in between these extremes, we need to ensure we know some of the pitfalls before we choose a software platform.
The first problem is that many software vendors release new versions to incorporate new cameras or features, but they never spend the time cleaning up the old unused programming. A software company should ensure that only the important firmware is included. This is not always done and the result is that the platform becomes very bulky and extremely difficult to download or e-mail to customers. In some cases it is simply not possible.
Secondly, in trying to add all the new features, vendors forget that it should remain easy to use. The result is that the customer or reseller almost needs a degree to operate it.
Thirdly, the licensing process should be very simple. Today we should be able to e-mail the software to a customer and within minutes to activate it using a code provided.
10 points to consider when buying
1 Is your system a genuine IP NVR that can take you forward rather than an analogue system that is being changed to include IP? The technology is simply better if the main base of the programming is IP.
2) Does your NVR incorporate ONVIF compliance? The NVR you choose must be able to allow you flexibility between the camera brands. ONVIF compliance is geared to getting many brands to design equipment that can talk to each other.
3) Does your NVR allow integration into third-party devices you may need, like access control, alarm panels, booms or MOXA devices for industrial integration?
4) Does your NVR make use of low bandwidth technologies for capture over the Internet?
5) Does your NVR have capacity for licence plate recognition (LPR) with easy loading of required customer databases?
6) Does your NVR incorporate tracking technologies such as the Visec QR scanner?
7) Does your NVR integrate with any data mining companies to check the validity of all point-of-sale, scale or scanning tools?
8) Does your NVR support multiple monitor configurations from one server?
9) Does Your NVR have pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) controls as an overlay using the mouse?
10) Does your NVR have an application for Android, iPhone or BlackBerry handsets?
Who was Visec?
Visec Surveillance was founded by Gary Scagell (Cape Town, South Africa), Alex and Jason Bordbar (California USA), to develop an IP NVR system for the international market. Visec later developed an IP LPR module which was far ahead of its competitors and very quickly took the company to the next level.
Although Visec was doing well and managed to keep going forward slowly, the budget to continue supporting the expensive programming staff simply hindered development of the product. Due to this, amongst other reasons, the product was not developed and was caught in a catch-22 situation. Slower development meant less sales and less sales meant less development. For Visec to take the next step something drastic had to happen.
Visec now
The simplicity of use of the Visec product was noticed by some businessmen in South Africa. These successful entrepreneurs saw the problems in the Visec product and at the same time understood its potential. Extra financial backing was introduced and a plan to begin a new marketing approach through a distribution chain was developed.
After this shift in the Visec management, Visec has released some of its best work yet.
1) All the bugs and NVR problems were rectified.
2) Visec’s LPR was integrated into the NUUO platform.
3) The first ever IP surveillance based QR scanner was released.
4) ONVIF compliance has now been achieved.
5) An analytics integration to the StoreVision data-mining product was completed and begins sales now.
Visec Surveillance is now a Proudly South African product and with local management and support. The future looks bright.
For more information, contact Visec Surveillance Systems at 086 11 VISEC(84732), sales@visecintl.com, www.visec.co.za
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