Banks are no strangers to the advancement of information technology. For example, mobile banking has been widely adopted and welcomed by customers. Both banks and their customers have come to trust the mobile banking system and the number of users of this system is constantly increasing.
However, the adoption of networked technology as a solution for physical security is not very common despite the many advantages it can provide to banks. Through our studies of banking-related organizations, we have concluded that an estimated 90% of banks are still using analog systems in the CIF 266 format.
Furthermore, as businesses that deal with a large amount of money, banks are not very advanced in the field of physical security technology. While this is surprising, it also leads us to the conservative nature of banks. The fact that banks use second-class image resolution in their security systems is also surprising.
The Purchase Cycle
Banks typically operate on a 5-year budget. It is also surprising that banks are not only very conservative in adopting new technologies, but also in budgeting for security systems. Retail banks do not allocate large budgets for their security systems.
In addition, new investments do not automatically go to networked systems. In many cases, upgrading a system means changing from a low-quality analog system to a higher-quality analog system rather than upgrading the underlying infrastructure to a more efficient digital networked technology.
End-user concerns
The main reason banks do not choose networked systems as their security system is that analog systems meet their current needs.
As mentioned, business transactions are the core of the banking industry and take priority over other things. Many retail bank branches do not have large spaces and therefore, unlike large banks, do not need sophisticated security systems to achieve real-time monitoring and surveillance.
Also, given the centrality of business transactions as legally mandated activities, video footage will be as much evidence as paper documents to prevent fraud.
Budget allocation also intensifies this prioritization, and for many banks, analog systems are sufficient to meet their security and banking needs with current budgets. In addition, banks’ hesitation in this regard arises from many other reasons, some of which include: security, bandwidth, and cost effectiveness.
Security
One of the most important concerns for banks regarding networked video is IT security. Security in transaction network infrastructure is the foundation of banking operations, and it is understandable that banks are cautious about adding anything new to their organization’s network. On the other hand, many banks consider the networked system infrastructure to be a separate, upstream system on top of existing systems that requires security and integration by the IT department.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth utilization is another major concern for the banking industry. Banks cannot afford to have their business-related Internet traffic interfere with their business because slowing down business transactions can lead to a loss of revenue. Hence, the belief that high-resolution video systems can cause problems for business operations is delaying the adoption of networked systems by banks.
Cost-effectiveness
Like any other business, cost-effectiveness is of utmost importance for banks when allocating resources. Many security managers prefer to use analog systems to meet their security needs without overspending on their budgets because they need to be as efficient as possible with the least amount of resources.
Banks admit that they are not against networked systems, but there are challenges along the way that prevent them from making this change. In fact, banks also tend to have high-resolution systems and do not see this path as empty of future. Although many currently see the cost of storage as an issue that needs to be resolved.
Outsourcing security equipment
Outsourcing security equipment allows banks to address many budget-related concerns. This business model was warmly welcomed in Europe due to the issue of data security (data hiding). On the other hand, this idea has also been accepted among American banks.
This process can reduce the cost of ownership without compromising the quality of the system and in the long run leads to savings in the bank’s budget. Given that the cost of installing this structure is a one-time cost, the ongoing rental amount is often reduced by negotiation to an amount lower than the initial rental. The most common systems that will need to be replaced are video recording devices, but banks can also replace their cameras under a rental agreement.
When Megapixel Images Come in handy
Although analog systems are still prevalent in the banking industry, banks are gradually adopting networked systems. Especially after realizing the benefits of networked technology and the facilities it provides to banks. Installing surveillance cameras in lobbies and surroundings