Video Management Systems (VMS) entered the security industry about 15 years ago and have been one of the best technologies to transform the IP video surveillance market. Early VMS systems were initially designed as simple surveillance systems that could record and play back video data, but modern VMS systems have gone beyond simple control of network cameras and video and have emerged as security platforms that cover a range of new security features.
The term video management system is no longer used to refer to these systems, and a different term should be used to refer to them, as these systems are now considered advanced software security platforms. Modern security platforms offer more than just traditional VMS systems, they have evolved into systems that offer a range of features, add-ons, and integration options. The end result is a tool that can manage more than one video surveillance environment.
In today’s surveillance sector, some technologies have made significant progress, bringing better performance to security platforms than ever before, and influencing their development and corresponding adoption:
- Access Control Integration – Security platforms are now integrating access and biometric data into video surveillance systems.
- Alarm Integration – Provides greater situational awareness with alarms generated by standard alarm technology when an unauthorized person is present.
- Video Analytics – Analyzes recorded video in real time to detect events and manage threats. For example, protecting perimeters and detecting people.
- Mobile Device Integration – This feature goes far beyond sending video to a mobile device, now users can send system alarms to a mobile device, turning that device into a security
- management tool. In addition, mobile devices can record video and send it to a recording server for event management (this means that the mobile device acts as a camera on the surveillance network).
- Edge Recording: A network camera uses a storage device such as an SD card and records video on-site. The video is sent to a data center or remains on the network camera. This saves
- storage space and gives people more space, since even if the data center fails, the network camera continues to record.
- Cloud Storage: On-premises cloud archiving is still in its infancy, but vendors are starting to offer online cloud storage to transfer archived files either as backups or to replace local storage entirely.
Demand for custom security platforms is growing; sectors such as retail, financial services, construction, accounting, and facilities management are all perfect candidates for this technology and are expected to see increased interest in these technologies.
Taken from a&s magazine