Let's first understand the technical side of the things. IP surveillance as
the name suggests, works over IP, so you can easily deploy it over your existing
network cabling. So you save cabling costs. Plus, even if you expand your
premises, you're going to extend your network to it, which can again be used for
IP surveillance as well. Moreover, since it supports WiFi, it can even be
extended to areas where you don't have network cabling, such as a warehouse.
Even if there's no power outlet in a certain area, IP surveillance cameras can
work over Power over Ethernet.
Ease of deployment and use are two other major attractions of the technology.
We received several IP surveillance based solutions for testing in our lab and
managed to deploy them without any hassles. Using them was as easy as opening a
web browser and entering the IP address of the camera or recorder.
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Anil Chopra, Editor anilc@cybermedia.co.in |
Since the communication is over IP, it can be monitored from anywhere across
the world through a web browser. It can also save captured videos or images in
standard digital formats, which can then be easily shared with others. The
technology is definitely there, and it indeed works, provided you use it. That's
where the question of policies comes in. The success or failure of any
technology is governed by the strength of processes and policies that have been
established to use it, whether enforced by law or otherwise.
Apparently, RBI mandates that all banks that maintain cash chests must deploy
IP surveillance. This is good, provided the banks that deploy it also make use
of it. For instance, a bank might record hours of surveillance video, but it
won't be of any use if it's not analyzed regularly.
The other critical success factor to IP surveillance is to have a complete
plan. Just setting up IP surveillance cameras won't be enough. You'll also need
to define the scope of work and then dedicate resources to execute it. For
instance, Delhi Police has deployed powerful IP surveillance cameras on a few
major crossings across the city and plans to extend it to all major crossings
before the Commonwealth Games in 2010. This is very good, as the cameras would
be able to capture photos and videos of traffic violators on the spot, and
attach them as proof while sending court summons. This will bring in the
much-needed transparency and authenticity into the system, which till now was
questionable. It will work provided there are dedicated resources to analyze
videos, manage incident detection, communicate with motorists, etc.