University Of East Anglia
University of East Anglia - goes Digital IP CCTV with Local Norfolk Digital CCTV specialist’s company- Check Your Security Ltd.The University of East Anglia has completed an eight month project, totally upgrading their extensive analogue CCTV system and control room nerve centre to a state of art, IP based Digital CCTV solution. After careful consideration of the options available, the University opted for a Milestone™ surveillance system, an Open Platform Solution that can use Industry standard PC Server based components and gave maximum choice of cameras, plus giving the University the scope to leverage their strategic relationship with hardware manufactures IBM™, HP™ and Dell™ to implement a new fully Digital IP based system.
Mike McCormack Head of Security “The UEA sits on 300 acres and we had an analogue system in place, we knew we had to make big changes and go totally digital -that was obvious! What we saw were major improvements on what we had, and where we needed to be, this change had to be accomplished in a cost effective and orderly manner without disrupting what we had in place, or the day to day running of the University - I am glad to say we managed to accomplished this”.
Having had propriety based CCTV systems in the past, with all the additional costs and inflexibility associated with these types of systems; the UEA made a strategic decision to choose a Digital IP open platform based solution that could be integrated into the UEA’s extensive Fibre infrastructure and that could take advantage of new and future cost effective technology as it became available. Other major benefits were that the University could utilise its extensive backend support structure via its existing SAN (Storage Addressable Network) to manage any storage requirements which were predicted to be very large taking over 15 terabytes of disc space. It was important that the whole system be very scaleable both in terms of hardware and software and make the addition of extra cameras or storage space seamless. The system now in place is in essence limitless, capable of growing from 100’s to 1000’s of cameras across multiple sites/servers and be integrated with their access control systems should they require. With this implementation of Milestone on a SAN backend system the UEA has one of the largest such implementations in the world and has a system that can grow and be manage with minimum disruption and as part of their overall server strategy.
When looking for an open system that could meet their technical requirements and offer the University maximum choice, a number of Installation and support companies were approached. The University eventually opted for a Milestone Open Platform IP based software solution with a mixture of Axis & Mobotix Digital cameras and encoders supplied by Check Your Security Ltd.
Milestone gave them the luxury of choice with over 200 different cameras to choose from, something that propriety systems did not. A large number of cameras were reviewed, eventually a mixture of Axis and Mobotix Digital cameras were chosen as the best of breed of all the cameras short listed. Both were chosen because of their picture quality, proven track record and innovation in the marketplace. Mobotix cameras also having built in speaker/ microphone which gave the UEA the ability to “speak” whilst viewing people remotely, with the added ability to remotely control devices such as car park barriers, this has saved time and inconvenience for both staff and the public.
On the issue of selecting an installation and support company, it was important that the UEA found a company with vision that understood their current systems and its issues and were capable of supporting these. It was important that the company was IT literate and could work with various departments including their ITCS group to integrate all this new hardware and software. This company needed to understand the security industry and should have both IP Digital CCTV as well as more tradition Analogue CCTV skills sets. The chosen company also needed to be able to install and modify both copper and Fibre cabling structures and be ADC-Krone accredited so as to be able to install to the UEA ‘s stringent cabling standards.
After serious consideration and consultation, it was decided to award the contract to Check Your Security Limited, a local Norfolk NVIP (Network Video Integration Partner). Being situated locally to the University and the only NVIP in the East of England meant that they were able to consult, supply and implement the new system with a good understanding of the Universities business and core concerns with security, whilst maintaining the existing analogue network during the transition to an IP based system.
Trevor Smith from the Universities Estates Division who had overall responsibility for the project, commented, ‘It was extremely important that we were able to build a relationship with a company that were willing to understand our somewhat unique requirements. This was cutting edge technology and we were fortunate that these skills and knowledge were available to us from a locally based company, this has allowed our security Division to offer an enhanced level of service to our Students and Staff’.