There might be objections to video sharing that would have to be overcome, but from a technological perspective, this problem is easily solved by either PSIM or Enhanced VMS. Both are capable of integrating different CCTV systems into a common interface for real-time viewing. Enhanced VMS can consolidate as many as three systems, and PSIM can integrate even more.

“In my experience, 75% of a university’s cameras are managed by two VMS systems. In those cases an Enhanced VMS solution might suffice,” said Banerjee. “The college doesn’t have to rip and replace any existing VMS systems. All the cameras and video streams can be viewed through one graphical user interface (GUI), and the college’s investment in existing systems is protected.”

Other Systems Can Also Be Integrated

In addition to video, Enhanced VMS can integrate other key security and safety systems that almost every campus uses: access control, intrusion and fire detection. This means a security operator or campus police dispatcher can be alerted to a variety of incidents, view the incident location on a campus map and automatically pull up the nearest video feeds. PSIM offers even more flexibility to integrate additional systems.

Traditional VMS systems provide rudimentary integration, mainly to access control, but not nearly to the same extent as Enhanced VMS.

“With Enhanced VMS, you can see the exact longitude and latitude of every physical input on a GIS map – whether it’s a video camera, access control icon, the fire pull station icon, or a door contact icon—and any alerts that pop up, all on one screen,” says Imran Rahmani, Nice’s business development. “And you can interact with those systems in real-time. For example, you can lock a door simply by clicking icon on the map,”

According to Matherson, there’s another benefit to having all of the information presented to the operator on one screen: “The human mind can only consume so much information simultaneously. If an operator is looking at five or six screens, they’re going to miss something. If you can intelligently condense the presentation of information so the operator still has access to all those systems, but create a holistic view of the information, it helps enhance the quality of response.”

Technology Helps With Processes Too

Beyond knowing what’s happening where, an operator also needs to know what to do in specific situations. A typical university or hospital police or security dispatch center could have dozens, even up to a hundred standard operating procedures for operators to follow depending on the number of systems the center monitors, and the types of situations it responds to. Process automation is another area where traditional VMS systems are lacking.

“Integration isn’t necessarily just about the ability to listen to another system or communicate with another system; an operator needs to be able to use the information coming from those systems to enhance his or her ability to respond to incidents,” says Banerjee. “And that’s a huge difference verses ‘the access control door opens and I have video.’ Even if a traditional VMS system is integrated with access control, it doesn’t tell you what to do if there’s a breach. It just gives you slightly better awareness, because you can see on the video that the door is open. Sure, the operator can pull up a PDF or ‘to do’ list, but it’s just a static, flat process.”

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