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Reaping more rewards with banking surveillance technology

While a security system is often sidelined as a grudge purchase in most sectors, there can be no debate about its critical importance in the banking sector.

Intelligent security systems are now more important than ever before as banks try to guard against both internal and external fraud in an ever worsening economic climate. That’s to say nothing of the ever present threat of a potential armed robbery. Taking all this into account, banking is one industry where effective security is a non-negotiable must.

However, those holding the company purse strings will be delighted to know that the application of sophisticated surveillance and video management systems, can in fact, have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the bank’s operational efficiency. By providing the ability to extract valuable business intelligence about the efficiency of the banks operating procedures, this data can be analysed and appropriate corrective action taken. This translates directly into a positive impact on the bank’s bottom-line.

Gus Brecher, managing director of Cathexis Africa.

According to Gus Brecher, managing director of Cathexis Africa, the use of intelligent video analytics and intelligent features offer financial institutions the opportunity to take all of that data captured by the video surveillance network, analyse it, and use the information gained to reap multiple benefits for the entire organisation.

Firstly, the security management aspect of banking surveillance is significantly enhanced by the integration of third-party systems. The surveillance system also integrates with several specialised analytics devices. The information from the third-party systems and the analytics software provides triggers to the system. This enables it to take user defined actions depending on the specific trigger received. While loss and fraud prevention is key, the integration of video with other security measures, including – access control, fire panels, alarm panels, cash counting systems and ATMs – makes it possible to respond more efficiently and pro-actively to potential criminal activity. This also minimises potentially dangerous scenarios through various features, including: abandoned object detection, and individuals that may be loitering within the bank.

Standing in line behind an endless stream of people has often been cited by customers as the most annoying aspect of going to the bank, which is why so many individuals far prefer the convenience of Internet banking. However, in some cases this is simply not an option for customers. With intelligent video analytics, the banks can use the information to make a significant difference to the overall customer experience.

Video analytics can also be used as a highly effective customer management tool by providing information such as queue length monitoring and people counting. This provides valuable information for analysing banking trends, customer service and people flow, which can eventually be used to improve and optimise current operating procedures.

“The extraction and analytics of embedded data from simple video camera streams, makes it possible to move beyond simple security applications,” says Brecher. “The analysis of data provides immediate access to critical information, not previously available to management teams.”

The result has been a significantly improved effectiveness of current management and business operations, when most required, enabling an immediate response and resulting in the streamlining of the entire business process, and not just the security.

He goes on to say that the ability to spread the project cost of security installations across various departments, including HR, marketing and operations, means that the business is benefitting from a highly sophisticated security surveillance solution while reaping maximum return on investment. In addition, with seamless flexibility, you can have the ideal product solution for the most specific industry requirements. With a suite of software solutions that have the ability operate on an open platform, it becomes possible to customise the surveillance solution and select different types of CCTV cameras that meet the demands of different applications.

“Video management systems are now so much more than just a simple security system,” says Brecher, “But a fully integrated operational enhancement too, which provides a return on investment with significant rewards.”

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