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Hikrobot’s Machine Vision Solutions Resolve Multiple Challenges in Logistics Sector

The emergence of machine vision effectively solves the problems of means of a single, high error rate of code reading, large fluctuation of bubble counting efficiency and rising labor cost in traditional logistics industry. A series of visual solutions such as automatic capture, code reading, volume measurement and document tracking, are becoming indispensable intelligent means in the logistics sector. Visual tracking management Comprehensively supervise the key production nodes, trace back the visual problem scene accurately, and improve the efficiency of customer complaint processing. However, a large number of goods and packages are often damaged, which will affect the normal operation of enterprises. Although enterprises increase the number of regular inspection and other means to improve the quality of production. However, when the problem really occurs, it is often difficult to quickly lock in the production defects, which requires a lot of manpower, material resources and time cost to systematically investigate the causes of the occurrence, which cannot become the routine means of enterprise daily management of production and operation. Automatic sensing of cargo information Relying on the AI cloud technology framework, the package is automatically weighed, volume measured, barcode recognized, and the data is fused and transmitted to the system server. HikRobot perceives the logistics product data, and then feeds the data back to the business system through the open API interface. For example, DWS system perceives the cargo information such as barcode data, weight and volume data, and then transmits it to the logistics business system, and communicates with the whole sorting system behind to realize data collection and subsequent goods sorting. Logistics perception HikRobot is based on AI for technology empowerment, and uses deep learning and multi-dimensional sensing technology to realize barcode reading, OCR identification and volume measurement of packages. The code reading technology based on deep learning can be competent for all kinds of complex situations such as super large depth of field, wrinkle, dirt, reflection and other abnormal conditions. At the same time, because our camera adopts AI chip platform, it can realize the functions of code reading, surface single picking, OCR recognition and single image enhancement in one equipment manufacturer, which is also the biggest advantage of our products compared with competitive products at home and abroad. Single piece separation system The traditional DWS system needs manual unloading in turn, which is inefficient. Manual unloading cannot strictly control the package spacing, and cannot ensure the maximum operation efficiency of DWS. The single separator + DWS method cannot improve the sorting efficiency. The results show that the output efficiency of the single separator does not match with the sorting efficiency of DWS, and cannot be linked, so the price is expensive and the actual effect is not good. Based on the development needs of the current logistics industry, HikRobot launched a single piece separation system. In logistics, they combine industrial cameras, smart code readers, 3D vision, and AI to automate inspection, sorting, and tracking. Here’s how Hikrobot’s Machine Vision Solutions resolve the sector’s biggest pain points: High error rates in manual sorting & data entry Inaccurate Dimensioning & Weight = Revenue Leakage Damaged Goods & Returns Due to Poor Quality Check Slow Throughput in Peak Season Labour Shortage and Safety in Warehouses No Real-Time Traceability

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Women & Fire Safety Leadership for Safer Spaces

In a powerful step towards creating safer and more aware communities, NISCAM (National Institute for Skills, Compliance and Management), under the leadership of Pooja Mago, Founder – NISCAM, successfully organized an impactful event titled ‘Women & Fire Safety: Leadership for Safer Spaces’ on 25 April 2026 at The Circle.Work, Gurgaon. The event emerged as one of the first initiatives of its kind dedicated to bringing women to the forefront of fire safety awareness, emergency preparedness, leadership, and community responsibility. At a time when incidents related to fire hazards, emergency negligence, and safety failures are increasing across workplaces, residential societies, schools, and public spaces, the initiative aimed to create awareness that goes beyond compliance and becomes a culture-driven movement. The session witnessed participation from women leaders, educators, safety professionals, legal experts, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and social contributors from diverse domains, all united with one common purpose – building safer spaces through awareness, preparedness, and leadership. Addressing the audience, Pooja Mago, Founder – NISCAM, emphasized that safety should not remain limited to policies and technical frameworks alone. A first-of-its-kind initiative empowering women through fire safety awareness & leadership “Women are natural custodians of homes, institutions, workplaces, and communities. When women become aware and prepared, safety becomes stronger at every level of society. This initiative was not just about fire safety; it was about leadership, responsibility, and creating a culture where preparedness becomes a way of life,” she shared. The event was graced by Chief Guest Somnath Bharti, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Ex-MLA Delhi, whose presence added immense value to the initiative. He appreciated the effort taken by NISCAM in creating a socially relevant platform that connects safety awareness with women leadership and community empowerment. The panel discussion brought together distinguished personalities from varied backgrounds including – S.G. Mahapatra – Principal, BGIS ISKON Vrindavan, Rekha Gairola – Director, Security & Safety, Adobe, Babita Nagar – International Wrestler & Gold Medalist, World Police & Fire Games, Netherlands, and Veena Gupta – Founder, Seam Risk Solutions. The session was effectively moderated by Bharti Singh Kalappa, Head Facilities – Noida International Airport, who brought practical insights into leadership, workplace preparedness, and safety consciousness. The keynote session by Adv. Neyha Chaudhary on ‘Why & How Women’s Awareness Can Save Lives’ became one of the most impactful highlights of the event. Her powerful perspective on legal awareness, women’s rights, compliance, and preparedness deeply resonated with the audience and reinforced the importance of informed action during emergencies. A major attraction of the event was the live fire safety awareness and demonstration session conducted by the knowledge partner – Act Masters Team, which received tremendous appreciation from the audience for its practical learning approach and real-time demonstrations. The session was led by Gurpreet Singh, Founder – Act Masters, who emphasized the urgent need for practical fire safety education in everyday environments. Speaking during the session, Gurpreet Singh said, “Fire safety awareness should not begin after an incident occurs. Preparedness must become a habit. Every workplace, school, institution, and household should understand the basics of emergency response because awareness, timely action, and calm decision-making can save lives.” The live demonstrations conducted by the Act Masters team educated participants on Emergency Response techniques, Fire Extinguisher handling, basic evacuation awareness, Fire prevention practices, and immediate actions during crisis situations. The audience highly appreciated the practical and engaging approach of the session, especially the focus on empowering women to confidently respond during emergencies instead of depending entirely on external help. The event concluded with a strong message that safety is not gender-driven, but women-led awareness can significantly influence safer homes, safer workplaces, and safer communities. Participants described the initiative as – Following the overwhelming response and appreciation, NISCAM now aims to take this movement forward through future awareness drives, leadership forums, training initiatives, community outreach programs, and dedicated women-led platforms focused on safety, empowerment, and preparedness. The initiative has set the foundation for a larger movement where women are not only participants in safety conversations – but leaders driving change, resilience, and responsibility across society.

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Panoramic Surveillance Reimagined: The Rise of Intelligent360° Security Camera

For years, surveillance system design has relied on a familiar approach – deploy multiple fixed cameras to eliminate blind spots and increase coverage. While effective, this method often introduces higher infrastructure costs, increased storage requirements, complex monitoring workflows, and greater operational overhead. As modern environments become more dynamic and security expectations continue to rise, the industry is shifting toward a more intelligent approach – panoramic surveillance. Today’s advanced 360° cameras are no longer simple wide-angle devices. They have evolved into intelligent, AI-enabled sensors capable of delivering complete situational awareness, intelligent event detection, and operational efficiency through a single device. The need for complete situational awareness Traditional fixed cameras provide focused visibility, but large areas such as airports, retail environments, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, educational campuses, transportation hubs, smart city deployments and likes often require multiple cameras to achieve full coverage. This increases installation complexity, cabling and switching requirements, VMS licensing costs, and monitoring fatigue for operators. Panoramic cameras address these challenges by delivering a true hemispherical field of view capable of monitoring an entire scene through a single installation point. Modern 360° surveillance is therefore not only about wider coverage – it is about simplifying surveillance architecture while improving operational visibility From wide-angle viewing to intelligent monitoring Earlier generations of fisheye cameras were often limited by image distortion and reduced usability. Advances in imaging technology, processing power, and edge AI have significantly changed this perception. Next-generation panoramic cameras now combine high-resolution imaging, edge and backend de-warping, AI-driven analytics, multi-stream architecture, intelligent event classification, and low-light optimisation. Together, these capabilities transform panoramic devices from passive overview cameras into intelligent operational tools. The latest generation of panoramic cameras also integrates advanced deep neural network acceleration engines capable of improving object classification accuracy and reducing false alarms in complex environments. The industry is moving toward surveillance systems that deliver maximum situational awareness with minimal infrastructure complexity. Intelligent panoramic cameras are playing a critical role in this transition by combining full-scene visibility, edge AI, and operational efficiency into a single platform Gaurav TaywadeManaging Director – India, Vicon Why de-warping matters One of the most important advancements in panoramic surveillance is de-warping technology. A fisheye lens naturally captures a curved image to achieve 360° coverage. De-warping processes this image into multiple usable viewing modes such as panorama view, quad view, digital PTZ, and multi-region monitoring. This allows operators to monitor large areas intuitively without losing the benefits of full-scene coverage. Modern systems now support both Edge de-warping – processing directly inside the camera; and Backend de-warping – processing at the VMS or workstation level. This flexibility improves bandwidth efficiency while enhancing the user experience. The role of AI in panoramic surveillance As panoramic cameras cover larger scenes, intelligent filtering becomes essential. Without analytics, operators can easily become overwhelmed by excessive visual information. AI-enabled panoramic cameras now support advanced analytics such as human and vehicle classification, people counting, line crossing detection, object classification, motion analytics, and tampering alerts. By processing events directly at the edge, these systems reduce false alarms while improving response speed and operational efficiency. This becomes especially valuable in high-traffic or mission-critical environments where operators need to focus only on relevant events. Optimising performance in challenging environments Modern surveillance systems must operate reliably in difficult lighting and environmental conditions. Advanced panoramic cameras now integrate technologies such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), Infrared illumination, 3D motion-compensated noise reduction, and true day/ night functionality. These features ensure consistent image clarity in bright backlit scenes, low-light areas, indoor-outdoor transitions, and night-time surveillance conditions. Additionally, ruggedised construction with IP66 weather protection and IK10 vandal resistance ensures long-term reliability in exposed or high-risk installations. Cybersecurity and future readiness As cameras become smarter and more connected, cybersecurity is becoming equally important. Modern intelligent surveillance platforms are expected to support secure communication protocols, role-based access control, secure firmware architecture, TPM-based hardware trust, and encryption for data in transit and at rest. These capabilities ensure that intelligent edge devices remain secure, scalable, and future-ready within enterprise and critical infrastructure environments. The shift toward multi-function intelligent sensors The role of panoramic surveillance is also expanding beyond traditional security. Today’s intelligent panoramic platforms are increasingly used for occupancy monitoring, operational analytics, safety compliance, crowd flow analysis, incident verification and situational awareness enhancement. This evolution aligns with a broader industry trend where surveillance devices are becoming multi-functional intelligent sensors capable of supporting both security and operational decision-making. A leadership perspective From an industry standpoint, panoramic surveillance is evolving rapidly from a convenience feature into a strategic surveillance architecture. Building future-ready panoramic surveillance Reflecting this industry direction, Vicon recently expanded its Roughneck® Pro portfolio with an intelligent panoramic surveillance platform engineered for modern security environments. Designed with advanced edge AI capabilities, ruggedised construction, and enterprise-grade cybersecurity, the platform has also undergone STQC testing and complies with BIS Essential Requirements (ER), reinforcing its readiness for critical infrastructure and future-focused deployments. The platform combines 12MP panoramic imaging, edge de-warping, AI-powered analytics, and multi-stream architecture to deliver comprehensive situational awareness while reducing infrastructure complexity. Support for ONVIF Profiles S, G, T, and M further enables seamless interoperability across modern surveillance ecosystems. The future of 360° surveillance As AI, edge processing, and intelligent video management continue to evolve, panoramic cameras will become increasingly central to modern surveillance deployments. Future systems will focus on – greater edge intelligence, enhanced metadata integration, smarter event correlation, multi-sensor convergence, and autonomous incident awareness. The objective is no longer simply recording wider scenes – it is enabling systems to understand, interpret, and respond intelligently across the entire environment. Conclusion Panoramic surveillance has evolved far beyond the traditional fisheye camera. With advancements in AI, de-warping, cybersecurity, and intelligent edge processing, modern 360° cameras are redefining how organisations approach coverage, efficiency, and situational awareness. As security environments become larger and more interconnected, intelligent panoramic surveillance will play an increasingly important role in building scalable, future-ready security ecosystems.

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CP PLUS Launches New TVC with Punjab Kings: Showcasing the Power of Smart Security Through Sport-Led Storytelling

Unveils campaign through immersive meet-and-greet engagements across New Delhi and Chandigarh Aditya Infotech, the parent company of India’s leading surveillance brand CP PLUS, recently announced the launch of its latest TVC in collaboration with Punjab Kings, marking a significant milestone in the brand’s ongoing association as the team’s Title Sponsor. Conceptualized to blend the high-performance energy of sport with the precision and reliability of next-generation security solutions, the TVC reinforces CP PLUS’ positioning as a technology leader driving a safer, smarter India. The campaign leverages the mass appeal of cricket to bring alive the brand’s core values of trust, vigilance, and performance at scale. As part of this campaign, CP PLUS curated a series of immersive on-ground experiences, including exclusive meet-and-greet events held in New Delhi and Chandigarh. These engagements brought together Punjab Kings players, brand leadership, partners, media, and community members, creating a dynamic platform for interaction and brand storytelling. The New Delhi engagement, which also marked the official unveiling of the TVC, was designed as a vibrant and inclusive experience featuring informal play sessions, interactive activities, and participation from underprivileged children – underscoring CP PLUS’ commitment to purpose-driven brand building. Similarly, the Chandigarh event extended the campaign’s reach, deepening regional engagement and strengthening the emotional connect with fans and stakeholders. Moving beyond conventional launch formats, these experiences reflect CP PLUS’ vision of building meaningful, people-centric narratives that go beyond products to create lasting impact. Commenting on the launch, Aditya Khemka, Managing Director, CP PLUS, said, “Our association with Punjab Kings is a strategic step towards building deeper cultural and community connections beyond our core business. At CP PLUS, we believe true leadership lies not just in technological innovation, but in creating meaningful impact. This TVC and the larger campaign reflect our vision of engaging audiences through powerful storytelling, while reinforcing our commitment to a safer and smarter India.” Through this campaign, CP PLUS continues to strengthen its integrated marketing approach – merging brand partnerships, mass media storytelling, and on-ground experiences to drive deeper consumer connect and recall.

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India’s Accessibility Push Meets a Ground Reality Check

Designers Like Apoorva Avadhana are Rewriting the Approach India’s rapid expansion in IoT, smart surveillance, and AI-driven security systems has brought data privacy into sharp focus. From CCTV networks and biometric authentication to mobile-based identity verification, the country is building one of the world’s largest data ecosystems. Yet, within this transformation lies a complex paradox – the same data pipelines raising privacy concerns are also enabling unprecedented breakthroughs in accessibility. For millions of Indians with disabilities, especially those with visual or motor impairments, access to everyday systems such as banking, governance, and identity verification, often remains deeply uneven. Technologies like ‘Seeing AI’ demonstrate this tension clearly. Acting as a ‘virtual eye,’ such tools can read documents, detect objects, and even guide users to signature fields. But they also require processing sensitive personal data, often raising concerns around where that data goes and how it is used. This is not a new trade-off. Historically, accessibility has been a quiet catalyst for technological advancement. Alt text and captions that originally designed for people with vision impairments or low-bandwidth environments, have become foundational datasets for training computer vision systems. Today, those same systems power generative AI to enabling machines to create images from text. Accessibility, in many ways, has been the unseen infrastructure behind modern AI. Apoorva talking on Rural Inclusive Innovation Methodologies at The Invisabal Panel With The Tata Steel Foundation at The International Purple Fest 2025, Panjim, Goa. But in India’s current IoT and security landscape, the stakes are higher. For individuals with motor disabilities, even something as basic as writing or signing a document can be a barrier to accessing financial systems, government schemes, or legal identity. Increasingly, mobile cameras and sensor-based systems are being used to track facial movements, gestures, and expressions to enable interaction without touch. These systems, while powerful, operate at the intersection of biometric data, surveillance, and personal autonomy. It is within this intersection that Apoorva Avadhana’s work offers a critical alternative. At the International Purple Fest 2025, where global conversations on inclusion met grassroots realities, Apoorva emphasized a shift in thinking – accessibility is not about high-end solutions, but about enabling ‘survival, dignity, and participation.’ Speaking at the InviSabal panel on rural inclusive innovation, she highlighted how technologies designed for controlled, urban environments often fail in rural India – where infrastructure is fragile, maintenance is limited, and costs are prohibitive. Her work directly engages with one of the most overlooked barriers in India’s digital ecosystem – the inability to produce a consistent signature. Without it, individuals can be excluded from banking, welfare enrollment, and identity systems. While biometric solutions exist, they often introduce new privacy risks and dependencies on centralized systems. Apoorva Explaining Concept of Human-Centered Design & Receptive Design Methodologies Through her research with the NYU Ability Project, Apoorva contributed to the development of a low-cost, open-source assistive tool that reimagines this problem through a privacy-aware lens. Using AI-based face mesh tracking, the tool converts subtle neck movements into digital strokes, allowing users with severe mobility impairments including quadriplegia to draw signatures independently. Crucially, the system operates differently from conventional camera-based tracking technologies. It runs locally on the device, does not capture or store images, and instead relies on geometric relationships such as the distance between facial key-points like the eyes and nose to interpret movement. The output is stored directly on the user’s phone, ensuring that sensitive data, including signatures, never leaves the device. In an era where IoT systems often default to cloud-based data processing and continuous surveillance, this approach is significant. It demonstrates that accessibility does not have to come at the cost of privacy. Instead, through thoughtful design, it is possible to build systems that are both empowering and secure. Apoorva’s broader methodology, what she terms ‘receptive design,’ extends beyond technology itself. It is participatory in nature and receptive to people’s everyday way to living and working. Her work draws from India’s culture of jugaad, emphasizing adaptability, local materials, and co-creation with communities. Whether it is designing assistive tools that function without stable internet or leveraging everyday devices like smartphones as accessibility interfaces, her approach resists the notion that innovation must be expensive or centralized. Her professional experience with organizations such as IBM and MetLife further grounds her work in large-scale systems, where accessibility, security, and compliance intersect. Yet, her focus remains consistent – designing technologies that work in the real world, across diverse socio-economic conditions. As India continues to expand its IoT and surveillance infrastructure, the question is no longer just how to secure data but also how to ensure that the systems built on that data are inclusive by design. Accessibility and privacy are often framed as competing priorities. Apoorva Avadhana’s work challenges that assumption, showing that they can and must be designed together. Because in a data-driven society, true security is not just about protecting information. It is about ensuring that the systems we build do not exclude the very people they are meant to serve. About Apoorva Avadhana Apoorva Avadhana is a recognized design researcher specializing in accessibility, inclusive design, and assistive technology. Based in Mumbai and affiliated with The Ability Lab at New York University, she is CPACC certified and identified as a neurodivergent design researcher. With an MPS from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and a BDes in Human-Centered Design from the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology, Apoorva’s work bridges grassroots innovation with inclusive design, using low-cost and open-source emerging technologies to address accessibility in activities of daily living (ADL). She has professional experience as a UX researcher and Accessibility SME, for clients like IBM, TSB, and MetLife. Her research, residencies, and exhibitions have received international recognition, with her work presented at leading conferences and supported by numerous grants and awards. She has gained badges, honours and laurels and she led many important workshops and trainings in Accessibility and Corporate Design Thinking Frameworks. Her work spans a vast gamut of inclusive design, research, teaching, and interdisciplinary collaborations at the intersection of AI,…

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Enterprises Are Logging Everything. They’re Still Failing Firewall Audits

Ashish BaliCountry Manager India, FireMon India’s enterprise technology sector has expanded at a pace that few markets can match. In banking and financial services, digital infrastructure that took other markets decades to build has been assembled in years – payment rails processing billions of transactions monthly, cloud environments layered onto legacy core banking systems, new digital services extended to hundreds of millions of customers. When you build that quickly, firewall rules rarely keep up. Access gets opened to support a new service and never closed. Exceptions get granted to keep a project moving and become permanent. Boundaries that made sense at design time get redrawn by operational pressure. For large organisations, including the Global Capability Centres now running significant security operations for global enterprises from Indian soil, the result is a divergence between access as it exists and access as it was intended. The pattern shows up reliably in firewall audits. FireMon’s benchmarking work shows that across large enterprise estates, close to 60% of firewalls fail at least one high-severity check. In environments that have expanded rapidly, that figure rarely surprises anyone. That it no longer surprises is precisely the problem. Nothing in day-to-day operations flags this. Indicators look stable, services run, and nothing breaks in a way that demands attention. Rules stay open and access stays excessive. And it accumulates that way until an audit makes it visible. The failure mode nobody plans for It is tempting to call these findings misconfigurations. That label implies a discrete mistake, something identifiable, correctable, closed. What audits actually uncover is different. The rules that fail high-severity checks are rarely the result of careless work. They are the residue of reasonable decisions – access granted because a project needed it, an exception created because something urgent could not wait, a rule that made sense in context and has simply never been revisited. Over time, policy stops reflecting decisions and starts reflecting history. The rule-base accumulates. Shadowed rules sit beneath active ones, creating the appearance of control while leaving effective access unchanged. Segmentation that looked defensible on paper does not hold under real traffic patterns. The result is a policy surface – every rule, exception, and inherited access decision across the estate – that no longer reflects deliberate decisions. This, as reflected in audit findings, is not an outcome anyone ever plans for. In almost every case, it happens because the environment kept changing and the governance around it did not keep up. Compliance evidence is not the same as governance Most large enterprises are responding to a significantly tightened regulatory environment. CERT-In requires organisations to retain ICT logs, including firewall logs, for 180 days and to report qualifying incidents within six hours of detection, one of the strictest windows anywhere in the world. SEBI’s Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework requires documented access policies, network segmentation controls, and mandatory audit submissions. The RBI places equivalent obligations on banks and NBFCs around continuous monitoring and independent audit. That investment in compliance tooling is necessary. But log retention and audit reporting answer a different question to the one that produces recurring firewall failures. Retaining firewall logs tells a regulator what happened. It does not tell you whether your policy reflects what you actually intended to permit. Similarly, a SIEM captures events; it does not govern the rules that determine what those events mean. Recurring high-severity audit findings are rarely a failure of logging. They are a failure of policy management. The organisation was capturing evidence of a problem it had not diagnosed. Security teams can usually describe architectural intent – where boundaries should sit, which flows should not exist. What they cannot consistently show is that enforced policy reflects that intent today, across data centres, cloud environments, and the legacy infrastructure running core operations. When regulators examine that gap, the audit does not create the problem. It simply makes it visible. Policy stops being a control when it loses its meaning A firewall rule-base can be technically operational and still not express a coherent access model. When it reflects years of exceptions and inherited decisions rather than current intent, teams lose confidence in their ability to test the impact of changes. Change control becomes conservative because nobody can reliably say what a given change will affect. The firewall becomes something that must not be disturbed. From there, the deterioration is predictable. Rationalisation gets deferred and access widens because tightening it feels riskier than leaving it alone. Audits become reconstruction exercises – explaining after the fact what findings mean – rather than evidence of a security posture that is understood and in control. A periodic review can describe that state. It cannot fix it, because the problem is produced every day by ordinary operational change. What continuous oversight actually looks like Network Security Policy Management addresses this by connecting intent, enforced policy, and observed dependencies in a single, continuously updated view. Used as an operational discipline rather than a reporting layer, it gives teams the means to see where access has expanded beyond what is justified, where segmentation has softened, and where exceptions have become the default. Crucially, it also allows teams to test changes before deployment, rather than discover their impact afterwards. What security teams need is a current, accurate picture of what their policy actually permits – not the intended state, but the enforced one – across firewalls, cloud controls, and the on-premise infrastructure that continues to run core operations. When a change is proposed, it can be tested before deployment – what it will affect, whether it complies, whether it stays within the intended access model. When drift occurs – and in any active environment, it will – it is surfaced before it becomes a finding rather than after. Our tech, for example, maintains the audit evidence trail that regulators ask for – what policy was in place at any point, what changed, and whether those changes remained aligned to stated business intent. That is the difference between compliance as a reporting exercise…

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Why Multi-Vendor Visibility is the Biggest Challenge in Modern Network Management

Sumit SharmaSr. Director – Pre Sales, Echelon Every network engineer knows the feeling – something’s wrong, the alerts are firing, and you’re bouncing between multiple management consoles trying to piece together what’s actually happening. It’s not that the tools are bad, each one does its job. It’s that none of them can see past their own vendor’s edge, and the problem almost certainly lives in the gap between them. Today’s enterprise networks have sprawled across cloud environments, remote offices, IoT deployments and data centers and to manage it all, organizations naturally turn to multiple vendors, each offering something the others don’t. It makes sense on paper. But every new vendor added to the mix is also another blind spot added to the map. That gap between what each tool sees and what your team actually needs to see is a visibility problem and it’s quietly become the defining challenge of modern network management. The rise of the multi-vendor network Modern enterprise environments are built incrementally over time. A single organization may use routers from one vendor, switches from another, wireless infrastructure from a third and cloud networking services from multiple providers. Mergers, acquisitions, regional deployments and evolving technology needs further contribute to heterogeneous infrastructures. In industries such as transportation, manufacturing, smart cities and telecom, the challenge becomes even more complex. Critical systems like surveillance, passenger information systems, IP telephony, IoT sensors, access control and data communication networks often rely on devices from different manufacturers operating simultaneously. This diversity creates interoperability and management challenges that traditional monitoring approaches were never designed to handle. Multi-vendor isn’t a problem we can architect our way out of. It’s the reality of every enterprise we work with. The only practical answer is visibility that works across all of it, not just parts of it. Why visibility matters in network management Visibility is the foundation of effective network management. IT and operations teams depend on real-time visibility to understand device health and availability, network traffic patterns, faults and performance bottlenecks, security anomalies and unauthorized access, bandwidth utilization, and service dependencies and application performance. When visibility is fragmented across multiple management consoles and vendor-specific tools, teams lose the ability to view the network holistically. Instead of operating proactively, organizations become reactive, responding to incidents only after users experience disruptions. In mission-critical environments, this lack of visibility can directly impact operations, customer experience and business continuity. The problem with vendor-specific monitoring tools Most networking vendors provide their own management platforms designed specifically for their devices. While these tools work effectively within their individual ecosystems, they often fail to integrate seamlessly with devices from other manufacturers. As a result, enterprises end up managing multiple dashboards simultaneously. For example – one platform monitors routers, another tracks wireless access points, a separate tool handles firewalls, and yet another manages IoT devices. This fragmented approach creates several operational issues. Operational Silos Different teams often manage different technologies using isolated systems. This leads to fragmented workflows, inconsistent monitoring practices and communication gaps during incident resolution. Without centralized visibility, correlating issues across systems becomes difficult. Increased Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) When a fault occurs, engineers must manually switch between multiple platforms to identify the root cause. This slows troubleshooting and increases downtime. A simple network outage may involve checking logs, traps and alerts from several systems before identifying the affected device or link. Alert Fatigue and Noise Vendor-specific tools generate alerts independently without understanding broader network context. This creates duplicate alarms, false positives and excessive notification noise. IT teams become overwhelmed with alerts while critical incidents may go unnoticed. Inconsistent Data Formats Different vendors use different telemetry standards, reporting methods and management protocols. Even when SNMP or APIs are supported, data normalization becomes challenging. This inconsistency prevents organizations from building unified operational intelligence. Limited End-to-End Correlation Modern services rely on interconnected infrastructure. A failure in one subsystem may impact several downstream applications. Without unified visibility, identifying service dependencies and correlating events across vendors becomes extremely difficult. The impact on modern enterprises The consequences of poor multi-vendor visibility extend beyond IT operations. Reduced Network Reliability Incomplete monitoring creates blind spots. Issues that could have been detected early often escalate into major outages. In sectors like metro rail, airports, utilities and healthcare, even minor disruptions can affect public safety and critical operations. Higher Operational Costs Managing multiple tools requires additional licensing, training and maintenance. IT teams spend more time manually consolidating information instead of focusing on optimization and innovation. Operational inefficiencies also increase staffing and support costs. Slower Digital Transformation Organizations investing in AI, IoT and cloud adoption require intelligent, scalable monitoring systems. Fragmented visibility limits automation and prevents organizations from achieving true digital transformation. Without centralized insights, advanced capabilities like predictive analytics and autonomous operations become difficult to implement. Security Risks Security visibility gaps are among the most serious consequences of fragmented network management. Different devices may report events differently or not at all. This creates opportunities for threats to remain undetected across distributed environments. A lack of centralized monitoring also makes compliance reporting and forensic analysis more challenging. Why traditional NMS platforms are struggling Traditional network management systems were designed for relatively static environments. They focused primarily on uptime monitoring, SNMP polling and basic fault management. However, modern networks demand far more – such as real-time telemetry, multi-cloud visibility, IoT monitoring, AI-driven analytics, automated remediation, unified dashboards, and cross-domain correlation. Legacy NMS platforms often lack the scalability and intelligence needed to handle today’s heterogeneous infrastructures effectively. The shift toward software-defined networking (SDN), edge computing and distributed architectures further increases the need for adaptive, vendor-agnostic monitoring solutions. The need for unified multi-vendor visibility To address these challenges, organizations are increasingly adopting centralized and vendor-neutral NMS platforms capable of integrating diverse infrastructure into a single operational view. A modern NMS must provide: For example, transportation networks rely on interconnected communication systems including surveillance, passenger information displays, signaling, telephony and emergency communication systems. If each subsystem is monitored independently, operations teams lack a unified understanding…

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Local Area Policing Under Compulsion by RWAs in Delhi

Atul GoyalPresident, United Residents Joint Action of Delhi-URJA Gaps and compromises in RWA-managed security due to residents non-cooperation and legal vacuum While RWAs attempt to provide colony-level security, the absence of legal mandate and universal contribution mechanisms forces dangerous compromises. Unlike State police, RWAs have no power to enforce payments, discipline residents, or direct security personnel. This leads to critical operational gaps. Funding gaps = Coverage gaps With 20-40% residents routinely defaulting on security dues, RWAs are forced to reduce guard strength, cancel night patrols, or skip CCTV maintenance to balance budgets,¹ Many colonies operate with 1 guard per 200+ houses at night, violating basic perimeter security norms. The RWA cannot deny entry to defaulters or recover arrears, so paying residents subsidize non-payers, breeding resentment and eventual collapse of voluntary collections. Guards treated as personal servants = Security dilution A significant section of residents treats RWA-hired guards as personal attendants – directing them to carry groceries, wash cars, walk dogs, or open gates for individual guests. When guards comply to avoid conflict, they abandon post, leaving entry points unmanned. When they refuse, residents complain to RWA or threaten to stop payments. The guard, paid ₹12,000-15,000/ month with no job security, is caught between losing income and compromising the colony’s security protocol. RWAs have no service rules or legal authority to protect guards from such misuse. No enforcement power = Protocol violations RWAs cannot penalize residents who tailgate vehicles, refuse visitor entry logs, park across boom barriers, or abuse guards. Without statutory backing, security SOPs become ‘requests’ that non-cooperative residents ignore. Drunk/ violent residents cannot be restrained; unauthorized hawkers/ vendors allowed by influential members cannot be removed. The RWA’s only recourse is ‘persuasion,’ which fails when 5-10% of residents actively undermine the system. While RWAs attempt to provide colony-level security, the absence of legal mandate and universal contribution mechanisms forces dangerous compromises. Unlike State police, RWAs have no power to enforce payments, discipline residents, or direct security personnel. This leads to critical operational gaps. Liability without authority If a theft occurs due to a guard being on personal errand, the RWA faces blame but has no power to have punished the resident who misused the guard. If a guard is assaulted by a resident, the RWA cannot file an institutional FIR or suspend resident privileges. The RWA absorbs legal, financial, and reputational risk for a security function it cannot control. Result: RWAs deliver a compromised, part-time, legally vulnerable version of policing. They are forced to choose between unsafe gaps and confrontational enforcement they are not empowered to undertake. This proves the need for formal recognition under the 74th Amendment – with defined RWA powers, devolved security funds, and a legal interface with Delhi Police for beat-level discipline and cost-sharing. Security management by RWAs amid state policing deficit Delhi’s sanctioned police strength remains structurally inadequate when measured against both national benchmarks and global norms. As per the Bureau of Police Research & Development’s Data on Police Organizations, the all-India sanctioned Police Population Ratio (PPR) stands at 195.39 police personnel per lakh population, while the actual PPR is only 152.80 per lakh.¹ This is significantly below the UN-mandated norm of 220+ police per lakh.² For Delhi specifically, with an estimated population of 2.2 crore and a sanctioned strength of 95,000 personnel, the ratio translates to 1 policeman for 230+ citizens on paper, and worse in practice due to 20-25% vacancies and diversion to VIP security.³ The Model Police Manual prescribes 1 police station per lakh population and adequate beat staff to ensure coverage of 10,000 residents per beat; in reality, Delhi beats routinely exceed 30,000+ residents per constable, violating the Manual’s operational thresholds.⁴ This deficit has compelled RWAs to assume de-facto policing functions without statutory sanction or State funding. With no share in municipal taxes or government grants, RWAs levy voluntary contributions to finance private guards, CCTV systems, boom barriers, and night patrols – core law-and-order duties of the State. The average RWA security spend ranges from ₹40,000 to ₹2 lakh per month, yet office bearers lack powers to enforce payments or recover dues. Beyond funding, RWA members verify guard antecedents, maintain visitor logs, coordinate FIRs with overstretched SHOs, and respond to resident distress calls – effectively subsidizing a public safety shortfall created by the State’s failure to meet BPR&D’s own manpower norms.⁵ This arrangement is unsustainable and inequitable – RWAs perform State functions but receive no devolution of funds, no legal immunity, and no institutional interface under the 74th Constitutional Amendment framework. Refer Footnotes: Read More

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PRAMA’s Integrated Physical Security Solutions for Residential and Commercial Real Estate Projects

Submitted by Prama India The growth story of physical security systems in the Indian real estate sector is driven by several key factors. This includes growing need for security solutions for residents and commercial establishments. The Indian physical security market is expanding rapidly, driven by increasing concerns over safety and security across various sectors, including residential and commercial real estate. The market is projected to grow significantly, with advancements in technology playing a crucial role. Technological advancements Innovations in surveillance, access control, and perimeter security systems are major contributors to this growth. The integration of AI, IoT, and cloud computing has enhanced the effectiveness and appeal of these security solutions. For instance, AI-powered analytics can detect unusual activities and alert security personnel in real-time. Regulatory and compliance needs Stricter regulations and compliance standards for building safety and security are driving the adoption of advanced security systems. Government initiatives and policies aimed at improving public safety are also boosting the demand for sophisticated security solutions. Increasing demand Both residential and commercial real estate sectors are seeing a rise in security incidents, such as theft and vandalism, which increases the need for robust security measures. The demand for video surveillance systems, access control systems, and intrusion detection systems is particularly high. Regional growth Urbanization and economic development in India are leading to increased construction of residential and commercial properties, which in turn drives the demand for security systems. The rapid urbanization in cities has heightened the need for effective security solutions to protect assets and ensure the safety of individuals. Overall, the physical security market in the Indian real estate sector is set to continue its robust growth, driven by technological advancements, regulatory requirements, and increasing security concerns. The demand for physical security systems in the real estate sector is growing due to several key factors: These factors collectively contribute to the growing importance and demand for physical security systems in the real estate sector. Security challenges in residential real estate Security challenges in commercial real estate Addressing these challenges requires a combination of advanced technology, robust security protocols, and continuous monitoring to ensure the safety and security of both residential and commercial properties. PRAMA real estate security solutions PRAMA India offers a range of video security solutions tailored for the real estate sector. These solutions are designed to enhance security and surveillance for residential and commercial properties. Some of the key features and products include: PRAMA’s video security solutions for the real estate sector addresses all the risks and challenges prevailing in the physical security domain. PRAMA’s Aisense Cameras offers more advanced ways to mitigate risks and detect threats. These technologically advanced help ensure the safety of residents and property, providing peace of mind for property owners and managers. Read More

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How Arohi VMS is Transforming Public Safety Across India’s Financial Capital

Jawale GhanashyamHead – India Operation – Arohi The Scale of Vision Mumbai is now monitored by a sophisticated network of over 11,000 cameras covering major intersections, Mumbai entry points, vital installations, tourist/ iconic landmarks, important religious places, highly sensitive religious festivals and political gatherings and many more. This system, the Arohi Video Management System (VMS), serves as the technological foundation for one of India’s most ambitious urban safety initiatives. Challenges and issues User was facing multiple critical challenges – like DC-DR failover, auto switching was taking more than 10 to 15 mins to get system switchover from DC to DR, and hence forth, data sync was not happening after switching. After N+1 functionality and data sync was not happening. VMS client live operations were getting hampered during this operation. Phase 1 was working on H.264 compression, phase 2 needed to be on H.265. Camera’s firmware was different and to get Phase 1 and Phase 2 cameras on single client Servers; client machines upgrade was suggested by old OEM. As network and networking equipment were getting old so multicast was an issue. Bandwidth requirement was getting out of control. As some of the system were old and some were getting updated integration was an issue. Vital Solutions provided by Arohi – with fully scalable system thinking about future. Zero-downtime failover In traditional VMS environments, a system crash usually triggers a frantic 15-minute scramble to restore services. Arohi has eliminated this window entirely. Through an intelligent auto-switching architecture, the transition from Data Centre (DC) to Disaster Recovery (DR) – and back again – is instantaneous. It’s the ‘seamless’ promise that vendors often make but rarely deliver; here, it’s an operational reality where neither the user nor the network admin feels the shift. Continuity without compromise Redundancy is useless if data is lost in the handoff. Where legacy systems suffer from ‘data amnesia’ during failover, Arohi maintains persistent, real-time synchronization. The N+1 architecture finally functions as intended – a reliable, redundant lifecycle that preserves data integrity from the first byte to the last, regardless of hardware status. Codec agility Arohi’s unified interface handles both H.264 and H.265 streams simultaneously. This allows organizations to modernize their camera fleets incrementally deploying high-efficiency H.265 hardware where it’s most critical while protecting the RoI of existing H.264 assets – with no upgradation in VMS server, no upgradation in VMS client, no upgradation in GPU, No forced Hardware migrations. Intelligent network adaptation Bandwidth is a finite resource, and Arohi treats it with respect. The streaming server dynamically selects between multicast or unicast based on live network conditions. By reading the environment in real-time, the system ensures optimal stream quality without choking the infrastructure, adapting on the fly to prevent bottlenecks. Hardware-aware optimization Arohi rejects the ‘dumb terminal’ philosophy. Instead, the software actively audits the client machine’s configuration – leveraging GPU acceleration irrespective of its version or age and local computational resources – to maximize performance. It is software that respects, and amplifies, your hardware investment. Infinite scalability Growth shouldn’t come with a performance penalty. Built on a modular foundation, Arohi scales horizontally as your operational needs expand. Whether you are adding ten cameras or ten thousand, or integrating new geographic sites, the platform maintains peak performance without requiring a fundamental redesign. Seamless ecosystem integration Arohi doesn’t just sit on the network – it talks to it. Native, two-way integration with critical systems – such as Dial 100, Face Recognition (FR) apps, and custom security platforms – eliminates the brittle APIs and ‘middleware hacks’ that plague legacy setups. Arohi speaks the native language of the modern security ecosystem. SOP liberation: Returning agility to the operator Perhaps the most transformative shift is the democratization of control. ICCC administrators are no longer tethered to vendor support for protocol changes. Arohi grants the freedom to create, modify, and deploy Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for any incident type in minutes. What once required a support ticket is now a simple administrative task, returning true agility to the people behind the consoles. Arohi delivers autonomous resilience. The modern standard is zero-disruption failover, intelligent resource utilization, and administrative sovereignty over security The Technology Revolution What separates modern surveillance is its intelligence. Mumbai’s system isn’t merely recording – it’s thinking. It actively analyses them in real-time Live feeds and all relevant details shared between Commissioner Office, Mumbai Police, Regional Viewing stations and State Disaster Management centres etc. – are breaking silos that previously hampered emergency response. Arohi VMS features Automatic Bandwidth Adaptation Technology. The system continuously monitors available network capacity and automatically adjusts the live preview streams. This ensures a smooth, jitter-free display even in environments with low or fluctuating bandwidth, The architecture leverages multi-streaming capabilities to deliver video efficiently based on the user’s needs. Look, the RoI is undeniable – automated violation detection alone cuts operational costs by 40%, but what we’re really selling here is psychological safety. When citizens see those blue indicator lights blinking, they know someone’s got their back. By building a network that is visible, responsive, and eternally awake, A significant factor in the project’s success is Arohi’s local presence. Being headquartered within the city provides unique strategic benefits. Arohi possesses a deep understanding of Mumbai’s unique urban topography and proximity ensures rapid, on-site assistance and maintenance, minimizing any possible system downtime and ensuring the ‘Unblinking Eye’ stays operational 24/7 The Arohi VMS is not a finished product; it is a platform for continuous improvement. As analytical capabilities mature and camera coverage expands, the system’s capacity to anticipate and prevent incidents will deepen. Mumbai is not simply monitoring its streets – it is actively shaping the future of urban security in India. Mumbai is redefining what it means to be a modern ‘Smart City.’ Through the power of the Arohi VMS, India’s financial capital is ensuring that its growth is matched by its security. Read More

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