Category: White Paper
Designing Intelligent Retail Store
In-Store Video Analytics & Video Management Software Video surveillance has become an integral part of every retail store and its daily activities. Though it was mainly incorporated to maintain the security inside the store, the advent of video analytics and video management software helped businesses to leverage insights to improve business processes. These insights allow a store to stand out from rest of the competition and to provide top notch services to their customers on a consistent basis. Apart from the competition, retail stores also face problems such as pilferage and other fraudulent activities. To stay ahead of the competition, they needs not only to counter such activities but also to determine the needs of the customers to cater to them when they visit the store. The software gives needful insights in to the customer’s buying behaviour and an array of the methods to improve their shopping experience. VMS also helps retailers to understand the effectiveness of their marketing activities, product placements, and optimizing their inventory to satisfactorily cater to their customers. For any business, insights generated from different departments are very important to improve business processes. VMS also provides necessary inputs into the business that render improvement of shopping experience and understanding their buying behaviour. This white paper discusses how you can have a seamlessly connected retail store with the help of video analytics and using the derived insights from different aspects of your store to build a successful business. It also gives an in-depth view of how video analytics work. It’s a probable solution for any retail store to be successful in the long run. Current trends in retail The retail industry has undergone tremendous transformation in the last few years with evolving markets and technologies. Kasey Lobaugh, Deloitte’s Chief Retail Innovation Officer said, “The full extent of retail disruption is emerging due to a number of factors such as the rise of the digitally influenced shopping experience, the changing nature of retail competition, and the tidal wave of exponential technologies on the horizon.” Growth in the retail industry requires continuous expansion. This expansion is not only from a physical stand point but it also requires expansion from cost and revenue perspectives. Though there is a need to keep up with the sales and profit figures, there is also a need to keep a tab on store metrics. These metrics can be divided into two sections: Revenue and Cost side. Video analytics addresses in-store metrics like footfalls, conversions, average basket size from the revenue side; and employee management, inventory management and POS solutions from the cost side. One of the methods to improve footfalls in retail stores is incorporating video analytics. It helps in getting insights on managing your stores. At the other end, video analytics primarily helps in maintaining safety and security by minimizing incidents of thefts and fraud. This helps in proactively increasing profit margins that were being lost due to such incidents. The advent of online shopping has forced most retail store chains to identify e-commerce as a highly visible revenue stream which means traditional retailers have embraced the online medium with gusto. Due to stiff competition and the need to stand out, most stores focus on creating a unique shopping experience for all their customers. A customer could go to a retail store and browse through the shelves for products they like to buy. They could then go online and compare the prices to see if there are better price options or variants. This is where video analytics can play a very crucial role. Though the primary function of a video management software is security and surveillance, video analytics is simultaneously being used to extract various customer-centric information to improve footfalls and eliminate or minimize the challenges faced in day-to-day operations. The need for comprehensive in-store analytics In a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation in the year 2015, which included participation of 100 retail stores spread over 20 retail market categories, shoplifting alone accounted for 38 percent of the reported shrink. On the other hand, internal thefts also contributed to about 35 percent of shrinkage due to which retail stores faced heavy losses. Daily in-store operations have to overcome pilferage by implementing proper security and surveillance measures. Such incidents hurt the performance of the business. Though most stores are actively involved in maintaining security, the need to analyze this data has also become eminent. Video analytics enhances the in-store security systems which not only helps in loss prevention but opens up ways to improve customer service. The main focus, however, still remains in converting potential prospects into buyers. Product placements, promotions, customer assistance etc., influence the decision of the buyer. With the help of video analytics, stores can understand the effectiveness of their marketing strategies and product placements and can make necessary changes to make them more effective. In-store analytics can help in this direction giving insights into the metrics, which will help convert prospects into buyers. However, many businesses use video surveillance and video analytics for various purposes. According to the Seagate Video Surveillance Trends Report of 2016, the key use cases for video surveillance include the following. Video analytics – the game changer Video analytics has really become popular in the last few years for various reasons. It allows managing the video streams with ease allowing the team to focus on specific incidents rather than scanning through long streams of videos, which helps them to save time and manpower. Smart security systems with analytics record videos when any motion is detected that reduces the network load, and at the same time, helps save storage space. Further insights can be gained in to the performance of the employees enabling to make accurate assessments. Video analytics does not require exorbitant infrastructure, which makes it affordable for the small retail stores to have a state-of- the-art video management system. Analytics can be chosen as per the needs of the business, thus, ensuring a fool-proof customized solution that will be exclusive to the…
LTO Technology & Video Surveillance
Benefits and Best Practices The video surveillance industry has evolved dramatically over the last 50 years. From the days of whirring VCRs, where individuals were literally, ‘caught on (VHS) tape,’ to the introduction of digital video recorders and spinning hard disks – and now, an era of network-based video surveillance and associated IT infrastructure. During this transition, the hard disk drive displaced VHS tape as the typical media for storing video surveillance footage. However, with the number of higher megapixel cameras on the rise and longer retention requirements, end-users are struggling to deal with the data and cost requirements associated with storing this amount of footage. In systems with long-term data retention, end-users can now use file-based tape storage such as LTO (Linear Tape Open) technology in combination with disk, to effectively meet their requirements in a cost effective manner without compromising on the quality of the video stored or the length of time the video footage is retained. Influential factors driving demand for cameras Legislation The level of pertinent legislation and regulation varies both nationally and internationally. Typically in North America and Western Europe there is little legislation relating directly to the general installation or use of video surveillance equipment, however, specific industries such as critical national infrastructure or casinos and gaming may be subject to specific regulations. Compliance with privacy and data protection laws tend to have a large influence on video surveillance installations and their data retention policies. In May 2017, the German government responded to an increase in security threats and the lack of video evidence available in public places including stations and city centers, by introducing new legislation altering current privacy laws to allow greater installation of video surveillance cameras. Legislation and regulations are particularly influential in the Middle East. These can dictate which organizations must install video surveillance equipment, the level of coverage and include equipment specifications such as minimum camera resolutions, frame rates, and footage retention times. For example, in Qatar, hotels and shopping malls must store footage for a minimum of 120 days. Multiple use Today, video surveillance equipment has multiple uses beyond that of traditional security or loss-prevention applications such as: Monitoring, control and recording of business operations. Health and safety – crowd monitoring and control. The collection of consumer marketing information, especially in retail sector. Anti-litigation purposes for collecting potential video evidence in case of lawsuits. Traffic monitoring and enforcement systems. The multiple uses of video surveillance systems has assisted in the propagation of the network surveillance camera as another Internet of Things (IoT) sensor which can be integrated into more complex and larger systems. Decline in camera prices Decrease in average selling prices of equipment is enabling end-users to obtain a larger return on investment. IHS Markit data shows that since 2012 the average price of a network surveillance camera in the American market has more than halved. Over the last five years, the composition of the competitive environment has changed significantly through the growth of many Chinese video surveillance vendors who typically sell cameras and recording devices at prices below their western competitors. Higher specification of cameras IHS Markit has measured uplift in the specification of cameras across several different parameters. Currently the most common network camera shipping is 1080p resolution but there will be continued growth in higher resolution cameras. Four megapixel cameras are increasing in popularity and 4K and even higher resolution cameras are expected to gain market share. Various compression technologies have been developed to mitigate some of the effects of an increase in camera image quality and the associated demands on network transmission, compute and storage. The typical compression used in the surveillance industry in 2017 is based on the H.264 AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10) standard. Many vendors have released innovative proprietary updates in the last 18 months often marketed as some form of ‘H.264+’ and ‘smart bandwidth management.’ The next generation H.265 (HEVC) compression is still some way off mass market adoption in the video surveillance industry. Despite advances in compression technologies demand for storage continues to increase. Increased value of data & longer retention times The vast majority of recorded video surveillance footage is never reviewed. As much detail as possible should be retained until it can be determined which parts are relevant or valuable. For security purposes the value usually relates to the recording of a security incident. However, the uncertainty of which parts of recorded video are going to be useful often means trade-offs between the quality at which video is stored and the length of time it is stored. Typically, extending the retention time for video surveillance data is justified by the perceived increase in the value of video surveillance data. As end-users are realizing the full value of this data, they wish to retain it for longer periods. This may be due to a new application for video surveillance data, or a perceived security threat has increased. Sometimes, retention does not increase uniformly across a system. Strategically important or mission critical cameras may have a different policy to other cameras. In general, retaining footage for longer increases the size of the available potential usable dataset for analysis. Requirements specific to storing video surveillance footage A different approach to traditional IT data storage Video surveillance storage has some specific requirements and differs from traditional IT data storage in the following ways: Video surveillance storage workloads should be configured heavily towards writing data to storage media. Most stored footage is never accessed and is deleted without it being reviewed. Therefore, generally, the requirements to read data are much lower than the requirements to write. This is different to traditional IT workloads which are typically more mixed. Video surveillance workloads can be typified as requiring high bandwidth due to the need for multiple concurrent data streams to be recorded at any one time. The throughput should be designed to cope with these requirements particularly during periods of high activity which may cause spikes in bandwidth required. It is critical in events…
The Benefits of Safe Cities
Safer Cities Creating a Better Life For the first time in history, there are more people around the world living in cities than people in rural areas. While the global migration to urban areas is improving their living standards, health, and financial prosperity, it also brings challenges to a city’s infrastructure, resources, security procedures, and emergency response systems. Meeting these challenges will be critical to the success of cities in the decades that follow. The safe city concept has been developed precisely to help government stakeholders, city mayors, and police departments mitigate these challenges. Leveraging the internet of things (IoT) and the connectivity now found in core security and safety technologies, safe city solutions are providing a range of systems including predictive analytics and big data, real-time response procedures and emergency response systems. These solutions are enabling governments and police departments to better protect their citizens from everything from terrorist attacks to natural disasters. They are also supporting wider city organizations such as public health, fire and rescue, border control and social services to better serve their citizens. Safe cities create a better life The safe city concept is based on a consolidated ICT platform which combines public-safety information of different types and from different sources, obtained through sensors and multi-agency collaboration. Safe cities are an essential pillar supporting the development of smart cities throughout the world. They provide the security and safety required to protect citizens from crime and terrorism as well as mitigate, as much as possible, the impact of natural disasters and other threats. A successful safe city solution should support a city’s security agencies, fire and rescue departments, public health and social service departments before, during and after an event, and integrate the disparate technologies and government departments responsible for citizen safety.he safe city concept is based on a consolidated ICT platform which combines public-safety information of different types and from different sources, obtained through sensors and multi-agency collaboration. Four major requisites Prevention: It provides reliable and comprehensive security measures to predict threats and hazardous situations. City authorities must be able to take measures to prevent threats from occurring in the first place. Simulation and forecasting technology, based on big data mining, can help the relevant authorities to predict public threats and support police and military assets to prevent the event before it begins. Detection: It aids to public-safety organizations in collecting, sharing and analyzing data more effectively to provide early warnings and raise situational awareness. Sensor systems in the city will proactively gather information. These sensors may include video surveillance cameras, CBRNE (Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) sensors, gunshot-detection sensors, and weather sensors. The type of sensor used is determined by the scope of the safe city project and how much inter-operability is required. Information can be used to provide early detection and alerts when events occur. Increasingly, sensors include ‘listening’ to social media for relevant posting by netizens. Response: It enables the key organizations in the city to react to security threats in real time. City authorities must be able to prevent an adverse event from escalating. Safe city projects enable an effective response by using a consolidated ICT platform to provide a common operational picture to all relevant agencies, including law enforcement, public health, fire and rescue services; and to allow the critical communication systems of these agencies to inter-operate. This helps to raise the situational awareness for each of the responding agencies, and their command, control and coordination. Recovery: It provides post-event examination and analysis, identify victims and provide assistance in rescue actions. After an event, city authorities must be able to quickly examine and analyze all data received from the relevant sensor systems. This supports the subsequent search for suspects as well as the process of building a case based on incriminating evidence. Information can also be used to facilitate rescue actions, and the identification and assistance processes for both victims and survivors. Integration The safe city concept typically promotes inter-operability across law enforcement, emergency services and other government agencies (public health, border control, social services) to streamline operations and provides ‘situational awareness’ to all stakeholders involved in the management of a city’s security. This approach fosters better cooperation and sharing of intelligence. While much of the emphasis of the ‘safe city’ discussion involves security technology implementation and investment, the operational procedures and ICT backbone are just as important in the solutions’ ultimate success or failure. This reality means that ICT and security agencies must work together for the greater good of the safe city project. One cannot exist without the other. The size of the city does not impede its ability to be considered a safe city but differing city sizes require different levels of technology investment, stakeholder ‘buy-in’ and planning. Safe city solutions are often layered on top of the legacy infrastructure that is in place. Overall, detailed planning around the use of legacy technology and the need for new infrastructure are key considerations when deploying safe cities. Market drivers There are a number of market drivers that government agencies need to consider when deciding how to proceed with a safe city project. These can be broadly grouped as safety drivers, social drivers and economic drivers, and the government investment in safe cities has a positive impact on each of them. Safety drivers: at its core, a safe city addresses issues related to crime and terrorism. Often, these types of incidents cause regulations surrounding data privacy and national security to shift. For instance, after the September 11th attacks, the United States Congress passed the Patriot Act, which set up fusion centers to surveil and aggregate vast amounts of data including video surveillance streams, social media, arrest records, warrants and even mug shots. These centers, now known as ‘Intelligence Fusion Centers,’ are becoming increasingly important, as agencies emphasize predictive policing. Social drivers: Political motives are a key driver of safe city projects. Politicians can use safe city initiatives to generate support in their campaigns with citizens who are concerned about…