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Video, VMS and visitor security Video monitoring has enabled Canterbury Cathedral to safely open new generations of visitors nd-to-end video is protecting a new, purpose-built visitor centre at Canterbury Cathedral, part of a £25 million renovation project. The seven-year programme included the addition of a visitor centre housing retail facilities, a viewing gallery and community studio exhibition space. Systems integrator Hall & Kay Security Engineering was tasked with delivering a video solution that would combine discreet monitoring with high-performance image capture. It needed to allow for real-time monitoring, while ensuring reliable recording without data loss. And because this was part of a much wider project, the video technology also had to be easy to install – essential for avoiding project overruns in this complex, multidisciplinary construction environment. Based on previous experience, Hall & Kay recommended IDIS end-to-end tech, incorporating cameras, recorders, VMS, and essential peripherals. Also important to Canterbury Cathedral was the cybersecurity protection inherent in the technology, with its multi-layered encryptions and proprietary protocols to safeguard sensitive video data. For HD video coverage of the entrances, retail area and exhibition spaces, Hall & Kay installed IDIS Full HD IR dome cameras. The vandalresistant models come with varifocal lenses, true WDR and IR LED to deliver images in variable lighting conditions. They connect to three 16-channel DD-1216 NVRs to handle recording and deliver 480ips live view with no visible latency reported. Plug-and-play installation allowed for seamless and rapid connectivity and mutual two-factor authentication of devices streamlined cybersecurity measures. The licence-free IDIS Centre VMS gives the cathedral’s constable and his security team complete visual awareness and easy control tools for efficient management, plus the ability to configure specific user permissions to give senior staff and system administrators timely access to video footage. Furthermore, the cameras and NVRs discreetly blend with the centre’s architecture.
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The need for fairer VMS pricing models By Dave Stokes, Divisional Director, Hall & Kay Completing the Welcome Centre project at Canterbury Cathedral demonstrated that to continue to grow our security division by winning new customers we need to offer VMS at a competitive price point. This was brought into focus when an existing customer contacted us because they wanted to add three third-party cameras to their existing VMS. We had to explain this meant buying a separate licence and paying what I describe as almost a penalty – around £100 to add each of those cameras as well as additional ongoing connection fees. I now view it as unfair pricing, and customers are starting to catch on. Across almost every other department of a commerical organisation, buyers have been looking closely at operating expenditure (OPEX) rather than just capital expenditure (CAPEX) for years when they compare technology. That message is now starting to get through to the security sector too. Of course, if customers need to upgrade their surveillance, they understand that for most viable solutions a level of CAPEX is inevitable. But if a customer is already analysing OPEX, we found the biggest hurdle to winning new business was the upfront and ongoing VMS license fees. Previously, customers accepted them almost as a given. But quite rightly they are now starting to ask, “Why am I paying high license fees to view a camera, and additional fees to connect one manufacturer’s camera to another’s system?” That’s a very fair question, particularly given the proliferation of IP and ONVIF. And where we identify an opportunity and those conversations aren’t happening, we’re challenging end-users to consider OPEX before they make a final decision. I advise them to look closely at ongoing licenses and connection fees, and be clear about the costs they’ll be tied into every year including any additional cost they’ll pay to add more cameras. We’re also encouraging customers to look at the bundle packages many VMS vendors offer, which mean customers are also often paying for features and functionality they don’t even need and use. When you think about this pricing model in another context it’s obvious - you would never pay a yearly subscription for features on your car that you don’t use, so why accept that with surveillance? And by challenging that old VMS pricing model, it’s helping us win new business.
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