Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG), leading Pan-African Information Communications Technology (ICT) firm and Huawei Technologies, Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer are of the view that Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance can help address the spate of insecurity in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.
In 2013, an estimated 3,600 people was reported to have been killed from attacks launched by the Boko Haram sect since 2009 and in present times the death toll continues to rise. In a breakfast session held in Lagos, last week, themed, “Detect and Curb Physical Security Threat in Your Environment”, both firms afforded security experts, Information Technology (IT) professionals and other relevant stakeholders the platform to examine how the IP surveillance technology can be exploited to provide security both for personal effects and corporate assets.
In his presentation titled “Smart Technology, Enhance Security”, Joseph Olayemi, Huawei enterprise solution manager, highlighted the features of the Intelligence Video Surveillance (IVS) surveillance solution. According to him, IP surveillance is a digitised and networked version of well-known closed-circuit television (CCTV). He observed that the video surveillance systems have undergone significant changes, shifting from the earliest analogue surveillance to digital surveillance, which was prominent in the past few years, to the present burgeoning IP video surveillance. He noted that there has been a gradual shift from the use of CCTV systems to the IP surveillance globally owing to its greater efficiency. Coupled with its coverage advancements, he added that IP system allows for remote viewing and control.
It also enables images and footages sharing with security officials and ease of communication through the internet for security alerts, improved search capability, greater ease of use, better quality images and the possibilities of recording, playing-back and storing video clips for future usages. Furthermore, he pointed out how the IP surveillance system may be further integrated into our peculiar environment and better exploited for the safety of personal and corporate assets. Referring to premier projects with the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) mega-stations, Olayemi noted that the use of the Huawei IP surveillance solution can reduce the rate of vandalism and cut down construction and maintenance costs of similar systems. He also observed that the pilot city-wide installation project going on in Bayelsa State has shown that the IP surveillance solution can be used to monitor the activities of terrorists and put them to check.
According to Olayemi, the IP surveillance package comes with various benefits resulting from years of technological improvements. These include, low bandwidth consumption, the possibility of accessing its data from anywhere, larger storage capacity, better video resolutions, wider perimeter coverage, capturing of fast moving objects and intelligent analysis capacity.
He explained that the Surveillance solution is capable of behavioural analysis, that is, it can send a notice when it observes a strange movement within its perimeter and that it can identify different people. Corporate organisations would find the usefulness of the Solution to generate loiter alarm when a staff member has been noted to be walking about listlessly and this may be done through SMS, mails pop-up messages or sound, he added.
