Acadian Monitoring Services

Beginning in 2008, Acadian, previously an ambulance dispatch service, began providing video monitoring services within the United States. This company now maintains strong relationships with both manufactures and integrators of access control and video monitoring systems, and in 2017 alone their work led to the capture of over 60 criminals. A serious contender in the video monitoring marketspace, Acadian is now monitoring over 7000 devices nation wide.

This growing division of Acadian’s business makes use of what they term the“SureView Systems Immix Station Platform”, used since 2008. This proprietary platform “gives Acadian the ability to monitor many different video products, including NVRs, cameras, encoders, VMS’, and audio devices.” (Acadian.com”). It is built in an open architecture style setup which allows for the creation of custom integrations for emerging products. These factors have led to “SureView” becoming the second certified partner of Acadian.

What makes Acadian special in this industry is the quality of training they instruct their video analysts with. They are required to take online classes created by “The Monitoring Association”, SureView, and “The Telephone Doctor”, to insure the highest quality and to exceed industry standards. When you talk to an Acadian analyst, you get the sense that you are speaking to a well informed person who will be able to walk you through any issue. Weeks of hands on training with a supervisor is also required before even becoming an official trainee.

Acadian differentiates between “proactive” and “reactive” solutions. A reactive solution in video monitoring is focused on “improving a reaction from a third party” (Acadian.com). This is not to prevent a crime from occurring, but instead to ensure that the appropriate response is taken for any given security event. Video verified solutions are a good example of this, such as Videofied.  Solutions such as this provide police with better information about the event, reduce false alarms, and speed up response time from police services.

Proactive solutions are focused on the prevention of criminal acts and trespassing before the involvement of a third party is initiated..

“Outdoor video monitoring solutions with video analytics and voice down technology”(Acadian.com) is one way to get a trespasser to leave the premises without involvement of police. Acadian is able to access an on-site speaker to speak in real time with whoever triggered the event and warn them of impending police involvement if they do not leave. Done correctly, sites with outdoor inventory and outdoor sites in general can often be protected without a call to the cops.

As an authorized dealer of many of the technologies that Acadian monitors, Security Technology of South Texas often makes use of Acadian in our projects requiring real time monitoring and response to security events. Our experience with Acadian has shown their service to be above industry standards as well as highly effective. To learn more about what we can do to product your site or indoor security, please contact us at  admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at  210-446-4863   24/7.

3xLogic-logo

3xLOGIC: Enterprise Security Solutions

 

 

3XLOGIC makes use of the cloud for all storage and video processing needs, and systems will not feature on-site NVRs. This creates a robust video management structure and shifts processing power requirements away from the end-user or any computers located at the site. Through their proprietary “infinias CLOUD” cloud hosting technology, a 3xLOGIC system can easily be made capable of handling video monitoring and analytics alongside access control solutions from just a single door all the way to “enterprise” scale operations.

This cloud based service “delivers broad access control capabilities to conveniently secure and manage user location(s)” (3xlogic.com) and uses an easy to use browser-based GUI. Having an easy to understand end-user interface allows for access control to be both practical and affordable for virtually any user, independent of the size of the business or the technical expertise of the end-user. The user can “view, monitor, and report” (3xlogic.com) on events and alarms, as well as do things like define security rolls and create different levels of access privileges for the individual users.

Unique to the systems that can be built using 3xLOGIC’s hardware are what they term the “rules engine”. This is a logic system in their cloud space that allows the customer to “build the functionality they need such as Lock-down, First-in, last-out, n-man rule, and much more” (3xLOGIC.com) This rule engine can be used effectively on any scale to apply systems of rules and is particularly useful for access control purposes.

The “infinias” cloud system is also capable of interfacing with wireless locks, which is increasingly a popular method used in large scale security solutions. While the same effect can be achieved by running wire to each door in the facility, the relatively low cost of using wireless locks, cameras, and etc. make this an increasingly attractive option for some. With time and improvements to wireless technology and a greater number of systems making use of cloud technology, wireless “everything” seems to be just on the horizon.

Overall, the solutions offered by 3xLOGIC are some of the most smooth and seamless out there. Technology like this is setting the stage for the future of fully integrated video surveillance, analytics, and access control systems. Above industry standard IP cameras, custom analytics, and a simple yet robust end-user interface all make 3xLOGIC stand out even among what sometimes feels like a crowded security market.

Security Technology of South Texas is happy to be an authorized dealer and integrator for 3xLOGIC. Contact us today to see what kind of system is right for your business or project.

We are available 24/7 at admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at 210-446-4863.

Source: 3xLOGIC.com

Using Integrated Security Solutions for Grades K-12

 

 

Just like the college campuses we looked at in the most recent article, K-12 level schools have security needs to protect against active shooters and other emergencies. Schools need the ability to instantly go into a lockdown while at the same time sending alerts to staff, students, and parents or guardians. These integrated security systems also serve the day to day needs of the school, restricting access to certain areas based on time of day, performing video surveillance, as well as access control.

When schools implement technology as single tools instead of holistic solutions, they miss out on control of the campus, reduction in operating cost, and overall effectiveness. With emergency management systems, it is important to use a layered approach with the ability to secure a perimeter, control access, send emergency messages, manage surveillance, and enter a lockdown state. The state of a full school lockdown is used in these smaller schools as it would be next to impossible to implement well in a university setting, but K-12 environments are small and institutional enough to be able to make use of it.

Using secured entrances and exits for all points of entry allows management to track everyone entering and exiting during the day. Door locks may be linked to security personnel who can open or close doorways in emergency situations. Integrating turnstiles, video analytics, intercoms, and intrusion detection devices are all options to be deployed at access control points. The school can assign different levels of access to students, staff, and visitors, and can track their movements and how long they spend in each location. This can all be valuable security data to mitigate future threats and to monitor in ongoing analysis.

Using IP-based video surveillance is a must. The cameras will be integrated into the larger system and backed up to the cloud. The school can then take advantage of digital storage, remote monitoring, and video analytics if desired. A well designed system will also include monitoring of individual room condition statuses, which are important in case of the need for a lockdown, evacuation, or order to shelter-in-place. All of these features work in concert to provide a truly next generation level of security at the K-12 level specifically designed to cater to the needs of schools of this size and with this young of a student population. The integration of the fundamentals, access control, IP-video, lockdown features, emergency messaging, and analytics makes it possible to have near total control over the campus in the case of an emergency.

 

Security Technology of South Texas is happy to offer custom designed systems such as this from the ground up or integrated into existing infrastructure, where possible. We are available 24/7 at admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at 210-446-4863.

Exploring Mass Notification Systems for Campuses

 

 

 

Mass notification systems have already been present on college campuses for a number of years. But these systems often either failed to respond quickly enough or to reach a majority of those on campus. Myriad threats, from active shooter situations, protests turned violent, and even outbreaks of diseases are present in these large institutions. These events require a school to arm itself with the technology to quickly communicate with large numbers of people to prevent loss of life. Here we will look at some current solutions campuses are employing in an effort to be proactive against shootings and other violence.

Because campuses can vary in size from small community colleges to massive military academies, it is important that a mass notification system be able to segment alerts based on location. Something going on a thousand acres across campus may not be relevant to the entire school. Having a hybrid system with at least some hosted in the cloud allows for scaling of the response system rapidly. So called “message fatigue” can prevent people from viewing these alerts, which makes it even more important to target based on location of the incident. In smaller campuses, it may be useful to expand the alerts to non-emergency messages about class cancellations or buildings closing. This is a balancing act the school must engage in to fit their needs.

Using SaaS and cloud based options will reduce Total Cost of Ownership by eliminating on-site hardware, maintenance, staffing, and other dedicated infrastructure. Most modern systems now work in this way. Of course, with any large system you must anticipate malicious activity and aim to thwart it. Data encryption “at-rest and in-transit”, using top tier data centers, recipient pin codes, and other features are must haves. An attacker could otherwise compromise the system and issue false alerts or even alerts designed to distract from some planned event such as a mass shooting or on campus riot. The vendor used should basically have uptime 100 percent of the time with support across all platforms, mobile and otherwise. Integrating security into a mass alert system will likely require a team of IT professionals, but not as many as would be needed without cloud hosting.

The design of the messaging itself is up to the school. Separate sets of protocols for emergencies versus simple announcements will make the difference between a useful system and a nuisance. The end user will need to be able to distinguish between alerts quickly, which can be achieved through emergency tones associated with the messages. Finally, you should be able to assign users different levels of access throughout the system within your IT team. Malicious individuals can and often do originate from the “inside”.

Security Technology of South Texas is happy to offer custom designed systems such as this from the ground up or integrated into existing infrastructure, where possible. We are available 24/7 at admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at 210-446-4863.

Source: Campus Security Magazine