Remote security

Every day, the various types of news that exist on the planet speak of the growing figures of investment in security, both physical and electronic and computer. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the world seems to be an increasingly insecure place and a greater number of people have, these days, greater access to the means necessary to commit crimes.

This has been the starting point for many companies to have decided to allocate, within their budget, a significant amount of resources for security, but not only companies, individuals are also concerned, and from simple alarm systems is moving to more complex applications to "protect" the life and assets of citizens within their Housing.

Latin America has become a particularly sensitive region when it comes to public order. From Mexico to Argentina, brazil and the Caribbean, reports of criminal events are on the rise, not only in quantity but in sophistication, as it is no secret that organized crime groups now have more capacity to confront official authorities if you talk from the point of view of military equipment. Nowadays it is no longer enough to have a large group of troops  to guarantee security; this is the workspace of electronic security.

This article takes us to Mexico, to know a security installation made by one of the largest utility companies in this country: AXTEL. This company offers comprehensive telecommunications services to users of all kinds, from residential to large customers, through small and medium-sized companies. With annual sales of more than 1000 million dollars, AXTEL offers within its fixed wireless telephony services, national and international long distance, as well as advanced solutions for voice and data transmission, web hosting service, technology for computer security, private networks and Internet access services, among others.

In November 2006, this company finalized the acquisition of Avantel, which consolidated itself as the second most important company in the ranking of those offering integrated fixed telephony services and one of the main operators of virtual private networks in this nation.

In May 2005 AXTEL carried out an electronic security installation, consisting mainly of an IP CCTV system. This media spoke with the engineer Juan Enrique Hernández, Nissi Systems Manager, who integrated the solution, and the CPP (Certified Protection Professional) Rodrigo Velarde, corporate manager of loss prevention of the end client. They answered questions posed by the magazine.

Remote monitoring in a complex environment

When Velarde was asked about the objectives of this facility, this professional commented that they wanted to keep remote locations monitored, such as customer service centers, warehouses and offices; Axis camera technology and Milestone's Xprotect Professional software were linked to this system.

This takes effect if one takes into account that the security environment of the Mexican Republic has been worsening for several years, thanks to the actions of gangs dedicated to drug trafficking, common crime and kidnapping, which has led to several nations, including Spain and the United States, raise voices of alert for its citizens who intend to visit Aztec soil. But to speak in figures, as reported by the newspaper Rumbos at the end of September, the scourge of insecurity costs the Mexican government 12 billion dollars, something worrying if one takes into account that this amount represents 15% of the GDP of this nation and is higher than that obtained annually from the production of the agricultural sector, of the mining industry, construction and the generation of electricity, gas and water, which represents 12% of GDP.

Based on such figures, a company of the stature of AXTEL had to act proactively and not wait for the occurrence of any crime that would harm its interests or those of its clients; hence the IP CCTV system was born, which today has protected about 80 independent facilities, with a user population of around six thousand people.

Velarde said: "AXTEL is a proactive company, not a reactive one. In that sense, it continuously seeks to anticipate needs that may appear in the future, which includes having an appropriate security system for a company that is constantly growing. For this purpose, the first thing that was done was to evaluate the places where the company has a presence, then a security standard was determined, within which the remote monitoring of the sites via the Internet was contemplated. "

Safety standard for new installations

Before proceeding to expose the technical characteristics of the project, it is important to bear in mind that it was implemented in new facilities so it is not possible to speak of technological substitution; what was done with this system was to reinforce security in some places where there were already other electronic protection systems.

To make a basic description of the project, suffice it to say that this is a 100% digital solution and that it offers the benefits of being able to grow and control cameras, not only local in case it is required, but also obtain remote images, which was the initial conception of the project. This was a decisive factor in choosing the solution offered by the Milestone-Axis combination, as it fully complied with that specification.

Milestone's software solution – Xprotect Professional – offers several features such as input and output control, internal events in the cameras, virtual array, PDA client; all these elements that make monitoring a really efficient function.

According to Velarde, "A very important point is the reliability and robustness of the database, which gives us a guarantee not only of operation but also that the information will be there when we need it; Finally, Milestone's Xprotect solution gives us flexibility, not only for growth but also to adopt other technologies of cameras, access control, video analysis, maps, alarms, among others."

As for the hardware, various types of IP cameras enabled for the Internet environment were used, according to the monitored place; they operate on a 100 mbps LAN. "Although the cameras used have the ability to generate images with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and to transmit up to 30 frames per second, they were configured as standard at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and one frame per second. This, together with motion detection, allows the optimization of the space used in storage," explained Velarde. There are currently 290 cameras installed and in operation.

The technology used, as with any CCTV system, provides employees with a sense of security and confidence that there is someone else watching and making sure everything is in order. Additionally there is the possibility of verifying and validating other security systems, as Velarde says in relation to the purpose of the security system: "in addition to the deterrent part for criminal behavior and the sense of security it offers to employees, the objective of the system is to effectively cover key areas of the operation, in addition to allowing the validation of certain types of alarms".

Fortunately for the parties involved in the process, the implementation phase passed in complete normality, without technical or logistical challenges that could delay the delivery of the system to the client.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects was the very process of selecting the technology to be used. A failure in this process can lead to the acquisition of a project that does not meet the real needs of an institution in terms of protection. In the case of AXTEL, this process was carried out meticulously and consisted of an interdisciplinary investigation that allowed to define some needs that had to be satisfied with the system in question. Based on the information collected, the market offer was analyzed, as well as the infrastructure that would have security in terms of the corporate network (the space available to run video, which is almost always determined jointly with the IT department).

"In this way, the current solution was reached, taking into account performance, reliability, cost of equipment and the system; since the implementation of the system took place in new sites, it started from scratch with this project, which involved the design of an appropriate architecture to support it," velarde said.

Need met

In a security project what finally counts is the satisfaction of the end user and in this case this goal was reached, because it can be classified as a project that delivers what it promised.

According to Velarde, the equipment works properly and in accordance with the performance offered at the time of the contract and "within the limitations that are had by bandwidth and storage consumption, the system meets the expectations according to the evaluation that was made in this regard."

One of the great results that the installation has yielded today is that it has allowed, in very specific cases, as in any company, the timely detection of irregular behavior, which allows the rapid identification of possible offenders, with which it has proven the effectiveness of the system by itself.

Velarde made one last note: basically, when implementing a system with recording over a network (Internet, LAN, WAN, among others) it is very important to take into account the bandwidth consumption. Therefore, in our environment it is essential to really know what is needed from the system to achieve the proper configuration of cameras, as well as the recording and storage system. In our case, AXTEL has the network infrastructure that supports these applications and allows it to fully exploit the benefits offered by the equipment and software. However, the implementation of this solution in another scenario that does not have the appropriate infrastructure, can result in a collapse of the network.

For this renowned telecommunications company, maintaining a constant communication and relationship with Sistemas Nissi, S.A. de C.V., its integrator of the Milestone Xprotect management solution and Axis cameras, has been possible to satisfy it with a security solution tailored to it.