Video analytics are climbing to the top of the leaderboard when it comes to coveted security capabilities. Quickly becoming a standard feature in surveillance cameras, video analytics have matured and now offer more reliable functionality than ever before. And they are helping mitigate cargo theft significantly.

These computer algorithms deliver a deeper understanding of what’s going on in locations monitored by video cameras. In fact, video analytics not only enable cameras to better protect people and property, they also provide valuable insights and operational information that help enterprises drive growth. They accomplish this by transforming video, audio, and other data into actionable insights users can capitalize on while, at the same time, freeing up personnel to focus on other issues.

New developments in video analytics are indeed offering enterprise security executives new ways to leverage video surveillance technology that extend well beyond traditional security, making them a new and vital asset for increased business intelligence and ROI when applied across their enterprise.

And because video analytics are now widely available at the edge in security cameras, increasingly more users are able to recognize the myriad benefits they provide. Recent improvements in higher resolution cameras, thermal imaging, auto-calibration, and alarm integration with video management systems have all contributed to a reduction in false alarms and improved detection. New multi-sensor cameras not only capture images that can be used in investigations, they can also detect behaviors that users are interesting in capturing and deriving actionable information from. That’s made possible by the fact that users can set rules that enable them to customize the types of alerts they want to be notified of and the type of activity they want to monitor.

Video analytics rules can actually be set to serve many purposes. In the age of COVID-19, for instance, video analytics have been leveraged to ensure compliance with safe return-to-workplace strategies, including social distancing adherence, people counting, occupancy monitoring, crowd control, and face detection. They’ve also facilitated the tools and data needed for compliance reporting.

And, another very important new advancement in video analytics is the critically important ability to use security cameras for early smoke and fire detection. While analytics do not replace the life-saving capabilities of a UL fire alarm system, it does provide early detection capability to enhance a fire system and is proving to be a perfect add-on for storage facilities where smoke may take a long time to activate the fire system.  These video analytics increase the odds of sprinkler activation and decrease damage to goods, a benefit that is particularly important to salvaging cargo.

Video analytics can also be used to monitor parking areas at loading docks to determine vacant and occupied bays, which well addresses another very important concern in securing cargo.

Many organizations are realizing that they can utilize the video surveillance footage their cameras capture for so much more than security purposes. They can also leverage the video analytics capabilities of their cameras and turn it into actionable information, thereby increasing the return on their investment.

In addition to the advantages that video analytics provide to security monitoring, the additional insights they capture and provide are being used more strategically.

Video analytics continue to evolve as a very powerful surveillance tool for enterprise security to detect and mitigate potential threats – often before events occur. Overall, video analytics make it easier and more efficient for security professionals to detect impending and real-time incidents to better protect their facilities while also delivering information to enhance operational efficiency.

As your trusted security integration partner, call on NextGen to equip you with the safeguards you need to protect your people and property.