If you have a network (and who doesn’t these days?) IP cameras sure are a lot easier to access than analog cameras.  But this ease of access also makes it easier for un-authorized users to access IP cameras .  Imagine if someone in the back alley could stream video of your back office using your wireless network.

Most IP cameras I’ve worked with lack a number of enterprise grade security features.  They need to implement SSL for encryption and they need to integrate into a central authentication system such as RADIUS or LDAP.   However, even without those technologies, there are a couple of basic things one can do to secure your cameras.

The first thing to do is to change the factory default passwords.  The latest firmware revisions for some cameras force one to configure a password the first time a camera is accessed after being powered up.  That’s good.

The next level of security that might be worthwhile is to configure a VLAN just for video surveillance network.  Done correctly, this will help mitigate several risks when IP cameras don’t have good security features built-in.  This will add to administrative overhead and possibly additional equipment costs, but it’s not as high overhead as some of the next additional steps.

To additional key elements of security that are often missed are to:

- Perform logging on your network by having all devices log important events, scanning and alerting on these events.  (Especially logins, configuration changes, etc)

- Regularly audit your network infrastructure to make sure it’s configured correctly

Both of the above tasks can be large undertakings given the large number of IP networkable devices in an IP video network.

Additional layers of security that are possible, but have signficant overheard are MAC based access control takes you even further.  802.1X technology offers a strong way to control who can plug into your network.  802.1X offers perhaps the strongest layer of security for getting access to a network, it is also difficult to manage and operate.  So difficult that it’s not seen much deployment in networks. There are some companies like Cloudpath networks who offer a management tools for wireless networks.  Few cameras support this (Axis with firmware v4.4+ does however).

Today begins the post-Christmas retailing season.  While sales have been sluggish (understatement?), retailers will no doubt be inundated this weekend by those looking to scoop up bargains or return/exchange merchandise.

I’ve had the displeasure of being part of this annual tradition in the past.  The returns desk takes on the look of a busy dry-cleaning store, with unfolded clothing draped over empty shopping carts.  A truly horrifying scene for those of us hoping for only a quick visit.

While waiting in line, I’ve often wondered how retailers maintain order.  How much is lost in the hustle?  Perhaps a better question:  How much could be saved by recording video of these transactions, linked to the return receipts, for discreet loss prevention auditing after the events?

This is one of the compelling value propositions available for MVaaS customers.  It may not shorten the lines, but it would help to protect the bottom line.

Fall is my favorite time of year; the leaves are changing, it’s cooling down and most importantly it’s football season.  For the past few years I’ve anticipated the start of the season with much more enthusiasm.  The reason for this new found enthusiasm has been my involvement in a fantasy football league.  Fantasy football, takes something that I already have a passion for and makes it even more exciting by giving me a reason to be involved in several games in order to track my team’s performance.  It also gives me the opportunity to put on my GM hat and make decisions that can help or hinder my team’s performance. 

Effectively managing a team requires time, effort and an understanding of information (e.g. trades, injuries, trends) that is crucial to a successful season.   A GM has a lot of information to dissect each week in order to give their team the best chance to win.   The first couple of seasons I found it difficult to keep up with all of the trades, added/dropped players, injuries and the progress of free agents, which one can add to their team if someone on their team has a bye week or isn’t performing.  Finally, I activated a feature on the Fantasy Football web site that I had never used before, “Alerts”.  The second that I enabled this setting I became a much better GM and could make decisions that would affect the outcome of the game days in advance.  The alerting function of this website takes information that is being gathered about each NFL player and proactively alerts (sends and email) each GM based upon criteria they have designated as important.  A GM can be alerted to set their line up, player updates, league trades, and scores.  This information can be vital to the planning of your starting lineup each week and if acted upon can give your team a competitive advantage.

MVaaS acts in much the same way as the Fantasy Football website.  Through the integration of software based business applications e.g. POS systems, access control, temperature sensors etc. an owner or manager can set up reports with specific business rules, that if broken, can generate an alert that proactively prompts a user to log in and review video from a specific location.  For example if I have an MVaaS solution integrated with my POS system I can define a rule that if a site has more than ten voids in a day I want to be alerted.  This type of capability can come in very handy when making tough decision about your Fantasy Football team, and more importantly your business.  I find it to be a great asset to be able to make decisions based upon up to date information.

What does “customer-focused” really mean? To me, it is a foundational pillar of a successful business strategy. The challenge is carrying the intention to be customer-focused throughout every aspect of the business. Every member of the organization must have the customer at the center of his or her priorities. Even those who may not see themselves as having an impact on the customer experience must have a line of sight to the customer experience and a clear understanding of how their role ultimately impacts customers.

Easier said than done. The most customer-focused companies are easy to spot when it comes to consumer products and services. The top performers are familiar brands, such as Nordstrom and Apple. Can we apply best practices from these top consumer brands to business-to-business marketing? I think so. I believe it comes down to clarity of focus on the customer experience:

1. Make it easy to understand your product or service, and be clear about what problem it will solve for the customer.
2. Set expectations up front - how long will it take to deliver/install/build? What are the system requirements to ensure seamless integration?
3. Deliver on what you commit to, within the time frame you commit.
4. Reinforce the good decision your customer made to buy from you by providing outstanding follow up during the post-purchase window (within ~30 days of purchase/install/delivery).
5. Monitor ongoing customer satisfaction through client care, follow up communication, and surveys.
6. Act on customer feedback. If you’re not going to do anything about feedback, then don’t ask for it.

To deliver consistently on all 6 facets, everyone from Product Development, to Service Delivery, to Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Accounts Payable is involved. Organizations that successfully focus their entire team on the customer not only have satisfied customers, but they also give their employees a sense of making a difference and doing a job that matters to the customer - and to the company’s bottom line.

Do you remember reading George Orwell’s “1984″? It’s the story of an anti-utopia, with one of the central characters being ”Big Brother,” a creepy omniscient force that ensures all citizens follow the oppressive rules of the regime.

On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.

In conversations about MVaaS, the notion of “Big Brother” often arises. In presenting the concept of watching what’s going on in several locations without being detected, we indicate that it’s unlike “big brother,” in that virtually visiting your locations does not necessarily have negative intent. Applied strategically, MVaaS is not meant to strike fear into those being watched; rather it’s a powerful tool for managers to view their operations and to make improvements based on what they see and analyze.

MVaaS is not a form of Big Brother; it’s smart business.

MVaaS, as has been discussed in numerous previous blog posts, provides many valuable loss prevention benefits.  Most recently, one of our channel managers relayed a recent success story of a client who recently installed Envysion’s managed video.  The hamburger franchisee was looking at point of sale reporting from the previous night and saw a three hour drop in sales at the drive-thru.  Actually, during those three hours there were no reported sales at the drive-thru, to be more accurate.

Prior to installing video, a grand inquisition would have taken place, with the manager questioning employees and having little leverage in the situation.  Instead, the manager saved the clips of of the employees taking the order to the hosted Envysion “my clips” video library, saw them not ringing up the sale or voiding the sale and delivering the food to friends and family members.  Leverage was reversed and the employees were terminated.   The manager will move forward with integrating the POS with video which will allow him to receive alerts when thresholds that he sets are exceeded, such as voids, no sales, etc…  This will speed reaction time and ROI as he will be able to act faster next time.

In a previous post, I stressed the importance that leaders act decisively, often with imperfect or incomplete information.  This is an imperative, and is not going away.

Still, smart business people desire the best information available at the time, so as to help them formulate the optimal course of action.  Operating on “hunches” or “gut” alone is not a recipe for success.  It may work from time to time, but long-term success is usually reserved for those who are able to quickly synthesize information (knowing what’s important, what’s not, and what it means) before acting decisively.

An organization’s video holds a wealth of information.  Some important, some not.  Tapping this raw data and quickly turning it into useful information is obviously the key.

The following questions come to mind, and I am hopeful that this sparks some interesting dialogue in our comments section:  Is it reasonable to assume that most operators have the time (or know-how) to turn their video into actionable information?  Is this a job better suited for third party specialists (e.g., MVaaS providers, LP consultants)?

Driving to work this morning, I found myself frustrated by the traffic. Then I remembered that it’s the first day of school for the district adjacent to mine. Given that I have a 6.2 mile commute, you probably shouldn’t feel too sorry for me, as my usual 10 minute commute turned to 15.

For multi-unit operators, however, “windshield time” can be a big factor in efficiency. These operators know that it’s their job to call on their various locations, so they accept a lot of windshield time to accomplish their business objectives. MVaaS can boost efficiency of multi-unit operators, simply by giving them a view into all of their locations from a single spot. While visiting one location, the operator can log onto a PC in that location’s office and “virtually visit” several other locations in less than an hour. Then, they can prioritize the remainder of their day or week by their visual assessment of which locations need the most immediate attention. The improvement in efficiency and management impact is immediate. Good leaders and managers know where and when they are needed in person and can use MVaaS as a tool in their critical decision-making.

If you agree that every department in the organization - especially marekting - should have the customer needs as its primary driver of activity, then what does that have to do with MVaaS?

Quite simply, marketers can leverage video as a window into the behavior of customers, without the contrived environment of a focus group or phone survey. For example, using the MVaaS technololgy, a marketing manager can remotely view video of point of sale displays in several locations at one time. They can observe factors such as the traffic around the display, how often people stop to look at it, how much time they spend reading it and what type of customers are spending the most time at the display. Further, they can ensure that the display is assembled and positioned properly within the store. For any marketer who has spent countless hours behind a two-way mirror observing focus groups, MVaaS is a valuable time-saving tool that captures actual customer behavior.

Matt’s analogy that video in the business video can be used just like sports performance analysis is right on.  Reviews are so much more effective when one knows what’s being measured, how it’s being measured and what the expectations are.  Afterall, it’s hard to succeed unless one knows the rules. 

One of the more important aspects of video review is watching oneself in the video.  With access to the video from any Internet connected computer, this is much easier.  Every manager in the organization can easily and securely get direct access to the video allowing them to interact with it directly and to share it with their employees.  Even employees themselves can be allowed to view the video, afterall, it’s the employees who are in the video.  The video doesn’t have to be a secret accessible to only a few.