Remotely monitored, detector-activated, CCTV specialist RemGuard Visual Management - part of AD Group - is reporting that the last 12 month period has seen a record number of sites taking advantage of its service, with a dramatic 16 per cent increase year-on-year for connections to its BS8418 compliant RVRC (Remote Video Response Centre).
According to Geoff Colley, RemGuard's Business Development Manager, the growth in take-up of this event-driven approach to CCTV can be attributed to a number of factors: "More and more end users are appreciating the benefits of a service which looks to deal with incidents at the earliest possible stage as opposed to keeping them for later review, after the damage has been done, or alternatives such as intruder alarms where there is no visual indication of what is actually going on."
RemGuard has seen particular demand from exposed sites that have been the subject of sustained vandalism and other attacks out-of-hours and, crucially, where alternative security solutions have simply failed to provide an answer. "In one recent case an industrial site was becoming a dumping ground for burnt-out cars and was suffering from serious criminal damage, activity which our remotely monitored, detector-activated, CCTV has been able to curtail. It is this positive outcome which is a major factor in others adopting this technology", said Geoff.
He also believes that alongside the positive results, RemGuard's remotely monitored, detector-activated CCTV is increasingly becoming an affordable option for sites of all sizes: "Initially, there may have been a perception that this is only a realistic route for large scale operations. This is really not the case, as in our experience remotely monitored, detector-activated CCTV can be applied effectively and economically in sites ranging from a small industrial unit to a large-scale distribution centre.
"Technology has moved on to the stage now where most end users will have a broadband connection which can be utilised to link up on-site cameras and detectors to the RVRC. In addition a free-for-use offer with our RemVu Aquila transmission system, based on a minimum contract period, reduces the capital outlay required to get a solution up and running. We also have a range of competitive monitoring tariffs which can be matched to the likely level of activity on a specific site."
Another key reason for RemGuard's growth, the company believes, is the enhanced choice of transmission equipment it can offer to potential customers with the decision to support the option of connection via equipment from its sister company Dedicated Micros, specifically the NetVu Connected Digital Sprite 2 (DS2), DV-IP Server or DS Server.
Said Geoff: "This was an important step for us as traditionally the RemGuard service has only been available to sites connected via our own free-for-use RemVu Aquila transmission equipment but we felt that the time is right - given changes in capability - to make the service accessible to other, compatible, NetVu Connected equipment which not only can support BS8418 compliance but shares a common architecture and NetVu ObserVer viewing software."