Working with partners ntl:Telewest Business, leading IP CCTV specialist Controlware has supplied a surveillance solution to The Oldham College. According to the installer it delivers flexibility, cost savings and video quality over their previous system.
At The Oldham College, ahead of a £70m reg-build of their campus, the IT and Estates teams knew that their analogue CCTV would not be good enough for the campus redevelopment. Analogue would be expensive and inflexible as the cameras would need to be moved frequently during the re-build. They looked at IP solutions that could integrate with their IT network and enable cameras to be redeployed around the campus as building work progresses. Having looked at the IP CCTV solution at Warrington Collegiate, the college choseControlware’s Cware management platform, replacing their three old analogue systems with a single platform.
Bob Leigh, Estates Manager at Oldham, who manages the security team, says: "Cware’s management interface is great and much easier to use than our old system, best of all the image quality is superb allowing security staff to really see what they are looking at, which we didn’t have before. Everyone who has seen the new solution says how impressed they are.” Video export takes a few mouse clicks instead of a lengthy process that once required the help of a network specialist.
As for cost savings, Jon Evans, IT Services Manager at The Oldham College says: "Since IP CCTV is so flexible we don’t need to call in an external contractor to move cameras like we did before. The IT department can move a camera in 15 minutes when it would have taken an external contractor the best part of a day and cost the college £500. This also enables us to be proactive about security by moving cameras to potential hotspots in order to make the most of our resources."
The college can also make cost savings from PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology which requires fewer cables to be run to cameras than traditional cabling. The network is also protected against power failure by UPS’s (Uninterruptable Power Supplies) that deliver increased resilience over analogue or hybrid based systems where each camera would rely on its own power supply.
"The IT and Estates teams at Oldham College can see that the Cware management platform delivers real benefits. The new integrated system improves security and support operations enabling students and teachers to feel more secure and confident in security as the college develops as a world-class learning facility," adds Mark Harraway, Country Manager for Controlware UK.
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