Smarter Integration - A Security Must for the Middle East

SHEFFIELD, England, January 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Adopting evolved surveillance integration technology could help boost the Middle East's appeal as a global investment hub by keeping the region's assets safer and improving operational efficiencies.

That's the prediction that global business Synectics has made as it prepares for Intersec 2014 in Dubai.

Despite unrest, the Middle East economy has seen an upturn in the oil and gas market, increased predicted spend on shipping and ports, and greater emphasis on attracting banking and finance investment.

With Dubai also now confirmed as host city for the 2020 World Expo - the need to protect key industry assets has never been greater.

"This heightened interest in asset protection is an opportunity for enhanced efficiency," suggests Paul Webb, Managing Director of Synectics. "Surveillance systems have evolved to offer more than basic image capture. They can now integrate with multiple safety, alarm and operational systems to enable a 360° perspective of a given site and that has big implications."

"For example, intelligent integration of video to third-party operations and alarm data, means that alerts and emergency site protocols - such as area lock downs - can be automatically triggered. Anything from heightened gas, heat or smoke levels in industrial settings, to discrepancies in access control logs or suspicious use of personnel identity cards in business settings, can be matched with high quality video evidence and linked to response processes.

"As well as minimizing the likelihood of security breaches, using intelligently integrated management platforms in this way also means that should incidents occur, downtime is reduced. When time is money, this can have a significant financial impact."

According to Synectics, improvements in camera technology are also set to benefit the region. Paul continued: "High definition capabilities are now not only better but more affordable - as is always the trend with emerging technologies. As a result, demand has risen.

"We've witnessed increased interest in our own range of HD IP cameras, particularly in relation to 'backfilling' capabilities that allow encoders and IP cameras to record to independent drives in the event of network failure, ensuring no data loss. For industries that cannot afford for security to go 'offline' - this is a major benefit."

The Middle East Marine sector is another area benefitting from surveillance technology evolution.

Paul said: "Shipping is vital to the economy, whether relating to the transportation of oil and gas or to export and import cargo in general. But keeping sea-based assets, and the individuals who crew them, secure has been a challenge, particularly given concerns over piracy.

"Emerging surveillance technologies will help massively with this. Camera stations are better equipped than ever before to cope with 'at sea' conditions, both in terms of their durability and accuracy. Images can be captured in low/no light conditions or extreme fog, and it is now possible, using absolute positioning technology, to integrate fully with radar systems to enable vessel recognition up to 10km away."

Synectics will be showcasing its new COEX™ C2000 TriMode camera station alongside its IP camera range and absolute positioning integration capabilities through Synergy.

Visitors to booth S1-405C will also be able to learn about Synergy™, Synectics' integrated security management system, which enables video, alarms and data to be monitored, managed and recorded in one place. Synectics will also be using Intersec 2014 to demonstrate new functionality from soon-to-be released Synergy 3 - including fully customizable user interface, enhanced workflows and improved reporting.

Paul concluded: "It's an interesting and exciting time to be involved in surveillance in the Middle East, as the region is only now truly starting to embrace the potential that new solutions can offer. Intersec is a great opportunity for us to get out there, meet business and industry leaders, and showcase just what is possible."