Upgrading video management system leads to savings
With the integration of AXIS Camera Station, the Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário has increased productivity, reduced data storage costs, gained efficiencies, improved cybersecurity, and saved money.
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There are more than 1600 students that study at Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário. In operation since 1943, the college is one of the most traditional in São Paulo. Initially, cameras from Axis Communications were installed on campus to help the institution better cope with its day-to-day activities. The experience provided by Axis cameras showed that there were opportunities for improvement for the school environment. So, they explored options for a new software system that would be compatible with their existing cameras.
"The main scope of the project was to replace the existing VMS with AXIS Camera Station. The team at Colégio Rosário wanted to be able to take advantage of the functionalities offered by an intelligent video surveillance system," explains Paulo Sergio Pereira, pre-sales representative for infrastructure solutions at Added, an Axis partner.
In addition, the upgrade project identified the need for more cameras to provide additional coverage. The focus was on expanding monitoring to the sports courts, corridors, and entrances to the early childhood education building. A challenge arose because there was no extra storage space available to record this additional footage. Axis’ Zipstream technology would be essential for the system to reduce storage space.
Changing the tire while the car is moving
For the installation, the challenge was to replace the video management software in a fully functioning environment. This task required a great deal of planning in order to minimize down time, avoid technical outages, and prevent gaps in recordings during the deployment.
However, since the solution is optimized for Axis devices, the deployment was easy. The intuitive platform allowed the college to easily manage firmware updates and configure cameras directly in AXIS Camera Station. The school’s technology team installed a software application on their mobile device, allowing real-time viewing of the system.
The investment in replacing the software and updating the video surveillance system proved to be highly advantageous, since we obtained cost savings and the possibility of expanding our camera system without the need to invest in new storage disks. The decision to expand into the future with confidence was strongly influenced by the quality and reliability of Axis solutions.
The installation of the AXIS Camera Station gave the school the opportunity to expand video monitoring coverage, without the need to invest in new storage. Before the upgrade, 80 Axis IP cameras had been reliably monitoring the school's premises to ensure the safety of students and teachers during class time and to protect the property. Today, Rosário's premises are protected by more than 148 Axis cameras.
When aligning strategies for expanding the project, Added's specialists used AXIS Site Designer to define the positioning and camera models that would meet the institution's expectations and needs. This included AXIS M30 Dome Camera Series with 360-degree panoramic vision for all lighting conditions, and AXIS M31 Dome Camera Series devices with a flat face and infrared (IR) technology. As a result, the school can analyze situations quickly and with the image quality needed to capture details in any scenario or lighting condition - thanks to IR, wide dynamic range (WDR) and Lightfinder technologies.
Key benefits of AXIS Camera Station
AXIS Camera Station has significantly improved the productivity of the video surveillance system. With full integration and the ability to leverage the performance of Axis cameras to their full capabilities, they can use 100% of the Zipstream tool, drastically reducing the space needed for image storage.
In addition, the software enables proactive monitoring of potential camera and server connectivity issues, streamlining system maintenance for the Colegio Rosario team. Notably, AXIS Camera Station includes a robust system health monitoring feature further highlighting the comprehensive capabilities of the solution. As a result, there was no need to invest in new disks to record the images of the new camera models installed or for future expansions. In this way, the technology reduced the investment in storage and server, impacting savings in the total cost of ownership (TCO). Axis network cameras also enhance return on investment by capturing high-quality images and efficiently covering extensive areas with just one camera, as seen in challenging locations such as sports courts and playgrounds.
In addition to all the advantages already mentioned, by using the new AXIS Camera Station software, Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário will also achieve cost savings in VMS maintenance. This technological efficiency not only reduced the investment in storage and server, but also led to substantial savings in the total cost of ownership (TCO). “With the previous VMS, the university needed to consider an annual cost for license maintenance and support. By upgrading to the AXIS Camera Station solution, you could eliminate this annual investment as Axis offers these services for free,” says Pereira.
Cyber security and other resources
Cybersecurity played an important role in the selection of the new video management system for Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário. According to those responsible for the project, this was another important differentiator for AXIS Camera Station, as the system has security verification routines that guarantee the updating of resources against vulnerabilities in the connected devices, as well as the recognition via digital signature of the authenticity of the Axis firmware in each device.
AXIS Camera Station’s Smart Search feature, which streamlines searches for objects in the recorded footage, was another key benefit of the system according to decision makers at the school. This tool streamlines searches for incidents in recorded images allowing operators to avoid spending hours searching for a specific image. Instead, they can select regions of interest in the recorded scene and focus the search only in the desired area thus saving valuable time during analysis and investigations.
The school was impressed by the ability to browse camera images with a 360-degree view, allowing a "dive" into specific areas of the scene for a detailed, dewarped analysis. This feature was especially useful in challenging environments, such as sports courts and playgrounds. The school already had a panoramic camera installed, but the existing VMS didn't allow it to be used for dewarped analysis. With the new solution, it was possible to use this feature and improve monitoring in these areas.
Proof of confidence
By investing in quality, reliable software and video surveillance systems from Axis, Colegio Nossa Senhora do Rosário has transformed its system into a future-proof operation. "With the successful implementation of AXIS Camera Station, Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its students and staff, while optimizing its resources and improving the efficiency of its video surveillance system," says Elias Martins de Souza, IT Coordinator at Colégio Rosário.
On Added's side, it was emphasized that the quality of Axis equipment was the best calling card for thinking about the expansion. "Colégio Rosário has had Axis cameras since 2018 and the equipment is still working perfectly, and all their Axis equipment comes with a 5-year warranty. The long-lasting partnership with Added and Axis Communications is proof of the institution's commitment to adopting innovative and technologically advanced solutions to meet the challenges of the future," concludes Marcio Rossetti, Account Manager for Education at Added.
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