Why will the migration of video surveillance systems to the cloud be accelerated by smart cities
Smart technologies are being used by cities all around the world to improve citizen-government interaction, lessen their impact on the environment, and enable more effective, data-driven decision-making every day. Video surveillance will play a significant role in enhancing safety and productivity as cities continue to build the infrastructure necessary to become smart, but the demands on the technology will increase.
The amount of video surveillance data is rapidly growing due to advancements in artificial intelligence, the switch to higher resolutions, and an increase in frame rates. Additionally, 5G speeds that decrease wireless latency and 4K video cameras increase the potential for local video monitoring.
After all, on-camera storage isn’t that clever
Today, the majority of CCTV systems keep video on the camera. But even though smart cities will rely more on both recent and stored video surveillance data, this approach will soon be obsolete. Physical security is a concern for security camera storage because thieves can take or harm the equipment to obliterate evidence. A few video surveillance systems also contain glaring security flaws that make the vast volumes of data gathered and stored there an attractive target for hackers.
According to the most recent Barracuda Networks data, 44% of all ransomware attacks worldwide in 2020 were directed towards municipalities. Maintaining these dissimilar security systems will simply increase assault danger in emerging cities. In addition to being unstable in terms of availability, this kind of on-camera storage is also difficult to track down and retrieve data from due to the sheer number of devices.
Beyond matters of public safety, there are numerous complementary smart city initiatives that, in order to work correctly, depend on CCTV systems but need the right kind of connectivity. The main goal of the current 4G networks was to enhance mobile data services. Sadly, there are drawbacks, such as inadequate support for concurrent connections. Fortunately, 5G will offer the required bandwidth to connect wirelessly to the cloud, which has long been a barrier for the video surveillance sector. These systems feature more than just actual IP security cameras; they also have electronic, infrared, thermal, and motion sensors. These sensors gather electrical signals, which are then decoded to track things like traffic, weather, and energy usage. There is hope to solve these difficulties with the arrival of 5G and the development of more economical and adaptable cloud storage options. Monitoring of traffic via the cloud.
In many nations, traffic congestion has become a major issue. With the use of outdoor IP cameras and data analysis from local transportation providers, smart cities may assist in resolving this issue, which will enhance it both long-term and immediately. Long-term data analysis can uncover trends that can ease traffic congestion and support the implementation of data-driven road optimization by government agencies.
For instance, in the busiest areas of cities, technology like adaptive traffic management can greatly increase safety while reducing traffic congestion. By using the gathered data to notify locals and first responders when an accident or other emergency has happened, these issues can be resolved in real time. Both methods require cloud storage that enables users to easily access both real-time and previously archived data. As a result, we will soon witness an increase in the number of video surveillance companies employing hybrid cloud services to store their data.
Cohesion
Different sites will utilize a variety of software as smart cities continue to develop, frequently without a single uniform VMS across. In this situation, it is challenging for IT departments to manage the increasing amounts of video monitoring at the edge in a safe and efficient manner.
Cohesive IT strategy is the piece of this smart city puzzle that is still missing. Due to capacity constraints, system architectures that process data through a centralized enterprise data centre are unable to meet the scalability and performance needs of these smart cities. Lower prices and convenience are driving a constant shift to the cloud, since cutting-edge surveillance suites produce staggering volumes of data every day that must be evaluated and kept for a long period of time.
A scattered workforce, increased security risks, and environmental concerns will all only serve to worsen these issues as smart cities start to take their place. We are getting closer to making what we once thought of as the future a reality with the growth of smart cities. Future surveillance systems will move quickly to the cloud, storing vital data at the edge in methods that are both affordable and sustainable.