ST Mar-Apr 2021

MARKET FOCUS: SURVEILLANCE FOCUS:
SURVEILLANCE: COVERING
ALL THE ANGLES
DAVID FRIEND, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, WASABI TECHNOLOGIES,
DISCUSSES DIFFERENT APPROACHES AIMED AT FIXING THE STORAGE
ISSUES RAISED BY PUTTING SURVEILLANCE DATA IN THE CLOUD
The value of video surveillance for security
purposes has become increasingly
attractive over the last few decades.
Whether it is public sector bodies looking to
improve public safety, or companies building
new customer experiences that rely on
surveillance systems, like Amazon's futuristic
"till-less" grocery store which has just launched
in London, the surveillance video market is
projected to grow to more than US$68 billion
between 2020 and 2025.
Much of this growth is being driven by
increasing transitions from analogue to Internet
Protocol (IP) based video surveillance systems
and digital upgrades on already existing hybrid
systems - between 2017 and 2018 the rate of
investment in network cameras jumped by
almost ten percent to 70% of total cameras
shipped. Despite the pandemic, many
companies have taken the last year as an
opportunity to invest in revamping their
surveillance video solutions. And whilst
surveillance in some areas raises important
considerations around data privacy, there's no
doubt it has become an increasingly important
part of most organisations' security strategies.
VIDEO STORAGE BOOMING
The amount of data stored globally is
anticipated to reach 175 zettabytes by 2025
according to IDC/Seagate research, and a
major part of this growth will be generated by
video footage. One 4K video camera on its
own is able to generate over 250GB of data
per day, all of which needs to be stored,
assuming low frame rates and enhanced
compression codecs. Given we're moving
beyond 4K now and into the realm of 8K and
10K cameras, the data generated is
proliferating rapidly.
The amount of data created by way of these
higher resolution cameras has vastly
overwhelmed many organisations' storage
budgets, and most firms are only coping with it
by reducing frame rates and storing data for
only a few days before it has to be deleted.
Given these are both undesirable options, the
industry is clearly in need of much less costly
storage options than the on-premises
hardware solutions traditionally used.
The increasing usage of body worn video
cameras (BWVs) in different contexts is a good
example of how progress in surveillance is
increasing data demands. In the last few years
UK supermarkets like Asda have provided
security guards with BWVs, and others are
likely to follow suit. Meanwhile the police have
long been aware of these tools - a pilot
scheme by the London's Metropolitan Police in
2016 has led to wider rollout all over the UK
as police forces and local communities have
increasingly recognised the merit of such tools.
It follows that the Metropolitan Police recently
chose an unlimited data contract as part of
their surveillance contract to future-proof
themselves against burgeoning requirements.
One or two hours of footage generated by a
typical BWV camera, the average amount
generated per day, requires around 3GB of
data storage space which will grow
significantly in the coming years as these
cameras are upgraded to higher resolutions
and better capabilities.
Strict regulations are also compelling
organisations to keep captured footage on file
for longer. Today, airport guidelines require
video of on-camera injuries, thefts or conflicts
to be stored for seven years at a minimum -
that's hundreds of gigabytes of data if we
consider that incidents are normally captured
by multiple cameras and from different angles.
A five year commitment for body cams for
one hundred police officers will cost in the
region of US$500,000 - and almost two-thirds
of that is for the storage alone. Because of
14 STORAGE Mar/Apr 2021
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