How AI video analytics are transforming global security operations

ISJ hears exclusively from Will MacDonald, Director of Product Management for the Avigilon Alta Video product line at Motorola Solutions about how AI video analytics are transforming global security operations.

Advancing artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way we live, work and think.

While the technology provides us with many advantages in productivity and efficiency, significant security concerns accompany these benefits.

Global security operations across prominent industries face new threats due to advancing technology and social instability, where the number of incidents is increasing in both numbers and sophistication.

As a result, security practitioners need to adopt new strategies to mitigate these threats and protect businesses from damage and disruption.

Video cameras have long been at the forefront of security operations, providing visual oversight to business locations.

However, the evolution of physical threats means security leaders will need more adaptive strategies to address these concerns.

AI video analytics are the driving factor behind the transformation of global security operations.

The limitations of traditional video security cameras

There’s no doubt that video still plays a vital role in securing the corporate environment, helping to identify, detect and deter physical threats in and around facilities.

However, traditional video security has begun to see limitations due to evolving threats and the increasing amount of footage captured daily.

Standard video security cameras capture footage for later analysis by security personnel in the event of an incident, used as evidence or to address gaps in premises safety.

However, as the response to potential damage, theft or violence becomes more apparent and urgent, more real-time observation is needed to minimise disruption to business and reduce potential harm to staff.

AI-assisted analysis capabilities help security teams take swifter action, processing current footage to alert them to suspicious activity in progress.

Integrating those functions into video cameras can bring a transformational security approach, shifting from a “later” to “now” perspective.

Embracing the transformative power of AI video analytics for corporate environments

AI video analytics transitions visual oversight of global security operations from passive to active, offering greater situational awareness, improved detection capabilities and swifter response times.

Cameras with integrated software can use AI-assisted algorithms to analyse footage in real-time, identifying suspicious behaviour faster and learning to detect unusual activity.

The integrated hardware and software facilitate a scalable, flexible solution to the growing and evolving physical security threats, such as drone use, insider infrastructure attacks and external perimeter protests.

Cameras with AI-assisted analytics reduce the need for a human to watch video feeds 24/7, providing security teams with real-time insights into potential threats and allowing for quicker and more accurate responses.

In corporate security operations, the implementation of AI video analytics means enhanced situational awareness, reduced error, resource optimisation and improved operational efficiency.

The deep insights from analysed footage can provide decision-makers with a constant stream of actionable data to continuously improve security infrastructure.

Applying AI video analytics to industries

The scalability of AI video analytics allows flexible applications across various industries, further adding to the transformative aptitude of the technology.

Notable use cases include retail to help mitigate inventory theft, industrial facilities to analyse and identify safety hazards and education campuses to help enhance student protection.

The adoption rate will continue to grow, with the market size for AI video analytics expected to reach nearly $12 billion by 2032.

Corporate entities will make up a sizable share of adopters, implementing video cameras with AI-assisted analytics to improve global security operations, while driving towards business goals of increased productivity and reduced costs.

Already, we’re seeing AI video analytics contributing to the overall security strategy of global businesses. Cameras with the software can integrate into a centralised, cloud-managed platform, combining other hardware such as smart sensors and access control, providing a layered security approach.

Furthermore, its application extends into business use, helping leaders and decision-makers with productivity tasks such as optimising office space, regulatory compliance, access management and operational efficiency.

For example, in retail environments, AI analytics can map where customs move in the store, count the number of customers entering and exiting and compare that data with the number of transactions, leading to improved loss prevention and staffing policies.

AI video analytics are proving to be a powerful tool not only in transforming global security operations but also in transforming the overall corporate landscape.

Developing comprehensive security strategies with AI video analytics

AI video analytics have enabled security practitioners to proactively shift their strategy from sifting through thousands of hours of post-event footage to taking real-time action to address incidents.

Even after an event occurs, AI-powered search capabilities enable the investigation to happen much more efficiently, cutting audit times down from days to minutes with tools like appearance search and natural language prompting.

Security teams benefit from the deep insights the software provides and those benefits extend to the wider organisation through  improved operational efficiency, expanded situational awareness and faster incident responses.

The three pillars defining the transformational power of AI video analytics are scalability, flexibility and efficiency, offering adaptable, unified solutions in a rapidly changing global security environment.

As threats and safety risks continue to grow and evolve, cameras with AI-assisted functions will play an integral role in helping security teams address them effectively.

As AI technology and learning models improve, security capabilities will increase in parallel.

Overall, AI video analytics will be a staple of global security operations for the future, helping shape effective strategies to protect businesses for years to come.