DailyPost 1799
VIDEO SURVEILLANCE : THE TECHNO MANAGEMENT WAY
CCTVs have not been able to deliver the transforming results, which we expected out of them. The expectation was based on its sheer numbers, the huge capital and recurring cost involved and the massive tech upgrade happening in this field. Nobody is able to unravel the secret and when it is required the most, either we don’t have the footage or we are not able to do the analytics magic on it. The work happens, technologies get implemented, friction does not get over, the purpose does not serve, then why does all this happen? Do we have necessary persistence with the tools we know would deliver? Predictability of being of use is technology. Does purpose defined utility the running thread in our CCTV Projects. Are the video results being tested on the touchstone of purpose defined utility formula.
The OEM claims and displays that everything is plug and play. Leaving aside the bigger project objectives, the technical issues are all proven in the Proof of Concept. With nobody involved in actual execution able to connect between the technical specifications, the pricing and the brand, the world of CCTV is an open mess. The cost vs technology is discussed in terms of Chinese and Non-Chinese and naming a few brands which are costly and few which are cheap. Our knowledge of smartphones and the command on the technology specifications is so precise, but in the case of CCTV, we still talk of just 2 or 4 MP. Might be somewhere down the line, the thought process has been to tell it to the world that our campus or home or public space is CCTV enabled.
The different components of the CCTV ecosystem seem to stand in contradiction with each other. The Cameras, the network, Video management software, Analytics, the Command Center and the human imperative. Can the tech issues which are themselves huge be ironed out? It has not so far. Can understanding of the project from the 40,000 feet level to the ground level add value to the project; the procurement process, the tech gadgets / inclusive of protocols and licenses, cost of quality execution and the most challenging element of all- integration. This has been the nemesis of all projects and we find truncated ones all around the place. Does the owner have permanent interest in the project and does the vendor find business value in the long term?
Given the unending saga of the teething problems of the video surveillance projects and its inability to be managed end to end on all fronts, techno-management would be the way forward. Techno-management approach would provide solutions from experiments to validation of tech specifications, creation of tech project blueprint, project execution and seamless integration and at the end deliver a fail safe project. The non-silo understanding of the project can be the game changer. This would help align everything to achieve that goal. The comfort level of silos will not come but technology is all about successful applications, making a difference to our lives and the quality of living.
PRAGMATIC TECHNO-MANAGEMENT IS THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND ITS DEMONSTRATED UTILITY.
Sanjay Sahay