Why customers always win when regulations are tightened
2021-06-17

Dennis Choi, General Manager, IDIS Middle East & Africa

These days, there’s a growing list of compliance boxes that need be ticked. That’s good news for the video sector, and for customers in particular.

Because regulations are not just about ‘box ticking’, they’re about making sure that our systems are truly fit for purpose and that they don’t fail on a growing list of metrics now regarded as non-negotiable.

Broadly speaking, we can think of regulations as either relating to technical issues, or policy. The former includes considerations such as the quality of the images captured, the robustness of data storage, the integrity of video against tampering, and overall system reliability. The latter includes compliance with policies such as GDPR data laws or occupational health and safety regulations.

Sitting part way between the two – because it concerns both performance and policy – is the pressing question of cyber security. Hacking was already high up the corporate agenda even before the US government’s NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) came into effect – now it’s an absolute priority.

NDAA hasn’t just affected the US market – just like the EU’s GDPR before it, it’s had global impact. Section 889 of the NDAA act prohibits US federal agencies and their contractors, as well as loan or grant recipients, from using or procuring video surveillance equipment and telecoms from specific companies. We’ve seen many organizations with more general connections to the US – multinationals and suppliers – switching their preferences to NDAA-compliant vendors and systems.

One result is reduced cyber security risks. For customers this is a positive development - there are excellent video tech choices available to meet the new demand, combining high performance and multi-layered cyber security with lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

The good thing about compliance is that it may require extra work in the short term, but It usually pays dividends quite quickly.

Returning to the question of technical performance, we’ve seen the same positive effect of regulation in other key markets. For example, in the Middle East customers became more interested in camera resolution, video data retention, and failover, as performance benchmarks that were set by SAMA (the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) and Dubai’s SIRA (Security Industry Regulatory Agency) influenced purchasing decisions and performance requirements across the wider region.

Supplying several cutting-edge projects in the banking sector, we saw the benefits of this firsthand. Whenever an authorities raise requirements, good vendors and systems integrators up their game, and customers more widely benefit.

Fault tolerance has improved, for example, with failover protection and cost-effective redundant storage now available to ensure that video data will not be lost when network stability occurs, or when there’s a power outage. This means that users are no longer reliant on rapid manual intervention, or more costly, redundant equipment built-in during implementation, which also increases maintenance burdens.

The same applies to those questions of policy. When the new GDPR rules were introduced, vendors met the challenge by offering more efficient tools to help customers comply.

For example, auto redaction and identity cloaking software were developed to make providing de-identified footage for evidence cheaper and faster – whether that’s giving recordings to police or investigators, or responding to subject access requests.

Users benefit because they no longer have the cost of outsourcing the task or tying-up staff for hours.

Thanks to regulation, most cameras today come with privacy zones that can be configured to mask sensitive areas, for example protecting individuals from unwarranted intrusion or safeguarding assets such as confidential documents.

Similarly, video systems can now be partitioned so that operators can only view specific cameras, according to their role and authorization. This has been particularly useful in settings where personal privacy is a hot topic such as in schools, hospitals, and high-end hospitality settings such as private members facilities such as golf clubs, exclusive hotels and restaurants, but also more widely.

And there’s something else worth noting here too: looking beyond compulsory standards, customers and video system users today are paying closer attention to the manufacturing origins of their systems, and the bona fides of their suppliers.

Even where the law is currently silent, customers have a choice. And sooner or later the law usually catches up with public sentiment.

So, it’s quite right that ethical questions are being asked more often, and that customers are taking a greater interest in where their technology comes from. Concerns about human rights abuses, environmental standards, and respect for intellectual property – HVEC Advance and H.265 MPEG patent licenses are current examples - will not go away.

Which means security and tech vendors need to accept customer scrutiny, and welcome it.

 

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