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| The Danish Embassy is now using Milestone's IP surveillance software to meet their security needs. We interviewed the Danish Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Freddy Svane as well as the Technology Attaché to Japan, Mr. Erik Friis Mondorf. |  |
Q. Today we would like to ask you two a bit about Milestone Systems and XProtect™, but first let's start by talking a bit about Denmark. What kind of country is Denmark?
A. If I were to sum up Denmark I would say that it is a small, but strong country. It's only about as big as Kyushu, but we have our own highways, 4 international airports, and serve as the gateway to Northern Europe. We also have a very high standard for education and our workers are highly skilled so many large global companies such as Dell, MaxMara, and Sony have their Northern European headquarters in Denmark. Beyond that, we also have an advanced IT infrastructure and are among the top three computer proficient countries in the world in terms of percentage of the population owning computers and using the internet.
Q. When I think of Denmark, I think of Lego, Royal Copenhagen, and Carlsberg as we are already very familiar with those companies in Japan. What would you say are the trademarks of Danish products?
A. Simplicity, functionality, and minimalism. Those are the three trademarks of Danish products. To use another example that I think everyone is familiar with, if you take a look at some Danish furniture, I think that you will probably be able to see and feel these three characteristics.
In the field of technology, we have added integration as another key value. We are very good at taking something different and putting it together with what we have already made in order to make something new and with more even more value than we started with. Milestone is doing the same thing. In order to make the best product on the market, they integrate with various products from other companies to make flexible and functional solutions. We have gotten great results.
Q. In what way are you using Milestone's IP security solution at the Danish embassy?
A. In 2006, we had KT Workshop install Milestone's IP security solution into the Business Center in the Danish Embassy. As Milestone's solution is extremely flexible, we also integrated and installed Paxton Access Control's system and are now using them together as one system.
Q. What have you found to be the benefit of integrating Milestone's IP security solution and Paxton Access Control's system?
A. The biggest benefit is that we can search our recorded video. If you just have an IP surveillance system, then you just have recorded video. If you just have an access control system, then you can just see when registered keys were used. By using the two systems together, we can actually put the two together and see video at the time of entry by turning the information into data.
In this way, we can jump to an exact time in the recorded video and see exactly what the situation was. We don't have to rewind and search through a full week's worth of video like we had to with analogue systems.
Perhaps even more importantly, we can now immediately export the recordings onto a CD to present as evidence if we ever have a problem.
Q. You have installed this integrated solution into the Business Center in the embassy, but what exactly is the Business Center?
A. It is a shared office for Danish companies that are trying to break into the Japanese market. From here we search for offices, people, clients, etc. for those companies. We do anything that we can to make it even a little bit easier for them to break into the Japanese market. It's in the same building as the rest of the embassy, but has a different entrance that requires a separate permission to enter.
The most challenging part of setting up a system for this building is that different people are always coming in and out. Generally, when people are trying to break into the market they only use this building for about 6 months so we always have new people and people no longer using the building.
Q. Until now, what kind of security system were you using at the Business Center?
A. When we first set up the Business Center, we didn't use any special security system. We just used a regular lock and key. However, with so many different companies and people using the center, if one person lost their key, we had to change the lock and then give the new key to everyone. We were also a bit concerned because we didn't have an accurate record of who was coming into the center or at what time they were coming in.
In the fall of 2005, we started thinking about installing a new security system. We narrowed down our choices to three companies.
We picked Milestone's XProtect™ for the following three concrete reasons:
Q. Thank you. Now we would like to discuss in a little bit more detail each of the reason's that you gave us for choosing KT Workshop and Milestone. Could you tell us a bit more about the integration with Paxton's access control system?
A. From the very beginning, we were considering integrating an access control system with an IP surveillance system. We were very attracted by the fact that Milestone's XProtect™ and Paxton's Net2 were already fully integrated and could be managed from the same interface.
Q. Could you expound upon the fact that you could use any camera that you wanted to with Milestone's XProtect™?
A. Most of the IP surveillance programs made by large electronics manufacturers only work with the same manufacturer's cameras. To be honest, the other 2 companies that we were considering for our security solution were not compatible with other brands' cameras.
On the other hand, Milestone's software is compatible with digital or analogue cameras from just about any manufacturer in the world.
Q. What is the benefit of being able to select which cameras you use?
A. Just off-hand I can tell you three benefits for being able to select which cameras you use.
1. You can pick the most suitable camera for each location that you want a camera in.
Each camera and camera manufacturer has their own strong points. For example, some cameras are good at capturing video from far away locations and others are particularly good in low-lighting conditions. With a system that works with any cameras, you can really pick the camera that is best suited to each location. For example you can pick the camera that works best in low-lighting conditions to watch the entrance at night. In reality, we are actually using several cameras from different manufacturers here at the Business Center in the embassy.
2. You can use cameras that you already have.
When you install this system, you can use the cameras that you already have instead of buying all new cameras. This way, none of your previous investment goes to waste.
3. Scalability.
If you want to expand you system at some point in the future, it's quite convenient to not be limited in which manufacturer's camera you are going to use. Each year, camera prices and models change. It is nice to be able to pick the best or most economical cameras to use whenever you want.
Q. Can you tell us a bit more about Milestone being the #1 world market leader in IP surveillance systems?
A. Milestone doesn't just have the top share in Europe; it is number one around the whole world. Global companies like IKEA, banks, law enforcement, and hospitals around the world are using this system. Because we rely upon this product for our security, we felt more comfortable choosing a tried and proven solution.
Q. Why do you think that Milestone's product has the top share of the world market for IP surveillance systems?
A. To start, it is truly easy to use and so functional. It also works so well with the security solutions from other companies. I think that people all around the world recognizes in this product the strengths of Danish products that I mentioned before: simplicity, functionality, minimalism, and integration.
Q. How exactly did you install the system?
A. First we wanted to find an access control system that worked well with Milestone, so we went with Paxton due to their successful history with Milestone around the world. We then went to the certified distributor of both of these products in Japan, KT Workshop. They have a lot of experience with both of these systems as well as cameras and the whole installation went perfectly smoothly.
Q. Now we would like to ask a little bit about how you are actually using the system. First, could you tell us how you make key cards for everyone coming in and out of the Business Center?
A. It's incredibly easy. We can set user rights like who can come in to the center and when on the computer, and then can make a new card in less than a minute. We can deactivate the cards just as easily as we make them.
Q. The access control system and IP surveillance system are integrated into one system, but can you manage everything from one screen?
A. The management is actually on two different screens, but this hasn't been a problem at all.
Q. Is the interface in English?
A. It's in Japanese. Of course there is also an English version, but we chose Japanese so that all of the staff here in Japan could use it easily.
Q. What kind of places do you think that Milestone's XProtect™ is best suited to?
A. The system can use an unlimited amount of cameras and you can view so many at the same time, so I think that this program would be really good for companies with many factories or branches that they want to monitor from a single central location.
You can also search and find video footage according to time, so companies or places that have to be able to react immediately in case of an accident or problem, such as banks, would find this system to be very useful.
The system is also really flexible and so is perfect for people who would like to use different cameras, integrate it with access control systems, video analytics programs, etc. For example, if you already have 100 cameras from different manufacturers and want to use them all in the same system, that's no problem. Or if you want to use the newest video analytics programs with the system, that is also possible.
Q. What do you expect from Milestone in the future?
A. I guess I would like to see a face recognition system from them in future. A system where you would need a card to get in. You know, even if you forget your key at home, you never forget to bring your face!
Q. Lastly, could you say a word or two about KT Workshop?
A. Actually using Milestone's XProtect™, we have found it to be just as wonderful as we expected it to be. It's also so easy to use and so functional, and the integration with the access control system is smooth. I would like to see more and more people using KT Workshop's security solutions in the future.
* The Danish Embassy's Website
* This interview was conducted in April, 2008
* *This case study was produced by Customwise
IP Surveillance System, IP Cameras, Access Control System by KT Workshop Inc.