Schools and Universities Improve Campus Safety With Cisco Physical Security Solutions

Physical Security for Campus Safety Ranks Among Top Technology Investment Priorities This Year for Education Administrators

| Source: Cisco Cisco

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - June 23, 2010) -  Today, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced continued adoption of its Connected Physical Security solutions on school, college and university campuses, with several new customers deploying this technology to address numerous challenges, from student and staff safety to vandalism and natural-disaster response.

Schools across the U.S. and internationally have deployed Cisco's Internet Protocol (IP)-based video surveillance, access control and first-response communication technology over their existing network to centralize and increase the efficiency of their campus safety operations. Recent Cisco deployments include those by Bryant University, Council Rock (Penn.) School District, Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School District, Harrisonville (Mo.) School District, Glen Cove (N.Y.) School District, Judson (Texas) Independent School District, Lewis-Clark State University, Loughborough University and Queens College, among others.

Lending insight into this trend, a recent study led by the Clarus Research Group and commissioned by Cisco, found that student and faculty safety continues to be one of the most important issues facing school, college and university administrators today. Out of 600 education and information technology administrators polled in the study, physical security/campus notification ranked as one of the two top technology investment priorities this year, along with energy efficiency. 

Cisco will demonstrate its Connected Physical Security technology for the education sector at the International Society for Technology and Education's Annual Conference and Exhibition, ISTE 2010, in booth 2032. In addition, Cisco will showcase its broad portfolio of Connected Learning solutions, including video-enabled teaching and learning, Web-based collaboration, Cisco TelePresence™ systems and more.

Facts:

  • By centralizing safety and security measures atop the IP network, several schools have been able to significantly expand the reach and quality of their campus safety procedures across multiple locations and with greater cost efficiency. For example:
    • Bryant University, located in Rhode Island, deployed Cisco IPICS (IP Interoperability and Collaboration System) to heighten emergency communications between public safety agencies and campus officials. With IPICS, Bryant was able to create a virtual communications network, wherein city police and fire agencies could collaborate with campus police to improve incident management and overall response time to incidents on campus or in the surrounding community.
    • The Council Rock School District, located in Pennsylvania, used its existing IP network as a platform to integrate video surveillance and physical access control. Council Rock was able to manage video camera feeds and door-access control across multiple campuses from one location, creating greater district-wide situational awareness and productivity among campus safety officers.
  • Cisco Video Surveillance Manager and IP cameras enable access to real-time and archived video from any camera in the school district, and integrate with existing and new cameras, video analytics, and other systems using open standards.
  • Cisco Physical Access Control enables remotely controlled lockdowns to isolate safety incidents, reduces personnel requirements for entry monitoring, and integrates with Cisco video surveillance to increase situational awareness for campus safety officials.
  • Cisco IPICS provides communications interoperability to campus safety officials using any analog or digital radio system, and enables the sharing of multimedia data such as videos, images and Web links with campus first responders in real time.
  • The Cisco Validated Design Program for Education provides lab-validated, fully documented network architectures for the integration of multiple Cisco technologies with select third-party products. A broad range of services support the design, deployment and long-term ownership of these systems.

Supporting Quotes:
Matt Frederickson, director of IT, Council Rock School District, Pennsylvania
"The Council Rock School District IT department, administration and safety officers collaborated to develop a master security plan. It stipulated video surveillance and physical access control systems that were cost-effective, easy to use and easy to manage and that could integrate with each other. The district is meeting these goals with Cisco Video Surveillance and Cisco Physical Access Control solutions."

Jason Lopez, senior systems engineer, Glen Cove School District, New York
"Our prior analog security system was inefficient, unreliable and not at all cost-effective. As we already had a strong voice network infrastructure in place, we sought to leverage our existing platform to build a state-of-the-art IP-based physical security system utilizing Cisco's solutions. The integration of IP-based video surveillance and access control on top of our network was both seamless and quick. Now, we feel confident that we have in place the proper tools to ensure both a safe and secure learning environment for both our students and faculty."

Steve Young, CTO, Judson Independent School District, Texas
"Judson Independent School District chose Cisco Physical Access Gateways as our door access control standard for all new buildings. We needed a simple way to install and service the network device, which eliminated legacy central door-control panels and wiring, yet supported integration with Microsoft Active Directory, allowing quick door-credential authorization. Cisco's product automatically prevents building access to anyone that is no longer an employee of the school district, helping ensure student safety and protecting district property." 

Chet Herbst, vice president of finance and administration, Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho
"The safety of our students is our foremost concern at Lewis-Clark State College, regardless of the state of the economy. Our IP-based surveillance system from Cisco is a force-multiplier for our campus security force who can't be everywhere at once; they provide assurance to our students, employees and community visitors who use our facilities and services throughout the day; they protect our physical assets; and they help us deter crime and disruptive behavior, contributing to the secure, family atmosphere of our campus."

Dave Temple, assistant director of technology strategy, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
"We chose the Cisco video surveillance solution because it is open, giving us the flexibility to use any vendor's cameras, encoders, and storage. It uses inexpensive Linux servers, and the Web-based interface minimizes training requirements. Plus, our experience with Cisco networking equipment has given us confidence in the quality of Cisco's products and support."

Bill Stuntz, vice president and general manager, Physical Security business unit, Cisco
"As the spectrum of campus safety incidents broadens, education administrators and IT officials are seeking ways to better protect their students and assets and to respond effectively during times of emergency. Given this, we're seeing the education sector increasingly embrace network-based physical security with its unparalleled level of interoperability, scalability and reliability. Cisco is committed to working closely with its education customers to ensure they can better secure their campus environment with our technology."

About the Study
The survey was conducted for Cisco by Clarus Research Group, a polling and research firm based in Washington, D.C. The survey was conducted by live telephone interviewers of 600 education administrations and IT professionals between February 9 and March 1, 2010. The sample was distributed among K-12, community college, and four-year college and university audiences and consisted of:

  • K-12 education administrators (N=100)
  • K-12 information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100)
  • Community college administrators (N=100)
  • Community college information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100)
  • University and four-year college administrators (N=100)
  • University and four-year college information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100)

Videos:

 Supporting Links:

Technorati Tags: Cisco, physical security, campus safety, video, education, K-12, university, ISTE

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