Future-Ready Security: How Saigon South International School Scaled Campus Safety with Nx Witness VMS

Organization: Saigon South International School (SSIS), Vietnam

Challenge: Outdated, closed CCTV system was unable to scale with campus growth.

Solution: Nx Witness VMS provided a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution with seamless integration and advanced features.

Key Results: Effortlessly scaled from 150 to 320 cameras, reduced storage demands, cost-effective scalability, unified monitoring with access control integration, and enhanced security operations.

Saigon South International School (SSIS), a prestigious international school in Vietnam, was facing challenges with its outdated and rigid CCTV system. As the school expanded, the limitations of their closed-source system—lack of flexibility, inefficiency, and inability to scale—became increasingly apparent. With 150 cameras already deployed and plans to expand while integrating additional systems like access control, SSIS sought a modern, scalable, and cost-effective solution that could seamlessly integrate with existing hardware and future technologies.

Having worked with Nx Witness VMS in a previous role, SISS’s IT Director recognized its potential to transform the school’s security infrastructure. The result was a seamless upgrade that not only addressed immediate challenges but also equipped SSIS with a future-ready system to support its long-term growth.

Before implementing Nx Witness VMS, SSIS faced several critical limitations:

1. Limited System Flexibility: The existing closed-source CCTV system made it difficult to integrate new devices or systems and expand storage as the school’s needs evolved.
2. Storage and Retrieval Inefficiencies: Continuous recording of all cameras in the existing system created unnecessary storage demands and made footage retrieval time-consuming.
3. Lack of Future Readiness: With plans to implement Suprema access control and expand to 320 cameras, the existing system lacked the interoperability needed to support these updates.
4. Cost Constraints: As a cost-conscious institution, SSIS needed a solution that delivered high performance without locking them into expensive proprietary systems or hardware.

Nx Witness VMS provided SSIS with the ideal solution to modernize its security operations through a scalable, open architecture, and user-friendly VMS. Key highlights of the deployment included:

1. Seamless System Integration: Existing Hanwha cameras were easily integrated into Nx Witness, avoiding unnecessary hardware replacement costs. Suprema access control was also fully integrated, creating a unified monitoring solution.
2. Distributed Storage Setup: The monolithic proprietary system was replaced with a distributed setup including four Dell servers and TrueNAS storage arrays, providing cost-effective, high-capacity storage.
3. Optimized Recording Practices: Event-based recording replaced continuous recording, significantly improving storage efficiency and simplifying footage management.

How it Works

• Real-Time Monitoring: Operators manage and monitor the campus using intuitive tools like flexible grid interfaces, multi-camera layouts, forensic zoom, fisheye dewarping, and advanced PTZ controls.
• Events and Alerts: Custom Rules create and archive Bookmarks based on detected events, ensuring operators are notified within 3 seconds of occurrences.
• Nx Video Wall: An extensible multi-monitor setup enables operators to monitor numerous video feeds simultaneously, ensuring critical areas are always within view.
• Smart Search and Export: Operators easily search and retrieve relevant video footage in seconds using associated metadata, with one-click export for individual or multiple feeds.
  
  

The deployment of Nx Witness VMS has transformed SSIS’s security operations, delivering measurable benefits:

1. Expanded Capacity: Nx Witness’ scalable architecture allowed the system to expand from 150 to 320 cameras with no impact on system performance, positioning the school for future growth.
2. Enhanced Efficiency: Event-based recording reduced storage demands, while advanced search tools allowed operators to retrieve and export footage in seconds.
3. Cost Savings: Nx Witness’ open architecture allowed the school to leverage custom-built storage and existing hardware, minimizing costs while eliminating vendor lock-in.
4. Unified System: Nx Witness enabled seamless integration with Suprema access control, creating a cohesive security solution tailored to the school’s needs.
5. Improved Campus Security: Staff and administrators reported significantly greater trust in the school’s surveillance system, citing Nx Witness’ reliability, intuitive user interface, and features like Nx Video Wall and smart search and export.

“Nx Witness has been a game-changer for our school. It allowed us to move away from a restrictive, proprietary system to a flexible, scalable solution that meets our current needs and prepares us for the future. There have been countless improvements with Nx Witness at SSIS and confidence in our security system has increased exponentially.”

- IT Director, Saigon South International School