Background

Olson Seed Service LLC in Perry, Iowa provides AG consulting and Pioneer Seeds and nutrients to local farmers. The company has a large investment in equipment and supplies that it has stored inside its facility along with AG equipment and vehicles parked outside. Theft in rural Iowa has risen 60 percent over the past five years, causing concern for companies such as Olson Seed Service. Many rural businesses do not have technology-based solutions driving their day-to-day operations, so finding a video surveillance system that is effective yet easy to manage in these challenging times has become crucial.

Challenge

Businesses in such rural communities that are not used to the necessity of such video surveillance in the past are quickly becoming aware that these security measures are becoming vital, no matter the size and scope of the operation itself. Basic surveillance equipment, such as NVRs (network video recorders) and even computer hard drives are still popular choices for security professionals, but are becoming dated and harder to manage in today’s world. The cost of continually maintaining and even replacing these types of equipment is never ending, and remote monitoring and video retrieval is either difficult or not possible in many cases, especially in real time. Olson Seed Service needed both a company with camera placement design and equipment experience that was local to support it, and an extensive yet easy-to-use overall solution. VIVOTEK’s new cloud-based video surveillance as a service (VSaaS), VORTEX, eliminates these challenges and met Olson Seed Service’s needs.

Solution

After Central Iowa’s own system integrator Tech Zone’s on-site visit, they came up with a design to cover Olson Seed Service’s doors, outside parking, and equipment on its lot with three cameras, along with two cameras inside covering production and inventory. Tech Zone chose VIVOTEK’s new VSaaS, VORTEX, a comprehensive end-to-end AI surveillance solution that seamlessly integrates deep-learning-based network cameras with cloud video management software to solve Olson Seed Service’s security surveillance solution requirements, for its indoor and outdoor security needs. VORTEX provides intelligent and easy-to-use data analysis services. What’s more, its hybrid cloud architecture allows it to transcend conventional storage frameworks. No longer is dedicated video management software or centralized management systems required to manage and process video data. Now, video data can be stored and analyzed via edge computing directly within the camera and backup in the cloud, significantly reducing time, cost, and bandwidth limitations of the past. VORTEX allows for receiving push notifications of deep-learning-based events on a smart device in real-time to never miss important messages again. With VORTEX, managing a surveillance system is more effective and easier than ever before with wide camera selection, crystal clear image quality, Edge AI analytics, hassle-free, zero configuration, and, like all VIVOTEK products, it is trustworthy and reliable. The VSaaS features powerful AI video analysis technologies, upgraded real-time detection and post-hoc search functionality, state-of-the-art deep search algorithms to convert metadata into searchable and quantifiable information and refine people, vehicle, and environment detection accuracy over time. In addition to real-time alerts, VORTEX is capable of sieving through big data to identify or follow past events, and its hybrid cloud architecture allows for unlimited cloud archive, automatic backup, event management and instant sharing. All of these features are merged seamlessly to maximize operational efficiency and storage reliability while minimizing network interruptions and downtime. Overall, Tech Zone installed five VORTEX cameras throughout the interior and exterior of the business…three FD837-HTV 5-Megapixel, IP66/IK10-rated, remote focus, zoom lense dome cameras, and two FD839-EHV five-megapixel, fixed lense IP66/IK10-rated outdoor dome cameras ideal for VORTEX applications.

Customer Feedback

During off hours Paul Olson, owner of Olson Seed now has easy access to his cameras and activity around his property. VORTEX allows him to monitor his facility wherever he is, whether he is working or taking time to relax. Olson chose the VORTEX platform for the simplicity of operation and its ease of expanding to additional cameras. This is his first experience with security cameras, so simplicity was a must and VORTEX along with Tech Zone has accomplished this for him. “Thanks to VORTEX and Tech Zone for giving us peace-of-mind,” said Olson. “Ownership today has changed in so many ways. This is another way to manage my business while protecting my assets.”