The BPSD modernisation project started with replacing 2% of their older interior PTZ cameras with I-Pro 5MP fisheye network cameras with 360° coverage while swapping out their obsolete recorders with I-Pro NV300 NVRs. Through several phases, they upgraded a large percentage of their 5,000 older cameras with new I-Pro vandal-resistant dome cameras, additional 360° fisheye cameras, and strategically placed multi-sensor cameras for building exteriors and common gathering places. Additional NVRs were upgraded to the newest I-Pro NX400 recorders running I-Pro ASM300 monitoring software.

Advancements in camera technology had prompted BPSD to modernise cameras primarily because certain camera deployments were limited in their field of view, causing security teams to miss some events and incidents. As well as solving that issue, by updating to I-Pro fisheye cameras in hallways where schools had two cameras, BSDS were able to replace them with a single camera.

“Feedback from across the district has been extremely positive. Our teams love the I-Pro cameras,” said BPSD Security Engineer John Waterhouse. “Reducing camera count was a huge benefit not only for our budget but in terms of maintenance, too.”

Waterhouse also pointed to a critical but important benefit to modernising with a solution that builds in cyber security by design, noting that in a recent ransomware attack on the district, “the I-Pro cameras and recording system were immune to the attack. They performed flawlessly throughout the event.”

Looking ahead, Waterhouse also anticipates taking advantage of some of the advanced edge-based AI analytics offered in the I-Pro cameras.