Fulham Football Club have had a new IP security system installed by Genetec at their ground in West London, Craven Cottage.
As we reported last year, the club have been having a new physical security system installed with IT services company EMC, and they have opted for Genetec’s Omnicast platform.
The system is based on an installation of 63 Axis Communications cameras, including 25 joystick-controlled PTZ cameras.
30 days of video archives are stored on a 100tb EMC Celerra server, which is shared with the football clubs own file storage.
The Omnicast system is also monitored via a site-to-site VPN (Virtual Private Network), and is noted as having no single point of failure.
While the system is used mostly for monitoring crowd activity on match days, the cameras are also equipped with motion detection alarm triggers, and privacy masks to limit the field of view of the cameras, allowing neighbouring private property to have better privacy.
Nicholas Pendlebury, head of IT services at Fulham FC was in charge of the decision to bring in EMC, and explains how the ease of use of the system is especially important on match days, where officials gather in the control room to monitor the matches.
“Everyone has praised Omnicast, saying it’s one of the easiest systems they’ve used.
“Omnicast has addressed our main security needs, but also provided numerous additional features. It has changed our lives. It has made our safety team a lot more responsive and proactive, with less work and less stress. We have even saved money by requiring less staff to review tapes. Between the ability to easily bookmark incidents as they occur, and quick video archive navigation, there is now far less wasted time.”
Calvin Kendall of Genetec meanwhile said, “We are pleased to have been a part of this historic club’s evolution. We are aware of the challenges inherent in securing large crowds in these types of facilities, and we have done our utmost to create a platform that quickly and easily serves up the data that is most relevant in this fast-paced environment.”
As part of continued future improvements to security, the club are also planning on upgrading to a unified video surveillance and access control platform offered by Genetec – the Security Center.
There are even plans to integrate AutoVu, a numberplate recognition system, at the club’s nearby training facility to allow players and staff quick and easy access to the training ground.
Proven technology
With the recent scandals concerning the perceived increase in levels of racism in the Premier League, Axis’ cameras will assist in stamping out any such incidents at Craven Cottage.
Regional director of Axis Communications, Phil Doyle said, “Using network cameras as part of this security solution means that Fulham will benefit from much more than simply capturing images. Gone are the grainy images so often associated with older CCTV systems. This technology is proven and will provide images that can be used to identify people or objects if an incident occurs.”