The ever-growing population of video cameras and their on-going operation often presents challenges and unintended consequences which must be addressed by owners of complex enterprise video systems. From policy concerns to the growing market of technology products, the need to manage the exponential increase of content that is collected by video devices will be a significant issue in the coming years. Enter a relatively new and quickly growing application category: Enterprise Video Content Management (EVCM). With growing storage and analytic capacity of enterprise video systems, content management can have implications for a range of functions—security, operations, maintenance, legal and administrative.
But first, what is Enterprise Video Content Management (EVCM)? EVCM is a relatively new concept that focuses on categorizing and managing video based on its content. EVCM allows authorized users to store and share video data irrespective of source, and to manage that data in response to a complex matrix of access and use requirements. EVCM addresses the need to manage the storage and use of video data, and to ensure compliance with complex legal requirements of these growing data sets.
For example, an enterprise may want to preserve video for use in connection with criminal proceedings; there is a developing body of regulatory requirements for sharing information that can be characterized as criminal justice information. These requirements - outlined by the U.S. Department of Justice in the “Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Security Policy,” (version 5.3) (August 4, 2014) - provide guidance on a number of areas including use, storage and sharing of information.
For data governed in its purview, CJIS requirements specify policy pertaining to the access, use and dissemination of data. The policy specifies requirements for monitoring and ensuring policy compliance. Audits, monitoring, assessment and analysis are critical to CJIS compliance. Additionally, there are a number of requirements around the storage of video data to ensure the integrity of the data. This assurance is critical for video which may have evidentiary value for use in criminal proceedings. There is also a set of training requirements to ensure employee compliance with CJIS requirements.
CJIS standards are simply an example of the growing legal and regulatory environment that is beginning to form around video data. The actual evidentiary requirements for use of video data in connection with legal proceedings is a uniquely state-oriented process, and can vary on a state by state basis - and depending on a given state’s court structure, may even vary within the state. The same is true with respect to issues of record retention or freedom of information imposed on video collected in public systems, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This changing environment mandates that EVCM systems have a degree of flexibility to accommodate changing regulatory requirements on the management and storage of this data.
While the external requirements to be met by an EVCM system will likely be greater for the public sector than for the private sector, there are still requirements which must be met if a private entity wants to use video data in conjunction with legal proceedings. Moreover, the failure to properly maintain and safeguard video data may have substantial negative consequences (fines, penalties and even liability judgments) under the growing e-discovery body of case law.
While existing Video Management Systems (VMS) may meet some of the growing requirements with respect to content management (and some VMS systems can be configured meet additional requirements), the nature of these systems is not focused on content. Instead, their focus tends to be on the capturing device. In contrast, EVCMs are designed to focus on the video data itself, as opposed to the specific device which introduced the video data into the system. Because they are not device or network focused, they are instead oriented to taking video data from a wide range of sources that an enterprise may use for video acquisition.
EVCM is a fairly new concept that has developed primarily out of the private sector. While there is a growing interest in EVCM, the concept has not been fully vetted for a significant period of time in the public sector. As a new concept, there are a number of technical considerations that need to be addressed as a user attempts to apply an EVCM to their enterprise video data. Creation of linkages between devices and video systems are immature and may, in certain circumstances, require system integration to include the EVCM system.
Stay tuned for part two of this EVCM series. In the meantime, please contact SDI to learn more about how we can assist you with building your enterprise video content library.
ABOUT SDI GUEST BLOGGER: DOn Zoufal
Mr. Zoufal has held a series of high level public sector safety and security posts including Deputy Commissioner for Safety and Security for the City of Chicago’s Department of Aviation, where he supervised security operations at O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Mr. Zoufal also served as Special Assistant to the Director of Illinois Emergency Management Agency/Acting Homeland Security Director for the State of Illinois; and as First Deputy (second in command) for the City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), the agency of City government primarily responsible for homeland security planning and response. Additionally, he served as General counsel to the Chicago Police Department and Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
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