Physical security software company Genetec says Edinburgh City Council is using Genetec’s security centre as part of its Smart City Strategy. Genetec’s software is helping the city improve its public safety, city services and urban planning by allowing the council to manage all smart city technologies from a single interface.
Edinburgh’s Smart City Strategy focuses on introducing innovative technologies to manage resources more efficiently and improve public services. A key barrier to this was the city’s outdated public space security system, which could not integrate new applications and technologies.
With funding from the European Regional Development Fund and in partnership with North, Edinburgh has launched a state-of-the-art Smart City Operations Centre using Genetec Security Center, a platform that combines video surveillance, analytics and IoT sensors.
With its unified platform in place, Edinburgh has been able to expand CCTV coverage in public spaces and enable secure data sharing with partners like Police Scotland, the Fire Service, and Transport for Edinburgh.
The system supports day-to-day operations and the management of large-scale events such as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Royal Military Tattoo, and the upcoming Hogmanay celebrations. However, it also extends its capabilities beyond physical security.
“All truly connected Smart Cities start with unified security as success depends on centralising your operations under one platform,” said Genetec’s Ben Durrant. “Otherwise, every new IoT device deployed will make you data-rich but information-poor. Our platform differs from conventional alternatives because of its open hybrid-cloud architecture that offers the flexibility and functionality needed to evolve and keep pace with new requirements.”
The council credits the software with saving hundreds of man-hours that were previously spent manually trawling through surveillance footage. As well as with helping it to more than double the number of viewing requests from Police Scotland that it can positively respond to. The improved quality of footage submitted as evidence is also expected to increase the number of early guilty pleas, reducing the time police officers must spend attending court to give evidence.
“The benefits for Edinburgh residents are massive,” said Edinburgh Council’s Gavin Brown. “Enhanced public safety, improved services, optimised traffic flow, better infrastructure and city planning. Genetec and North have proved instrumental in helping deliver our Smart City strategy.”
