Genetec helps Edinburgh make its Smart City strategy a reality

With the unified platform Genetec Security Center, that combines video surveillance, data analysis and IoT sensors in a single system, la ciudad de Edimburgo ha ampliado la cobertura de CCTV en espacios públicos y facilitado el intercambio seguro de datos con socios como la Policía de Escocia, Fire and Transport Service for Edinburgh.

He Edinburgh City Council is using Genetec Security Center as the backbone of its Smart City. This software is revolutionizing public safety, los municipal services and the urban planning by allowing the council to manage all smart city technologies from a single interface.

The City Council's Smart City strategy focuses on the implementation of innovative technologies to manage resources more efficiently and improve public services. However, one of the main obstacles to this vision was the city's outdated public space security system, which lacked the capacity to integrate new applications and technologies.

Thanks to the funding from European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and in collaboration with North, Edinburgh has launched an innovative smart city operations center based on Genetec Security Center, a unified platform that combines video surveillance, data analysis and IoT sensors in a single system.

“All truly connected smart cities start with unified security, since success depends on centralizing operations on a single platform. Otherwise, each new IoT device deployed will only generate large volumes of data without useful interpretation”, comment Ben Durrant, Genetec account executive. “Our platform stands out from conventional alternatives thanks to its open hybrid cloud architecture, which provides the flexibility and functionality needed to evolve and adapt to new requirements.

With this unified platform, Edinburgh has managed to expand the CCTV coverage in public spaces and facilitate secure data sharing with partners like Police Scotland, Fire and Transport Service for Edinburgh.

The system not only supports daily operations and large-scale event management, such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Royal Military Tattoo or Hogmanay, but it also extends its capabilities beyond physical security.

The Security Center ecosystem allows us to collect and visualize valuable data from advanced IoT sensors and intelligent analysis of how residents and visitors actually use the city. This enables the City Council to make more informed decisions to make Edinburgh an even safer city, more ecological and better managed, points out Andrew Foster, general director of public services in North.

The City Council acknowledges that the software has saved hundreds of hours of work that were previously spent on manually reviewing surveillance recordings. Besides, It has helped more than double the number of image access requests by Police Scotland that the council can respond to positively.

It is expected that the improvement in the quality of images presented as evidence will increase the number of early guilty pleas, Which will reduce the time police officers have to spend in court testifying.

“The benefits for Edinburgh's citizens are enormous: Greater public safety, Better services, Traffic optimization, una infraestructura mejorada y una planificación urbana más eficiente,” concludes Gavin Brown, jefe de gestión de redes y aplicación de normativas del Ayuntamiento de Edimburgo. “Genetec y North han sido fundamentales para ayudarnos a hacer realidad nuestra estrategia de ciudad inteligente”.