Prism Skylabs Brings Traditional Camera Technology Back to the Future

Much like in fashion and music, everything old in technology is new again. Well, sort of.

A growing trend has emerged as business owners struggle to use their traditional camera surveillance technology in increasingly innovative (and useful) ways. More and more end users are combining their existing camera infrastructure with new cutting-edge cloud technology to create an entirely new tool. In the end, this allows for increased customer understanding and lets them maximize ROI to grow their business. 

Prism Skylabs, a San Francisco-based startup, is leading the charge. The company is transforming traditional security systems from loss prevention cost centers, into multipurpose, revenue-generating machines that the whole organization can use.

Prism uniquely provides businesses visually stunning and data-rich views of any shelf, display, room, or store—in real time—by transforming existing video infrastructure into a powerful visual, analytics and security tool. Their software automatically detects existing video infrastructure and seamlessly connects it with the cloud. From there, Prism uses cutting-edge computational photography techniques and advanced computer vision technology to enhance the typically washed-out video. Within minutes, that gives customers 24/7 mobile access to any place in their business; long-term, secure, redundant cloud storage; next-level customer analytics; and, best of all, immediate answers to what happened in their business, without having to watch hours of video

Even businesses with years-old analog cameras can benefit from this advanced software. And now, Prism has announced an integration with Milestone Systems and compatibility with Mac, Linux and Windows. Prism made the announcements during ASIS International's 2013 conference, which was held Sept. 10-13 in Philadelphia.

These integrations, along with a previous 3VR integration, mean that any business with a computer and networked security cameras can now request an invitation to download the Prism software. From there, they can start viewing their stores from their mobile phone or tablet, generate customer activity heatmaps and begin storing images indefinitely in the cloud. 

The implications of this are quite significant for businesses with existing video systems needing an update, as well as for businesses that are in need of ROI from hefty security and surveillance investments.

“Historically, setting marketing and merchandising strategy for a retail organization with many locations has been incredibly difficult, in particular because so few metrics are available to help guide decisions,” said Steve Russell, CEO of Prism Skylabs. “Our mission is to change that. We’re delivering never-before available, real-time data about the impact of your marketing programs and using a resource you already have—security cameras—to do it.”

Without purchasing any additional hardware, businesses simply download the Prism software, which automatically detects the cameras in the network. Once downloaded, business owners, store managers or employees are able to gain access to key marketing, merchandising and operational insights within their business, including customer traffic patterns, product life, dwell time, staff optimization, crowd counts, product display audits and more.

Businesses can also test multiple sites across an enterprise using a simple interface. Then, they can share their conclusions or visual images throughout the organization. And the best part? This can all be done remotely from a laptop, smartphone or tablet. 

Ready to bring your business up to speed? Get Prism's software today: www.prismskylabs.com. For more information on the Milestone partnership and OS integrations, click here.