Video Surveillance at Your Service Since 1996: Observit

“An open mobile video management company, Observit has been delivering top notch cloud-based video surveillance solutions to logistics, transportation and numerous other industries that require real-time monitoring.”

Observit was started in 1994 when its founders left the Internet R&D wing within the Swedish Telecom, and started, as pioneers, developing products and services using Internet as a strategy. Video was interesting and the first IP (Internet Protocol) camera solution was developed & delivered by 1995. The first hosted video service, VSaaS, was released in 2000 and the brand “Observit” was registered.

“We built IP connections to cameras that had no IP back in 1995. We have been developing products that connect things for 20 years. Today, it is called the Internet of Things or IoT. But with 20-years of experience we know that the connection itself is not the hard thing to do. The challenge is to make small units of hardware, the cameras, a stable, reliable and accessible enterprise system, all put together as a service. Let the customer use the system instead of configuring and managing,” said Lars Flodén, CEO.

In 2006, Observit released its flagship product, the first IP based VMS (Video Management System) for public transport named Observit BOT. The BOT was, and still is, a unique product on the market where the technology and the processes are combined with the Enterprise design from telecom solutions. Observit BOT is designed to be the best solution in this particular transportation market using the unique experience from telecom to build Enterprise Mobile services with thousands of units and cameras. Technologically, Observit BOT is a unique product within CCTV and mobile solutions.

Observit BIT, the future in mobile video surveillance
With the new Observit BIT VMS, the company will take a leap to a new level with a very exciting and efficient way of making use of the Internet and IP based technology. The target for Observit BIT is the niche of mobile fleets and transportation. With low complexity to install and establish in vehicles and centrally managed, Observit BIT is ready to be used anywhere, anytime, without any hurdles or limitations. With a well-proven unique technology, no geographical limitations and a partnership with Axis Communications, Observit BIT will be a success in the fragmented market of non-enterprise solutions in the transportation market.

Best-in-class Solution Offerings
Observit’s solutions are developed with the transport segment in focus. It’s a niche market which is known well to the company and it has built the system to be best-in-class in this segment. Observit has a centrally monitored and managed service where it’s easy to monitor and get an actual status of all units and access recordings and real-time streaming. Another common problem is the usage and management that are resource intensive and requires specialist competence.

The company has put a lot of work and development to make both BOT and BIT extremely easy to install, use and manage. No expertise is needed to use or install them. Easy to access recorded video and video in real-time are easy and secure. Designated resources could be granted access. I.E. Police, insurance or other, which speed up the time to access video, limit the resource needed for management.

Nobina Case Study – Public Transportation
Nobina chose Observit BOT, a video surveillance system, together with Axis network cameras. The solution had to be simple to configure and manage while also satisfying Nobina’s requirements for quality and reliability. More than 7,000 cameras were installed on 2,000 buses in total in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – primarily the AXIS M31 and AXIS P39 Network Camera Series.

The Result
Nobina was able to increase safety and security for both their bus passengers and their drivers. The system is easy to install and monitor centrally, eliminating the costly requirement for engineers to manually retrieve data from each individual unit. The new high-definition surveillance system also makes it easy for police to immediately and remotely access high-quality image material in both real time and for forensic review, enabling an effective and timely response. The image material in vehicles can be obtained in real time or downloaded via the network for further analysis.

“Observit offers a turnkey solution that gives you complete control of the entire process, from simple installation to monitoring of the cameras in each bus and the collection of image material. The entire process is covered in a highly functional and quality manner.” Bram Lauwers, Product Manager Digital Services at Nobina

Future Expansion
The Observit BIT makes it easy to expand within all segments transportation including all kind of mobile units that need an enterprise surveillance video system. With Observit BIT, the company is able to expand its presence geographically. In the first phase of expansion, Observit will establish itself in the western world which comprises all European countries and the US.

“Our service and product development is based on a trusted partnership with a broad customer base.”

Knowing the CEO – Lars Flodén
Lars is a great relationship builder and is able to see the bigger picture in terms of strategy using his in-depth technical as well as business understanding. He deals with anything and everything with calm and has an open mind to find positive solutions to difficult situations, whether they be locally, regionally or globally. Before helming the CEO role at Observit, Lars held several positions at Steria, Sun Microsystems and Capgemini.