K-12 Education Case Study

Solon Community School District

An Updated Video Surveillance System Reduces Frustrations
A rural school district in Eastern Iowa was struggling with a costly, unreliable video surveillance system when they turned to Inteconnex. Our team of security experts came up with a powerful, cost-efficient solution to meet their needs and budget while providing exceptional customer support.

Overview

Solon Community School District is a rural public school district located in Eastern Iowa. The district operates four school buildings, including an elementary school, intermediate school, middle school, and high school. Over 1,500 students, 200 teachers and staff serve the school district.

Inteconnex first started working with Sean Seaton, Director of Technology at Solon Community School District, over 10 years ago, implementing wireless access points throughout the district. Seaton cited continual problems with their video surveillance system as a major frustration, and he was looking into other options. The Inteconnex team recommended a more reliable, cost-effective solution for the school district.

Challenge

Solon was dealing with numerous issues with their security cameras and video management server. The original video surveillance system was installed to keep the students and staff safe on school grounds and be able to reference footage if an incident occurred. With cameras frequently down and not recording, that became impossible.

“The main thing back when we installed this system was securing the perimeter of the building and doors so that we could see who’s coming and going. In our high school and middle school, monitoring student interactions and behavior was also part of it. We also like to have it on our elementary and intermediate schools’ playgrounds in case of any incidents. But truly it’s for the safety of our students,” said Seaton.

One of the primary concerns was the ongoing fees for licensing and software updates that were becoming too expensive for the district to maintain over time. Seaton, the principals, and other administrators also expressed dissatisfaction with the security cameras dropping coverage and lack of video recording. Their vendor at the time wasn’t able to provide the support they needed to keep their security system up and running; it was costly and unreliable.

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    Inteconnex Solution

    Inteconnex proposed i-PRO (previously Panasonic) Video Insight, a powerful and easy-to-use video management software. After meeting with Inteconnex, Seaton felt confident that the i-PRO system would be able to support the cameras they already had while giving them the flexibility to upgrade and add new cameras as the district grew. “It was a no-brainer,” according to Seaton. The Inteconnex team installed the i-PRO Video Insight video management system along with i-PRO cameras for the high school and middle school to kick off the project.

    “We installed the i-PRO system first in our high school because it really needed an upgrade, and we were extremely happy with that. Then we moved on to our middle school where we had some serious issues with cameras going out and the video server not working the way we needed it to. We are in the process of updating the other two school buildings to Video Insight as well,” said Seaton.

    Benefits

    The new high-performing system has no recurring fees, which has been the biggest benefit according to Seaton. With the i-PRO system, the cost difference was significant because the school district no longer had to pay to keep their security software up-to-date.

    Another major difference from Solon’s previous system is the quality and performance of the new video management system. 

    “The up-time with the i-PRO system versus the old solution–there is no comparison. It’s night and day difference. It was frustrating for our principals and facilities director when they needed to look at something and the system was down. Inteconnex’s system is rock-solid. It’s nice to know it’s there and working when we need it.”

    Inteconnex Service

     “Compared to a lot of other companies, Inteconnex actually listens to what we want instead of telling us what we want. They’re never pushy, so the solutions are designed around what is best for our school district,” Seaton stated. The customer support was something Seaton said they didn’t get with their old vendor. 

    “I like the fact that Inteconnex is a local company here around Cedar Rapids. Someone from their team might be passing through and stop here to take a look at something we need. It’s just really great customer service and we appreciate that.”

    The support that the Inteconnex team is able to provide helps his team focus on other priorities within the school district. “It’s been a good relationship. We trust everyone there and we look forward to continuing to work with Inteconnex.”

    About Inteconnex

    Inteconnex is a leading physical security integrator in the Midwest. The company designs and installs comprehensive security solutions with customized and fully-networked capabilities. The highly trained staff at Inteconnex has roots in information technology, providing customers with unrivaled technical expertise, service, and the highest performing systems for today’s increasingly complex and networked world of advanced physical security.

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