When prestige fine furnishing company Sedar wanted to support its expansion strategy across the Middle East and beyond it turned to IDIS for a high performance video surveillance solution

Sedar is a leading brand in the world of fine furnishings with itsheadquarters in the United Arab Emirates and operations throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). From mini blinds to opulent drapes embellished with Swarovski crystals, Sedar’s prestige products can be found in high-profile locations across the world. With innovation and technology at its heart, the company combines stringent quality control with excellent customer care across its entire estate.

Pursuing an ambitious growth strategy, including franchise opportunities, during 2015 Sedar is extending its reach with new retail outlets due to open across the MENA region. To support expansion while maintaining its quality commitment, brand reputation and customer experience, Sedar sought a scalable, cost-effective video surveillance solution to ensure a coherent approach to security throughout its growing enterprise.

Specific requirements
Secure multi-site company premises, including manufacturing facilities, a 50,000m 2 distribution centre in Riyadh, company headquarters, eight major warehouses, 20+ showrooms and external areas including car parks
Offer a complete security solution to new franchise operators
Maximise staff safety in the workplace via live monitoring
Ensure appropriate use of company resources and machinery
Manage authorised access to company premises
Maintain compliance with best working practices and regulations

The IDIS solution
By early 2014 Sedar had reviewed systems from around 40 manufacturers, but had not found what it wanted. That all changed at Intersec 2014 in Dubai when the team saw IDIS DirectIP™, a next generation surveillance solution, in action. IDIS DirectIP is an end-to-end and one-stop-shop video surveillance solution. Comprising a range of IP cameras, network video recorders, monitors, bundled video management software (VMS) plus switching hubs and accessories, IDIS DirectIP offered Sedar the most comprehensive full-HD networked surveillance solution available.

Key features that appealed to Sedar included:
■ Plug and play simplicity – fast, easy set up plus an intuitive user interface to eliminate the need for costly training, installation and integration support
■ High HD performance – simultaneous multiple, full-HD live monitoring, playback and recording with superb clarity and none of the visible latency problems associated with some IP systems
■ Affordable security – NVR quality plus remote diagnostics, minimal maintenance procedures, no annual software license fees and low power consumption
■ Resilience and reliability – highly robust recording and storage capability and guarantee unprecedented retrieval speeds

Substantial order
Following a successful trial in March 2014, the company placed a substantial order to roll out across its international estate. Implement ation ran from April to November 2014 as part of a phased programme. Plug and play simplicity meant the installation was completed with minimal engineer training and no disruption to routine operations. At each location, installation took approximately two days including all infrastructure and IP set-up.
A control centre at Sedar’s Sharjar headquarters was established to coordinate centralised live monitoring of all locations by a small team of operators. Sedar has so far committed to around 40 network video recorders and 400 cameras plus all associated accessories and videomanagement software.
Within months Sedar was successfully running a full-HD and networked video surveillance system across its entire multinational estate. A centralised control centre maximises live monitoring protection and ensures rapid incident response times, while controlling erational costs and minimising exposure to risk. The company is easily extending connectivity to each new international location that comes online.

Sedar is benefitting from all the advantages that the IDIS DirectIP™ can offer, including:
■ Low total cost of ownership
■ Unparalleled scalability to support future growth
■ Outstanding resilience, storage and retrieval of footage
■ Ease of use without the complexity, cost and time typically associated with high-performance surveillance
■ Full audit trails and complete regulatory compliance

Specifically, since implementing the solution, Sedar has reported:
■ A 10% increase in staff productivity
■ Fewer reports of unauthorised access to company premises
■ Fewer calls to investigate concerns about employee behaviour

In summary, the solution is fulfilling all of the original requirements and helping Sedar provide a safe, secure environment for its employees and customers. It is also better equipped to maintain its high quality standards, ensure that staff activity complies with company best practice across all areas of the business. 

Imad Najjar, Sedar Marketing Manager said: “Sedar is a trusted brandwith a strong commitment to quality. To uphold our high standards while supporting an ambitious multinational growth strategy, we wanted a state-of-the-art security surveillance system that offered exceptional performance without placing a heavy burden on company time and resources. We were immediately impressed with IDIS DirectIP™. It was user friendly, technically robust and offered everything we required – it was in a different class. Since the start, the quality of care provided by IDIS has been outstanding. From installation to day-to-day operation,everything has run smoothly. Our teams find it easy to manage and we are already seeing the benefits, including improved productivity. The results speak for themselves.” ■