A partnership of expertise

A partnership of expertise

The partnership between Seagate and Secure Logiq is delivering a single end-to-end surveillance storage solution specifically tailored to the Middle East. Security Middle East magazine explores the technology underpinning the partnership, and what more we can expect to see from it.

One of the big stories to come out of Intersec in Dubai earlier this year was the new partnership between Seagate and Secure Logiq. According to both manufacturers, the relationship is one that plays to their individual strengths and ultimately brings a best-in-class solution for security professionals in the Middle East.

The unique regulatory requirements found in the Middle East form the backbone of the partnership. Retention time for captured footage is typically longer in the region than anywhere else in the world, while CCTV camera counts for individual systems are typically higher too. With more data to store for longer periods, high-capacity solutions such as SAN (storage area network) become an important tool for security professionals. While many manufacturers have SAN offerings, it is the ability to tune the solution specifically for security applications and provide a full end-to-end offering that is the standout benefit of the relationship between Seagate and Secure Logiq.

“Everyone knows Seagate as a leader in mass data storage infrastructure, so this partnership is about adding in the security expertise and system design skills of Secure Logiq to bring a complete solution to the video surveillance market,” explained Zubair Shareef, Surveillance Sales Manager at Seagate Technology. “By working with Secure Logiq, we are giving our combined customers peace of mind that what is being designed and delivered is a 100 per cent functional and tailored solution for their needs.”

“Secure Logiq knows the surveillance and security industry really well, so we can ensure that solutions are designed and built to fit the needs of the application,” added Anand Subbiah, Middle East Regional Director at Secure Logiq. “When you add in Seagate’s capabilities with SAN storage, it forms a perfect combination for us both, and more importantly, our customers.”

Local presence

The combined benefits to customers is a line that is often used by manufacturers when they announce new partnerships. But these benefits can often be somewhat ethereal and difficult to actually back up. This is something that both Seagate and Secure Logiq are keen to stress is not the case with their partnership. Both companies have a local presence in the Middle East, and they are using this to encourage potential customers to come and get hands-on experience with the technology they are investing in.

“We want people to be able to experience exactly what we can offer, and we have set up the Secure Logiq office in Dubai to facilitate this,” said Subbiah. “Alongside Secure Logiq’s servers, you can get hands-on with Seagate’s Exos E 5U84 high-capacity, high-performance SAN platform that can handle extreme data growth with full redundancy and high availability. Added to this, thanks to Seagate’s demonstrator software tool you can get a full product demo to help you visualise the solution that you are buying – or share the link to show your end users.”

The local presence also provides an opportunity for both companies to support a project from the earliest possible stage. “Seagate and Secure Logiq are happy to work side-by-side to support our clients,” said Subbiah. “Our experts will work with you to design a fit-for-purpose solution that will be long-lasting.”

Shareef added: “Secure Logiq and Seagate will be able to suggest the types of technology that you need for today and how to build on this for the future. We believe that this will ultimately bring our customers true value from a server and storage point of view.”

Resilient by design

When it comes to safety and security, resilience is key. You need your surveillance system to be working 24/7 and you need the confidence that if something does go wrong, there will be no impact on your operations. This is where the partnership between Seagate and Secure Logiq has advanced since it was initially announced.

Seagate’s use of CNC (Converged Network Controllers) in its SAN solutions offers superior flexibility regarding host connectivity and future protection when compared to other SAN solutions on the market today. On top of this, a new initiative from Secure Logiq has been created to provide tailored redundancy to security applications – Logiqal CORE. With Logiqal CORE, identical or disparate operating systems can be installed on a single server across a number of virtual machines. This overcomes application features and limitations. Implementing Logiqal CORE translates into lower total costs of ownership by reducing the number of physical servers, resources, rack space and power requirements.

No matter what video management software you use, Secure Logiq’s Logiqal CORE offers everything from the simplest like-for-like failover, through to complicated setups such as multiple remote sites failing to a single site or partial failover if you don’t need full failover for all of your system.

“We understand the challenges security professionals in the Middle East face in trying to ensure they can deliver the most robust solution for the best possible price,” explained Secure Logiq Global Sales Director, Ben Yoxall. “With Logiqal CORE, we have answered this challenge with a resilient solution that will provide users with the peace of mind that they have the ultimate solution in place if things go wrong, combined with the understanding that they are reducing the total cost of ownership of their security system. Combining Logiqal CORE and Seagate’s industry-leading SAN solutions really does deliver the best of both worlds.”

Reflecting on the partnership and the advantages that the combined technology and expertise can bring, Subbiah summed up the offering simply as: “Resilient, scalable and the way to go for security professionals in the Middle East.”