Finnish Museum Protects Priceless Works of Art With March Networks Security Solution

LONDON, UK – The newly-built Serlachius Museum in Finland is benefiting from a video surveillance system powered by March Networks^® Command^™ Professional video management software and capturing video from more than 90 IP cameras located throughout the facility. The solution provides the museum with comprehensive oversight and awareness of visitor movements and will deliver solid video evidence in the event of an attempted theft.

The ultra-modern museum built out of sleek wood and glass is based in Mänttä, Finland, 260 kilometres north of Helsinki, and opened last summer. It comprises three exhibition spaces, a restaurant with spectacular views, a festival hall and a spacious museum shop. It is the legacy of paper mill owner and art collector Gösta Serlachius, and sits adjacent to Gösta Manor which was Serlachius’ private residence.

The March Networks IP video system has been designed to cover the Manor, the new Pavilion which houses the museum’s collection of Finnish and European masterpieces and a glass-walled passageway which connects the two buildings.

The Serlachius Museum’s local security systems integrator, KMV Turvapalvelut Oy, recommended a March Networks video surveillance solution based on previous experience and teamed up with March Networks certified provider Tele-Projekti Oy to design the state-of-the-art, server-based system.

“Following a demonstration, we were satisfied that March Networks could provide us with the reliability and ease of use we were looking for,” said Gösta Serlachius Art Foundation CFO Juha Roponen.

Thirty-six March Networks MegaPX WDR NanoDomes and WDR MiniDome Z cameras cover the interior of the Pavilion, capturing crystal-clear images during the day when bright sunlight streams through the glass-walled structure, as well as in near-dark conditions at night – a feature of the cameras’ wide dynamic range capability.

Video from Gösta Manor is captured by 16 analogue cameras that were part of the museum’s previous video surveillance system, while 28 Infinova T Series bullet cameras record activity in the sculpture park, parking lot and other outdoor areas. Several Power-over-Ethernet switches provide power to the cameras.

Live video from selected cameras is available for viewing at the museum’s reception area, and authorised museum employees are able to watch live or archived video from their own workstations using March Networks’ browser-based Command client.

“The system gives our customer service personnel awareness of where our visitors are in the museum, and in the event of a theft, vandalism or other incident, it provides solid evidence of what happened,” said Roponen.

Video is stored on an external hard disk array with archiving capacity of approximately six days – more than enough to investigate reported events.

About Serlachius Museum
The Serlachius Museum (www.serlachius.fi) in Mänttä, Finland, 260 kilometres north of Helsinki, is the legacy of Gösta Serlachius, a Finnish paper mill owner and art collector. The museum is best known for its collection of masterpieces from the Finnish Golden Age of art, as well as old European masters and contemporary pieces.

About Tele-Projekti Oy
Founded in 1975, Tele-Projekti Oy (www.teleprojekti.fi) is a security system integrator based in Turku, Finland. The company specializes in CCTV, access control, alarms and communication systems.

About Turvapalvelut Oy
Turvapalvelut Oy (http://www.kmvoy.fi) is a security systems integrator based in Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland. The company serves residential and business customers throughout central Finland with a wide range of security systems and services, including video surveillance, alarm systems and physical security.

March Networks, March Networks Command and the March Networks logo are trademarks of March Networks Corporation. Infinova is a trademark of Infinova Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.