Vievu, an industry leader in body worn video, today unveiled its work with Microsoft Corp. to develop an industry-leading, enterprise-grade cloud platform built on the Microsoft Azure Government cloud as part of the Vievu video management solution for law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency responders.
A top concern for public safety agencies is whether a cloud platform meets the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) policies, which enables departments to connect to the FBI’s systems and securely access its data. Understanding this is a crucial priority for law enforcement and public safety agencies, Vievu worked with Microsoft to develop the first CJIS- capable version of the trusted VeriPatrol platform for the Microsoft Azure Government cloud.
The adoption of body worn video by law enforcement has significantly accelerated in recent months. However, storing evidence can be problematic for agencies as a year's worth of video from each officer's body camera can require a terabyte of stored data. Cloud storage provides a flexible and cost-effective solution, but most platforms on the market do not meet law enforcement standards and policies for security or regulatory compliance, causing agencies to be wary of making the switch.
“Many police departments have told us they have been unable to explore the benefits of the cloud due to concerns with CJIS security policies. Microsoft’s commitment to security and supporting CJIS standards unlocked the power and scalability of the cloud for every police department in the United States,” said Steve Lovell, president, Vievu.
By developing a secure storage system on the Azure Government cloud, Vievu is helping police departments capture and archive video evidence gathered during a police officer’s daily routine. Because Vievu is CJIS-capable, police departments will be able to use the cloud to view, modify, and share video data with a convenient, on-demand solution that is capable of meeting regulatory requirements.
“Compliance with the FBI’s CJIS Security Policy is critical for law enforcement agencies and Microsoft is excited to work with Vievu on CJIS-capable cloud storage for body-worn camera video,” said Richard Zak, director of Justice & Public Safety Solutions, Microsoft State & Local Government.
The Azure Government cloud has a flexible design so agencies can utilize hybrid solutions that stores sensitive data in an on-premises datacenter and less sensitive information in the cloud. Agencies can scale services as needs change, all without having to sacrifice compliance with regulatory obligations.
In addition to support for CJIS compliance, police departments and public safety organizations also need to address physical and geographical security measures about how and where data is stored. The Azure Government cloud meets these demands as it offers a private, security-enabled environment with datacenters constructed in areas designed to support business continuity scenarios. Further, the Azure Government cloud is operated by U.S. citizens and adheres to a broader set of security and privacy policies to protect customer data.