South African security provider CAP is expanding the role of CCTV beyond traditional surveillance, using artificial intelligence to turn existing camera networks into business intelligence tools.
Its SmartGuard division, which provides CCTV solutions to more than 400 clients across residential estates, corporate campuses and commercial and industrial properties, currently monitors almost 5,000 cameras.
The division has introduced a cloud-based AI platform that analyses video feeds using customised prompts designed around each client's operational requirements.
"Businesses have invested significantly in camera infrastructure over many years. The opportunity now is to make those assets work harder by turning them into intelligent data collection and operational management tools," says Ben Doron, who heads up SmartGuard within CAP.
From security to business intelligence
Rather than using AI solely to identify security threats, the platform can analyse activity across a business and provide insights into operational efficiency, compliance and customer behaviour.
For industrial and commercial businesses, applications include monitoring health and safety compliance, such as the use of personal protective equipment, as well as warehouse productivity, loading and offloading activity, illegal dumping and vehicle and driver behaviour.
Retailers can use the technology to monitor footfall, occupancy and customer movement through heat mapping, helping inform store layouts, staffing and broader operational decisions.
The platform is customised for individual clients, allowing AI prompts and reporting capabilities to evolve as business requirements change.
"This is about giving organisations a 360-degree view of their operations. Security becomes only one component of a much broader business intelligence capability," says Doron.
AI and human expertise
SmartGuard operates a hybrid model that combines AI-powered video analysis with human oversight.
AI can process large volumes of footage and identify predefined events, patterns and anomalies, while trained operators validate findings and provide context where human judgement is required.
"The future is not AI replacing people; it is AI empowering people to make faster, more informed decisions," says Doron. "Human oversight remains critical because context, judgement and experience cannot be automated."
South African technology targets international growth
The technology is already gaining traction beyond South Africa. SmartGuard says 1,000 cameras have been connected across the UK and US over the past six months, signalling growing international demand for AI-enabled video analytics.
The business is targeting 10,000 connected cameras globally by the end of 2027.
CAP's deputy CEO Sean Jammy says SmartGuard's commercial model also supports CAP's broader non-profit security mandate.
"Not only do we secure stakeholders by monitoring almost 5,000 cameras, but the business unit provides revenue for CAP to deploy to secure residents across Johannesburg safer, thanks to our unique shared value non-profit model," he says.
The expansion positions SmartGuard at the intersection of security, artificial intelligence and business intelligence, while highlighting the potential for locally developed technology to compete in international markets.
"By merging South African innovation with best-of-breed software, we have created a unique offering that has been well received in large overseas markets, and we are well poised to grow and create South African jobs as a result," says Doron.
As businesses look to extract greater value from existing infrastructure, AI-powered video analytics is increasingly moving beyond surveillance to become a tool for operational management, compliance and data-driven decision-making.
