IDIS America, the regional headquarters of the South Korea-based global video surveillance manufacturer, has announced a substantial donation of equipment to The Salvation Army of North Texas, and the completion of installation at the charitable endeavor’s newest facility in Lewisville, Texas. The donation was made in conjunction with KOTRA (the Korean Investment-Promotion Trade Agency) office in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

IDIS donated more than a dozen cameras, as well as recording and storage technologies, including the company’s 12MP Super Fisheye, and the company’s Smart UX controls. Additional features the location will benefit from include IDIS’s Smart Failover capabilities, and license-free, full-featured VMS IDIS Center, IDIS Mobile remote monitoring and control capability, two-way communication, and expanded storage. Additionally, KOTRA’s donations covered the cost of installation, to further benefit The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army of North Texas’ Lewisville location is located on the grounds of a church facility acquired by The Salvation Army. Though many are familiar with The Salvation Army’s hands-on work with the homeless and facilities that provide food and/or shelter, the Lewisville location, which currently offers financial education services, will eventually house a comprehensive service center, featuring administrative offices and spaces for classroom training, music instruction, meetings, and, eventually, sports and other youth programs. As the location’s offerings expand, the installation of IDIS’s next generation surveillance technology will assist the facility in ensuring a safe and secure environment for employees, volunteers, visitors, and program participants in the multi-faceted space.

Susan Smith, who manages IT at the facility for The Salvation Army, noted, “There is so much more to modern, comprehensive surveillance than our traditional ideas of ‘security.’ When you are blessed with a vibrant facility like this, which gives you the opportunity to offer many kinds of services and programs for community neighbors — especially families — it’s so important to have good situational awareness, not just to protect staff and clients, but to identify potential risks, maintenance concerns, track the flow of people, monitor construction and other projects, and simply have high-quality data and documentation about our facility’s day to day activities.

“The IDIS technology allows for all of this and more, with features like two-way communication and mobile/remote monitoring being of particular benefit to us and ensuring the success of what we do.”

Smith also noted that the presence of unobtrusive, but robust surveillance infrastructure also gives staff, visitors, and the facility’s neighbors confidence in The Salvation Army’s commitment to providing a safe, secure, and welcoming environment for all.

Keith Drummond, senior director, IDIS America, points to the company’s longstanding commitment to community involvement, including the recent launch of the IDIS “Create a Better World” campaign — encouraging the whole of the security industry and public at large to find ways to make a positive difference in communities — as a key differentiator for the company, and one that has little to do with the bottom line,” he said. “Not everything at IDIS, as in life, is about profit and loss. Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing, being a good citizen and neighbor, and creating the best world we can, however we can. The Salvation Army is one of the premiere service organizations in the United States and beyond, and their charitable efforts are renowned. I’m proud as an employee, but also as a person, to know that IDIS could provide meaningful assistance to a valued neighbor here in the DFW area in this way. As a company we are committed to helping the world be both safer and more secure, and this donation marries our mission and values with action.”