Quality, Innovation Win Over TCF Bank

March Networks News
Quality, Innovation
Win Over TCF Bank
8000 Series NVRs and
IP Cameras Planned for
430-Branch Deployment
March Networks’ reputation for quality, innovation
and customer support has won over Minneapolis-based
TCF Bank, a financial institution with over 430 branches
in the U.S. Mid-West.
U
NTIL recently, a decentralized management structure gave security
executives in each of TCF’s regions considerable autonomy in the
selection of video surveillance products.
Several branches in the bank’s Minnesota region had been
using March Networks® systems for a few years. “They were happy due to
the fact that there were never any service issues with them,” said David
Nelson, Assistant Vice-President for Physical Security. Branches in Illinois,
Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan using another manufacturer’s system
began experiencing an epidemic of failures with a newly introduced
platform.
“We literally had a 100 percent failure rate within the first 60 days,”
said Nelson. “I could understand if the company was willing to stand
behind its product, admit that they didn’t test enough, promise to correct
the problem and apologize. I wasn’t looking for free units or anything. I
just wanted the product that was purchased to work properly.
“Instead, they blamed it on our installers. At that point, I decided to
look for a different platform.”
REPRINTED FROM March Networks News © 2 0 1 3 • www.marchnetworks.com • 1-800-563-5564 • 1-613-591-8181
“Video to me is the most
important part of my job.
I’m constantly reviewing the
health monitoring reports
and the retention times
on the units ..... I looked
at the March Networks
report today and it took me
under 10 seconds. That’s
beautiful.”
of theft, and have to tell law enforcement that
our video wasn’t working, I’d be a laughing
stock.”
There was only one service call for the
25 March Networks 4000 Series NVRs that
Nelson deployed in 2012, but it was just a
hard drive failure and “no big deal because
we mirror our drives anyway,” said Nelson.
The 8000 Series NVR is ideal given
TCF’s decision to standardize exclusively on
IP cameras — primarily March Networks
MegaPX WDR MiniDomes and MegaPX
WDR NanoDomes.
Superior image clarity was the driving
factor, said Nelson. “When I was doing
investigations, I was tired of the image
quality prohibiting me from having concrete
proof to confirm what I suspected. If
someone stole money from a vault and all I
could see was pixelated smudges, that wasn’t
very compelling evidence. With the March
Networks cameras, if I have a bank robbery,
I can provide police with a high-quality mug
shot of the robber.”
Nelson is also a big fan of March
Networks’ health monitoring functionality.
“Video to me is the most important
part of my job,” he confided. “I’m constantly
reviewing the health monitoring reports and
the retention times on the units. If a camera
goes out for 37 seconds, I want to know why.
With my other vendor, it would take me
30 minutes every morning to sort through
▼
— David Nelson
TCF Bank
Nelson, who is based in Burr Ridge,
Illinois, just outside Chicago, had been
hearing good things about March Networks
from his local security system integrator,
DAV-COM Electric.
“They were believers in the product and
knew the problems I was having. They said
‘We don’t have those problems with March
Networks and, if there is a problem, they
stand behind their product.’ So, I went with
one trial unit at the end of 2011 and from day
one, I knew it was the right decision.”
Nelson purchased 25 March Networks
4000 Series Hybrid NVRs in 2012 to replace
failing units and now plans to convert all 240
sites in his territory to March Networks’ new
8000 Series Hybrid NVRs.
In a departure from its traditional
decentralized approach to procurement, TCF
is now in the process of standardizing on a
single video surveillance vendor.
“All Corporate Security Managers are
on board,” said Nelson. “The 8000 Series is
a brilliant piece of equipment and will be our
standard going forward.”
According to Nelson, stability is the
number one criterion for selecting a video
surveillance system for banks and credit
unions.
“If I’m looking for video, I need to know
it’s going to be there and that there wasn’t
some hidden problem that I didn’t know
about. If I have a robbery or some other kind
DAV-COM Electric
DAV-COM Electric, based in
Orland Park, Illinois, is a March
Networks Certified Solution
Provider offering a wide range
of security and related services
to businesses in the Greater
Chicago region. To contact
a sales representative, call
708-444-2056 or go to
http://davcomelectric.com
REPRINTED FROM March Networks News © 2 0 1 3 • www.marchnetworks.com • 1-800-563-5564 • 1-613-591-8181
all the things I didn’t care about to get to
the issues that really mattered like a camera
malfunction or a hard drive failure. I looked
at the March Networks report today and it
took me under 10 seconds. That’s beautiful.”
March Networks’ Financial Transaction
Investigation (FTI) application is “an added
bonus to the fantastic NVRs we’re already
buying,” said Nelson. FTI’s integration of
a bank’s teller and ATM transaction data
with corresponding video is credited with
reducing investigations from as much as
four hours to 14 minutes by one financial
institution taking advantage of the March
Networks application.
“Instead of spending hours searching
for video, I will be able to just enter the
transaction number to get the associated
video,” said Nelson.
March Networks’ Searchlight Skimming
Detection software, which leverages the
company’s session detection video analytics
and FTI database to detect instances of ATM
skimming and cash harvesting, are also
appealing.
“My previous vendor made all kinds of
promises about having the best analytics,
including camera obstruction, facial recognition and license plate recognition,” recalled
Nelson. “All these promises were made and
none were delivered.”
TCF’s transition to March Networks
8000 Series NVRs is already under way.
Nelson ordered five units the day they were
released and expects them to arrive any day.
By the end of 2014, he plans for all of his sites
to be equipped with 8000 Series units. ▼
David Nelson, TCF Bank’s
Assistant Vice-President
for Physical Security, with
March Networks 8000
Series Hybrid NVR: “The
8000 Series is a brilliant
piece of equipment and
will be our standard
going forward.”
TCF BANK
TCF Bank is a Wayzata, Minnesotabased national bank holding
company with $18.2 billion in
total assets and 430 branches
in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan,
Colorado, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Arizona and South Dakota,
providing retail and commercial
banking services. For more
information about TCF Bank,
go to www.tcfbank.com
REPRINTED FROM March Networks News © 2 0 1 3 • www.marchnetworks.com • 1-800-563-5564 • 1-613-591-8181