Nishimachi International School
Background
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Japan, Nishimachi International School is a world-renowned institution with a rich history of innovative educational excellence. Since 1949, the school has enrolled the children of international-minded families and offered a rigorous curriculum, a close-knit community, and a vibrant local culture.
Aligned with the International Task Force on Child Protection, Nishimachi holds itself to the highest standard when it comes to providing and maintaining a safe school environment for all students. “Student protection is our highest priority. Verkada helps improve security while maintaining a sense of privacy.”
The Evaluation
Through Verkada’s free trial program, the school experienced firsthand the simplicity and scalability of hybrid cloud solutions – eliminating the need to maintain servers, digital video recorders (DVRs), or network video recorders (NVRs) for video security. In deciding on a solution, the school was concerned with not only the upfront implementation but also the cost of ongoing maintenance of installed systems. To that end, it was important for the school to implement a system with long-term upkeep in mind.
“Other camera systems on the market still required onsite fixed hardware setups, which lacked the flexibility we needed."
Following the trial, Nishimachi deployed Verkada cameras in strategic locations across campus, which has helped improve the physical and technical security with upgrades to their property.
Why Verkada?
“When we tried Verkada, we were immediately impressed with the hardware and software.”
While minimizing long-term costs, the Verkada system has strengthened security by allowing for easy monitoring of the campus and quick response to incidents. The cameras serve various purposes – monitoring gates, responding quickly to reports of suspicious activity and ensuring overall student safety. The system also offered several advantages:
Privacy features and role-based permissions
User-friendly software and actionable insights
Onboard and cloud-based video storage
24/7 support and 10-year warranties
Upholding a Duty of Care and Student Privacy
The school upholds a duty of care to protect all students and prevent them from experiencing harm, and to act with a sense of urgency if a student is at risk of harm. An inquiry will be undertaken for any concern or issue raised – no matter how minor.
“We cover our entire perimeter, including points of entry into the campus, as well as specific internal spaces like courtyards and rooftops. We’re strategic in our camera placement to protect people and property in a privacy-sensitive manner – including the use of granular viewing and access permission functionality that the Verkada platform provides.”
The decision to install internal cameras was made carefully, to enhance safety while respecting privacy. Role-based permissions enable only authorized personnel to access specific camera feeds. Other privacy features – such as face blur, live-only viewing, audit logs, and privacy regions – balance both privacy and security protocols.
User-Friendly Software and Actionable Insights
"Accessing and using Verkada is simple: we have a single portal to manage it all. The Command platform is very easy to use, being able to quickly pinpoint an incident is the biggest benefit.”
Intuitively designed, the Command software platform is easy for any staff member to use – no matter what level of technical experience they have. They can view camera feeds from a mobile app or web-based browser – no matter where they are located. "If we hear a report of a gate being left open, I can check it from my phone or laptop. It gives peace of mind to have Verkada reliably protecting our school in the background.”
Smart search filters and actionable analytics also enable faster incident response. "We can use the cameras to quickly uncover the truth in any situation. If something happens, we can very quickly see where, when, and who was involved. If a concern is raised, Verkada cameras can offer an objective account. "
Student Protection Policies Supported by Objective Video Evidence
The school strives to maintain a culture where people feel able to raise their concerns. All community members are responsible for keeping the school informed and playing a role in safeguarding the students.
Built with hybrid cloud architecture, cameras combine the reliability of onboard storage with the scalability of edge-based processing. The footage is stored locally on the device itself for up to 365 days and saved to unlimited cloud-based archives, so incident clips can be easily retrieved at any time. Reducing the bandwidth footprint to 20 kbps per camera, the school can have over 100 cameras on the same connection (~ only 2mbps) in contrast with one traditional cloud camera which averages 1-2 Mbps.
Automatic Updates, 24/7 Support, and 10-Year Warranties
"The biggest luxury with Verkada is that we can ‘set it and forget it.’ The system maintains itself, we don’t need to worry about manual updates.”
The school minimizes maintenance requirements to eliminate hidden costs, unexpected downtime, and gaps in coverage. The school’s Verkada products have a warranty of up to 10 years, and include automatic software and firmware updates containing the latest security enhancements and feature upgrades. If any issues arise, Verkada's global customer support is available 24/7 through phone, email, or live chat.
"We initially felt like we needed to go with a local company, so we can quickly deal with problems that arise. However, Verkada's technical support has been excellent; they are available at any time and resolve our issues on the spot. We benefit from the support we receive both locally in Japan through the distributor, as well as directly through Verkada.”
Looking Ahead
The school's adoption of Verkada highlights this commitment to modern security practices and strategic planning for the future. By embracing new technology and forward-thinking innovation, Nishimachi not only protects its students but also upholds its legacy of adapting to present-day needs.
Nishimachi International School, guided by Tané Matsukata's vision of fostering international and independent thinkers, has evolved with the times while maintaining its foundational values to provide the best learning environment for its students. For the next steps, Nishimachi is interested in exploring cloud-based access control with the DK11 trial program, which integrates natively and seamlessly with existing cameras.
“We see the potential to bring all our security – doors and credentials – together under one platform. We can further enhance our ability to protect students.”
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