How Durham College modernized emergency response with Verkada

With over 12,000 students across Oshawa and Whitby, Durham College is one of Ontario’s leading post-secondary institutions, offering 145+ programs including apprenticeships and applied degrees. As a hub of hands-on learning and innovation, campus safety is mission-critical. But aging CCTV infrastructure, limited coverage, and manual workflows posed increasing challenges.

Durham College needed a scalable, real-time solution to safeguard people and property while improving agility, emergency coordination, and long-term operational efficiency.

The challenge: Legacy CCTV couldn’t keep pace with campus risks

Durham College faced several escalating challenges across its two campuses:

Security blind spots in low-traffic zones due to budget-limited camera placement
Slow, manual footage retrieval processes during incidents and investigations
No remote visibility or mobile monitoring during active threats
Inability to proactively detect or track unauthorized individuals on campus
Cost and infrastructure constraints that limited system expansion

The solution: Unified video surveillance and mobile-first emergency response

To overcome these barriers, Durham College partnered with Verkada—a cloud-based, AI-powered physical security partner.

With Verkada, Durham College adopted an integrated solution that includes:

Enterprise-grade video surveillance: 185+ cloud-managed cameras with 365-day onboard storage and real-time access via Verkada Command
Emergency response & workplace safety: 8 mobile-ready VX52 Viewing Stations deployed across campus for fast coordination during active incidents
AI-powered analytics: People of Interest alerts, facial recognition, and remote monitoring to detect and manage unauthorized campus access
Smart building security: Panoramic fisheye and multisensor cameras to maximize visibility and reduce infrastructure costs

Key results: Faster response, better visibility, and smarter campus protection

With Verkada’s unified platform in place, Durham College has transformed its emergency readiness and campus-wide safety strategy:

Live camera access for police during threats enables coordinated, real-time responses
Footage retrieval time reduced from hours to minutes, eliminating reliance on DVR rooms
$5,500 saved by using a CH52-E multisensor freeing budget for expanded coverage.
Trespasser alerts in real time through facial recognition and People Analytics
Increased visibility across low-traffic zones with panoramic and mobile camera solutions

Strategic security partnerships that scale with higher education

Durham College’s success illustrates how colleges can secure their campuses through scalable, cloud-first physical security. At Cloud Managed Networks (CMN), we’re proud to deliver integrated solutions that empower institutions like Durham College to enhance safety, streamline response, and future-proof their security infrastructure.

As a Verkada Diamond+ partner, our offerings include:

Video Security: AI-powered surveillance cameras with smart analytics
Access Control: Cloud-managed systems for secure entry tracking
Emergency Response & Workplace Safety: Tools to manage incidents dynamically
Environmental Sensors: Monitor air quality, noise, temperature, and occupancy
Compliance & Risk Management: Centralized reporting to meet institutional standards

Whether enabling mobile response, expanding campus coverage, or automating incident alerts, CMN delivers the strategy, technology, and support to protect what the matters most.