“Everyone has security cameras. The question really is, are you getting them just for security, or are you truly unlocking what they can do by having them analyze a wider scope of your operations?” asks Daniel Khay, Director of Sales and Head of Emerging Technology at Tec-Tel Communications.
In an industry where security cameras have traditionally served as passive monitoring tools, Tec-Tel is pioneering an approach that transforms standard surveillance systems into powerful business intelligence platforms. By integrating AI with existing security infrastructure, the company is helping real estate owners extract actionable insights that go far beyond traditional security applications.
From Passive Monitoring to Active Intelligence
Most security cameras today come with basic AI capabilities that can identify objects like people or vehicles. Tec-Tel takes this technology significantly further by creating customized intelligence engines tailored to each client’s specific operational needs.
“What we’re trying to do is go deeper, and blend AI identification with actual output heuristics,” Khay explains. “We operate in the business of velocity of your inventory. Whatever inventory we can identify, we’re going to analyze its velocity to give you meaningful insights.”
The implementation is surprisingly straightforward. Tec-Tel connects existing camera infrastructure to cloud-based analytics software that processes the video feed. What makes their approach innovative is how they create custom AI agents for specific use cases.
“We will freeform talk to the system, like to ChatGPT, and it will create an AI video agent, which takes that set of instructions, applies it to video analysis, and delivers an outcome,” says Khay. This means clients can essentially “ask” their security camera system to analyze virtually any visual aspect of their operations without requiring complex programming.
Real Estate Applications That Deliver Results
For real estate professionals, Tec-Tel’s technology offers several compelling applications:
Construction Site Security and Compliance
Construction sites face unique security challenges with high theft risk and safety compliance concerns. Tec-Tel’s solution combines AI monitoring with human oversight to create a more efficient security system.
“Construction sites are high theft locations,” Khay notes. “What we do is increase efficiency by having a service that marries AI and humans.”
The AI system monitors for unauthorized access and safety violations, alerting a monitoring center when it detects potential problems. Human operators can then assess the situation and take appropriate action.
“Instead of getting fatigued watching screens all day, security personnel watch dynamic alerts,” Khay explains. “The AI drives what they need to look at, making the system actually cheaper to deploy than traditional human monitoring.”
Tenant Verification and Lease Compliance
For property managers, unauthorized subletting presents a significant challenge. Tec-Tel has developed a facial recognition solution that helps identify potential lease violations.
“We have landlords concerned about tenant fraud,” Khay shares. “Our facial recognition software running on these camera systems detects and identifies people coming in and out. After running for a month or two, we can tell who’s living there, who’s not, and what people are moving to what location.”
This capability helps landlords enforce lease restrictions while providing valuable data about building usage patterns.
Multifamily Security Integration
In multifamily buildings, Tec-Tel’s systems integrate with door access control to create a comprehensive security solution.
“When someone uses their fob to buzz in, or uses our facial recognition for fobless access, the camera system takes a snapshot, giving us verified access records,” Khay explains. This integration provides peace of mind for residents while giving property managers insights into building access patterns.
Hospitality Operational Efficiency
For hotels, Tec-Tel’s technology can monitor housekeeping efficiency, identify when room service carts are left in hallways, and even alert management when VIP guests arrive.
“We have hotel clients where we’re monitoring the speed of their cleaning services and ensuring staff compliance,” Khay says. The system can also detect potential safety issues like fights or slip-and-fall incidents, allowing staff to respond quickly to problems.
Making Intelligence Actionable
The true value of Tec-Tel’s approach lies in how it makes video intelligence actionable for decision-makers through:
Real-Time Alerts
The system sends immediate notifications when specific conditions are met. “We can notify management when there’s more than eight people in line at your restaurant,” Khay explains. “Maybe someone’s in the back putting away shipments with no idea what’s happening out front. We ping them to say, ‘Your line’s too big, go out to the front.’”
Detailed Analytics Reports
For longer-term insights, Tec-Tel provides regular reports that aggregate data over time. “These reports are typically done weekly, showing the performance of your location,” Khay says. “The coolest thing is you can click on these reports and see every specific instance the report mentions.”
This allows property managers to identify patterns and address inefficiencies based on concrete visual evidence.
Custom Queries
Perhaps most impressively, clients can simply ask questions about their operations and receive AI-generated insights. “You could have cameras running for a week and just ask, ‘What do you observe?’” Khay explains. “For industrial applications, we can feed in standard operating procedures and have the system identify every deviation from those procedures.”
The Future: From Novelty to Necessity
Khay believes AI-enhanced video analytics will follow a similar adoption curve to tools like ChatGPT: “If you used ChatGPT in 2021 or 2022, you would think, ‘This is a cute little toy.’ Now, just a few years later, it’s an essential part of daily business activity.”
He predicts a similar trajectory for video intelligence: “With video AI, it’s going to be the same mentality. It’s no longer just cute and new, it’s something that could be helpful and pervasive in whatever industry you’re in to help you do better.”
For real estate professionals seeking a competitive edge through operational efficiency and enhanced security, Tec-Tel’s approach offers a compelling solution that leverages existing infrastructure to deliver actionable business intelligence.
“We’re doing nothing more than what human eyes can do,” Khay concludes. “The problem is that while humans are good at figuring something out if they see it, they’re not good at always noticing when something needs attention.”
