As an increasing number of security industry so-called 'box shifters' go to the wall, Viseum UK controversially speaks out against the whole concept of CCTV security box shifting, saying "anyone's CCTV security has never been a box shifting exercise so good riddance to it." The Viseum boss points out that a technological sector is "no place for novices looking to make a quick buck by simply moving items from A to B and charging a mark-up, with no concept of quality or the needs of customers – this has gone on long enough and the industry's reputation can only be enhanced as a result of their demise." The economic downturn has forced many buyers to look more closely at budgets and how their security systems are performing, with many concluding that some legacy systems bought from box shifters in the past were simply not fit-for-purpose.

Fortunately high tech consultancy and real solutions companies like Viseum UK have stepped in to fill the void that CCTV 'cowboys' have left - helping CCTV operators and schemes left in the lurch to source cost-effective solutions that actually are fit-for-purpose. "Sadly, for many years people did come into our industry to jump on the bandwagon of maximizing sales and profit with scant regard for quality or their customers' actual needs. Sticking up CCTV cameras everywhere willy-nilly, these firms may refer to this as 'the good old days' but were selling what in my opinion was a 'lot of old tat'; this type of activity was I believe responsible for the many reports that only a fraction of cameras ever deliver results. The box shifter gave security solution firms a bad name," said Stuart Thompson, Managing Director of Viseum UK. The security industry is far more sophisticated in the 21st century and you must understand the demands of each project and the unique challenges your customers face, then deliver a system that meets their budget constraints – and that actually works," Stuart added. Together with other specialists in the sector, Viseum is working hard to repair the damage the box shifters have done and is itself boxing clever with genuine ROI illustrations for specific urban scheme scenarios, which will be familiar to those at the sharp end.