Key Challenges
- With 50 national retail, grocery, liquor and hardware store locations at the edge of the network, Jerry’s Foods required video surveillance systems that were reliable, easy to use, accessible and highly available.
- IT leadership didn’t want the cost and complexity of adding a dedicated infrastructure for video surveillance in addition to the IT infrastructure needed to run other critical in store applications such as Point of Sale (POS)
- Jerry’s Foods needed a system capable of storing 30-45 days of footage to assist with fraud protection and general liability to clients.
Business Benefits From Selecting Scale Computing
- Major improvements to its DVR security camera system rollout for its multi-grocery store location model.
- High availability, increased disk storage and high performance.
- Ability to assist with general liability cases, provide fraud protection and training.
- Rapid, trouble-free implementation and deployment allowed the IT team in the Minneapolis area to quickly and safely physically move Scale Computing servers from one location to another in less than an hour when in a crisis.
- Scale Computing HC3 is a modern, scalable solution capable of meeting the current and future needs of Jerry’s Foods stores.
Key applications running on Scale Computing’s HC3 platform:
- Digital Watchdog (video surveillance systems)
Jerry’s Foods
Founded in 1947 at Grandview Market in Edina, Minnesota by Jerry Paulsen, Jerry’s Foods, a national grocery store chain that includes Cub Foods, County Market, and Save-A-Lot, has a unique commitment to the customer and a strong history of excellence. For over 50 years, Jerry’s Foods has remained an integral part of their neighborhood, focused on being purposeful, family-focused and serving the smart shopper.
Jerry’s Foods has 50 national retail, grocery, liquor and hardware store locations in the United States within Minnesota and Florida. Jerry’s Foods stores range in size from 50,000-80,000 square feet and have between 80-95 video surveillance cameras in and around each store to closely monitor activity around the perimeters. With a need to provide general liability footage for clients and fraud protection for each store, Jerry’s Foods searched for infrastructure with high availability, reliable performance and increased disk storage to support its video surveillance system.
Evaluating the market
Jerry’s Foods struggled to deploy the service infrastructure on its legacy video surveillance system and experienced poor customer support, causing the retail chain to explore new options. A trusted vendor presented Jerry’s Foods with Digital Watchdog, a company specializing in video surveillance systems. Digital Watchdog provided an affordable pricing model, allowing Jerry’s Foods to save money and redistribute their IT budget to shift their legacy infrastructure to Scale Computing HC3.
Jeff Miller, director of IT at Jerry’s Foods, commented, “Our team found success with Digital Watchdog’s solutions, which provided us an opportunity to implement Scale Computing. The experience was enhanced once we started running the video surveillance system on Scale Computing. HC3 is highly available, provides increased disk storage capacity and the performance is unparalleled.”
Scale Computing HC3 - Reliable, Simple, Scaleable
Currently, Jerry’s Foods optimizes their video surveillance system for fraud protection, general liability claims and occasionally for training purposes. With 50 national retail, grocery, liquor and hardware store locations ranging in size between 50,000-80,000 square feet, Jerry’s Foods relies on the performance and high availability of Scale Computing HC3.
Depending on the store’s size, 80+ cameras are set up inside to help to prevent fraudulent payments and theft. Externally, each location has around 5-15 cameras to monitor the back of stores, loading docks and general liability claims from car accidents, pedestrian injuries and other incidents. The process of filing liability claims can be drawn out over several weeks, which requires the retail chain to retain and store 30-45 days of footage. Scale Computing’s increased disk storage capacity enables Jerry’s Foods to securely store the data and access it quickly.
Recent protests in Minneapolis impacted three locations and, like many businesses in the region, Jerry’s Foods experienced property damage and stolen goods. As the situation unfolded, the IT team at Jerry’s Foods wanted access to each store’s video surveillance system, but needed to move quickly. Rapid, trouble-free implementation and deployment allowed the IT team in the Minneapolis area to move the small and lightweight Scale Computing HE150 servers from one location to another in less than an hour.