NICE Security Solutions Deployed to Secure Houston Ship Channel by Enhancing Situational Awareness and Information Sharing


NICE Security Solutions Deployed to Secure Houston Ship Channel by Enhancing Situational Awareness and Information Sharing



NICE solutions create paradigm change in Harris County security management, enabling collaboration across regional agencies



RA'ANANA, Israel,  -- NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) today announced that it has successfully implemented, in coordination with the Harris County Sheriff's Office [ http://www.harriscountyso.org ] and the Harris County Information Technology Center [ http://www.harriscountytx.gov/itc  ], NICE Situator [ http://www.nice.com/situation-management/nice-situator ] and NiceVision Net [ http://www.nice.com/video/nicevision-net ] to secure the Houston Ship Channel [ http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rhh11 ], following orders in 2012 and 2013. The ship channel is one of the United States' busiest waterways and part of the world's 10th largest seaport. The NICE implementation supports the Houston Ship Channel Security District's [ http://www.hscsd.org ] core mission of deploying a well-coordinated, system-wide approach to security in order to maximize preparedness and response, and mitigate security threats.



A 24/7 monitoring center operated by the Harris County Sheriff's Office is the focal point for threat assessment and local/state response at the ship channel. Here, NICE Situator fuses the information from fixed and mobile video, radar, sonar, AIS ship tracking and more, and automates response plans so that operators can better visualize and manage situations in real-time, both on land and on the water. NICE is also providing a web client for its video solution, as well as mobile client software for Situator so that first responders can view task lists and more effectively synchronize their response processes.



In a step toward improving mobile responses, interagency coordination, and interoperability, the Situator software has also been deployed in the Harris County Mobile Command Center and at other locations in collaboration with the Police Department at the Port of Houston Authority, the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Harris County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard.



"We view NICE Situator as essential to our core mission of securing the Houston Ship Channel. It has helped us achieve greater situational awareness, improve collaboration and information sharing across response teams, and automate various processes," said Lieutenant Godfrey T. Eta, Harris County Sheriff's Office. "It's a paradigm change in the way we manage safety and security at the Ship Channel."



As a first step in cross-region collaboration, NICE will also integrate video feeds from a large municipality in Harris County into NICE Situator.



"The Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Harris County Information Technology Center have gone to great lengths to keep the Houston Ship Channel secure, and we're especially excited about NICE's role in that process," said Yaron Tchwella, President of the NICE Security Group. "This deployment exemplifies a growing desire by many organizations to improve how they manage routine and complex situations and collaborate with other stakeholders and agencies. Harris County's vision of extending these capabilities regionally is a forward-thinking model that we believe other counties will follow."



NICE's Security solutions help organizations capture, analyze and leverage big data to anticipate, manage and mitigate security and safety risks, improve operations, and make the world a safer place. The NICE security, intelligence and cyber offerings provide valuable insights that enable enterprises and governments to take the best action at the right time by correlating structured and unstructured data from multiple sensors and channels, detecting irregular patterns, and recognizing trends. NICE Security solutions are used by thousands of customers worldwide, including transportation systems, critical infrastructure, city centers, banks, enterprises and government agencies.



About the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Harris County Information Technology Center

With a population of over 4 million, Harris County, Texas, is the third most populous county in the United States, and one of three counties in the nation to deploy LTE broadband. As the largest sheriff's office in Texas and third largest in the United States, the Harris County Sheriff's Office is committed to the safety and security of the Houston Ship Channel, and the nearly 4 million residents who call Harris County home. The Harris County Information Technology Center supports Harris County by developing, implementing and supporting high quality, innovative and cost effective information technology solutions. More info at http://www.harriscountyso.org and http://www.harriscountytx.gov/itc.



About the Houston Ship Channel

The Houston Ship Channel, located in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston-one of the United States' busiest seaports. As the world's 10th largest seaport, Houston handles more foreign waterborne tonnage than any other U.S. port. The 52-mile Houston Ship Channel, serving the nation's fourth largest city, contains the world's second largest petrochemical complex. More info at http://www.portofhouston.com/about-us/overview.



About the Houston Ship Channel Security District

The idea for the Houston Ship Channel Security District was conceived of by local industry and government and made possible by a Texas state law (House Bill 3011) passed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. Local government and business leaders, in concert with information technology and security professionals, formed a Houston Ship Channel Security Council that understood a dedicated Houston Ship Channel Security District (HSCSD) could deliver improved security for the region's waterside and landside facilities, as well as for associated supply chain and support industry surrounding the Houston Ship Channel community. The HSCSD, a unique public-private partnership, improves security and safety for facilities, employees and communities surrounding the Houston Ship Channel. http://www.hscsd.org 



About NICE Systems

NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) is the worldwide leading provider of software solutions that enable organizations to take the next best action in order to improve customer experience and business results, ensure compliance, fight financial crime, and safeguard people and assets. NICE's solutions empower organizations to capture, analyze, and apply, in real time, insights from both structured and unstructured Big Data. This data comes from multiple sources, including phone calls, mobile apps, emails, chat, social media, video, and transactions. NICE solutions are used by over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 80 of the Fortune 100 companies. http://www.nice.com.



Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NICE Systems. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. For a full list of NICE Systems' marks, please see: http://www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.



Corporate Media Contact: Erik Snider, +1-877-245-7448, erik.snider@nice.com

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