Northeast Wisconsin Technical College prevents data loss while simplifying data management with Wasabi Surveillance Cloud

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) is a two-year learning institution that serves nearly 23,000 students across its main campus in Green Bay and 10 satellite locations across the state. To enhance physical security, the college employs hundreds of surveillance cameras that record around the clock. The footage from each camera is retained for 30 days—or 60 days in areas with high traffic or financial transactions.

However, the college’s current storage system resulted in repeated loss of video footage. Jeremy Leirmo, the college’s Senior Systems Engineer, knew it was time for a change.   

Legacy system needed future proofing and a better safeguard against data loss 

The primary issue with NWTC's surveillance data storage system was its inability to keep up with the college's expanding needs. Although the system was cost-effective and initially only required a single controller, it was clear that this setup was not a long-term solution. As Jeremy noted, “The safety and security team was aware that our investment in storage was minimal, and we faced a risk of data loss if problems arose.”  

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College was already a Wasabi customer, using object storage to back up S3 data to a replication site. However, it wasn't until Jeremy learned about Wasabi Surveillance Cloud that he considered applying Wasabi to their surveillance challenges. With features and capabilities designed to handle future growth, Jeremy believed that Wasabi Surveillance Cloud could be the ideal backup solution for NWTC's surveillance data needs. 

Simple data storage with smooth installation and low cost 

Jeremy and team began using Wasabi Surveillance Cloud as an extension of their on-premises storage. Its price was low enough that Jeremy did not need to look for additional options, and after a successful 90-day trial period, the team implemented the solution.  

In addition to avoiding data loss and future-proofing the storage system, Jeremy was also trying to reduce the college’s on-premises storage footprint and knew that moving certain workloads and data to the cloud would help significantly. He said the new Wasabi solution “was a perfect opportunity for us. Instead of running on-premises storage systems just for surveillance, we can put video in the cloud and keep it there.”