HFS Highlight: Solink’s new use cases enable work-from-anywhere managers to build better brick-and-mortar experiences

Video and analytics business Solink has seen demand for its cloud-based video surveillance platform rocket during the pandemic. That demand has been driven in large part by the expansion beyond security and anti-fraud use cases, into operational services – as identified when they were featured as an HFS OneOffice Hot Vendor in Q3 of 2018.

A 70% uptick in use of the subscription-based service paved the way for Series B funding of $18m USD in 2020 – taking investment in the Ottowa, Canada-based business to $31.6m as a running total up to Q1 2021.

By integrating video from existing security cameras with point of sale (POS) data and other touch points such as employee logins, drive-thru sensors, inventory scanners and door key codes, Solink gives context to activities, revenue and compliance on one dashboard. They call it video security and business intelligence in one place.

Remote surveillance gives locked-down leaders insight, and line-of-sight

That combination has proved valuable to managers struggling to make physical visits to their brick-and mortar locations during the travel restrictions imposed over the last year. The benefits they have identified while working at a distance are likely to persist as our work-from-anywhere economy continues to emerge.

Customers have found Solink valuable beyond fraud and security. Social distancing compliance can be monitored and enhanced – and execs can check-in on any of their locations at any time from a range of devices, whether at home, in the office, or on the road.

They have also used the data to identify improvements in working processes and customer service efficiencies – taking advantage of the extension of the platform’s value proposition into business intelligence.

In the last year Solink has added a video alarm service, new integrations for auditing social distancing, enabled remote ‘temporary access’ for people, allowed customers to backup cameras to the cloud, and introduced AI search capabilities to detect and count people and vehicles – all at no extra cost to customers, who pay by subscription.

Connecting previously-siloed data sources is delivering new value

We saw the move into operational services as both compelling and HFS OneOffice-aligned in our Q3 2018 Hot Vendor report:

“We believe that Solink provides an essential link between previously siloed data sources that can be used to better understand how employees function, find ways to help them work more efficiently, and improve training and alignment to customer experience…

“the broader applicability to enterprise operations is compelling. As Solink evolves and continues to build out these differentiated use cases beyond fraud prevention, it may find itself a critical provider in the OneOffice ecosystem for retailers.”

HFS Research VP Melissa O’Brien

Industry coverage has since extended beyond retail, retail banking and restaurants, to include hospitality, health and wellness, and regulated industries including liquor and cannabis sales (where legal). The company has doubled headcount to around 100, compared to late 2018.     

Solink nows integrates with over 100 different data sources and allows customers to drill down to individual events and verify activity with video recordings within seconds. It can also apply AI to identify trends or outliers which should be flagged for proactive investigation.

The Bottom Line: Pandemic push into operations adds useful new value for work-from-anywhere managers

Those managing multiple brick-and-mortar units now have the work-from-anywhere ability to handle security, fraud, compliance and operational improvement matters at a time and expense-saving distance. Solink provides the analytical insight they need – with video evidence to back the data. While the pandemic did accelerate demand, Solink’s move into operational matters means executives have every reason to continue to apply the platform to improving on-site customer experiences well beyond COVID-19.