Vodafone Corporate Security team cuts thefts with IoT technology
Overview
Vodafone Corporate Security team’s field service engineers were experiencing an increased theft of specialists’ equipment.
Thanks to an effective collaboration across the business, Vodafone produced a solution in under four weeks.
With the aid of IoT trackers, now there’s a 100% success rate in catching offenders.
Meet Vodafone Corporate Security team
As a telecom giant, Vodafone is committed to providing world-class security based on the strictest security recommendations. This is safeguarded by Vodafone Business Security Group, which also incorporates various smaller units like the Vodafone Corporate Security team.
This team’s main goal is to protect Vodafone Business, its people, customers and critical assets to build a secure digital future by alleviating threats against Vodafone employees such as physical assault, theft and cybercrime-related activities across the business.
The challenge
When more and more field service engineers reported more targeted and aggressive threats, both to themselves and specialist equipment, Vodafone Corporate Security team decided to take action and eliminate these threats once and for all.
The team needed a solution that allows users to act fast while protecting engineers and reducing threats. And with the help of other Vodafone teams –most importantly, Vodafone Automotive – Vodafone Corporate Security team determined that the best solutions could be achieved with IoT (Internet of Things) technology.
“Recovering our specialist equipment has been a real boost to our team and shows that Vodafone takes the safety and security of our engineers seriously.”
The solution
All it took was four weeks for the Vodafone Corporate Security and Vodafone Automotive teams to determine the most appropriate tracker, design an innovative way to attach it to field engineers’ equipment and deploy the solution. With the new IoT-based trackers, which are seamlessly integrated into Vodafone Automotive’s SOC (Secure Operating Centre), Vodafone Corporate Security team can locate stolen goods and determine the speed and direction of travel of the thieves with ease.
The new solution also combines GPS and quad band GPRS/GSM technologies, enabling the constant transmission of the position data using over 360 local GSM networks.
The benefits
The combination of IoT trackers and Vodafone Automotive’s SOC service resulted in an unparalleled 100% success rate in catching criminals causing damages for the business. Vodafone also reclaimed £1.7 million worth of stock by working closely with the police. Thanks to this close cooperation with law enforcers, a total of 107 years of custodial sentences were handed out to busted wrongdoers.
“This has demonstrated that we have the technologies to deter crime,” says Gavin Whitbread, Field Services Manager, adding that the new solution “allows us to carry out our job knowing we have measures in place.”
Why Vodafone
Weeks from idea to delivery
It took four weeks for Vodafone teams to deploy the IoT tracker solution.
Success rate
With the aid of IoT trackers, there’s a 100% success rate in catching offenders.
Worth of stock reclaimed
Vodafone reclaimed £1.7 million worth of stock, working closely with the police.
Aiding more law enforcers
Although not all items can be fully recovered, Vodafone Corporate Security team’s IoT trackers significantly reduce such cases. In fact, with technology and connectivity being able to enhance and improve people’s lives in virtually any field, it’s no wonder that two-thirds of the UK’s blue light services trust Vodafone’s network in their endless efforts to catch offenders.
With the joint solution of Vodafone’s Corporate Security and Automotive teams proving its worthiness, Gavin is confident that the new anti-crime tool “will now be known by the criminal organisations,” deterring them once and for all from Vodafone’s valuable assets.