A full camera fleet upgrade from 70 to 92 cameras across two 128-channel NVRs, legacy fingerprint access system renewal, and new ZKTeco access for a newly commissioned restricted storeroom - followed by Securevision taking over the ongoing servicing and maintenance contract.
The FORT Data Centre at 6 Changi South Lane is ST Engineering's first Singapore data centre facility, established in 2009. Operated by ST Engineering under a partnership model with Mapletree - which owns the building shell - FORT is a Tier III colocation facility serving enterprise and government clients in Singapore's east data centre cluster. By 2023, the facility's existing ZKTeco fingerprint access system was ageing and due for renewal, and the CCTV infrastructure needed expanding to cover a newly commissioned storeroom area with restricted access. Securevision was engaged to upgrade the full camera system, install new high-capacity NVR recording, add ZKTeco fingerprint readers for the new area, and take over the site's ongoing security maintenance contract.
| Client | ST Engineering (FORT Data Centre) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6 Changi South Lane, Singapore |
| Sector | Commercial - Data Centre / Technology & Defence |
| Project Type | CCTV upgrade & expansion + access control upgrade & new installation |
| Completion | September 2023 |
| Post-Project | Securevision appointed as servicing and maintenance contractor |
Data centres operate under a precise security discipline. Every camera angle matters because the footage is the audit trail for access events, equipment movements, and incident investigations. Every access point matters because a fingerprint reader that fails or a door that is not covered leaves a gap in the chain of custody that a Tier III facility cannot afford. For FORT, two pressures arrived together in 2023.
The first was the existing ZKTeco fingerprint access system. It was the original installation and was due for upgrade - both to bring the hardware in line with current firmware and reader specifications, and to ensure the system remained supportable going forward. A data centre cannot run on end-of-life access control hardware indefinitely, but replacing it requires careful sequencing so that access continuity is never broken during the transition.
The second was the commissioning of a new restricted storeroom - a sensitive area that needed controlled fingerprint access from the moment it came into use, not retrofitted later. The camera coverage also needed to extend to this new area so that the facility's surveillance footprint remained complete. At the same time, the existing 70-camera system was running on recording infrastructure that was approaching capacity limits.
The brief was to address all three needs in a single coordinated project: upgrade the cameras, install the recording capacity to support the expanded footprint, and bring the access system up to current standards while adding the new storeroom.
| Facility Function | Before | After Securevision |
|---|---|---|
| Camera Coverage | 70 cameras - original installation, no coverage of new storeroom area | 92 cameras - 70 upgraded in place, 22 new cameras added including full storeroom coverage |
| Recording Infrastructure | Existing NVRs approaching capacity - limited headroom for additional cameras | 2 × 128-channel NVRs - 256 total channels, full coverage of 92 cameras with substantial expansion headroom |
| Access Control - Existing Areas | Original ZKTeco fingerprint system - ageing hardware, firmware requiring renewal | ZKTeco fingerprint readers upgraded to current specification - supportable, firmware-current, on a maintained platform |
| Access Control - New Storeroom | New restricted area - no access control at commissioning | 2 × ZKTeco fingerprint readers installed - storeroom controlled from day one of operation |
| Ongoing Maintenance | Previous maintenance arrangement | Securevision appointed as servicing and maintenance contractor - single point of responsibility for the full security platform |
The camera count at FORT moved from 70 to 92 in this project. That is a 31% increase in the camera footprint, and it raises an immediate question about recording infrastructure: how much capacity is enough, and how much is over-specification?
We specified two 128-channel NVRs - giving a total of 256 channels for a 92-camera system. At first sight, that looks like significant over-provisioning. In a data centre context, it is deliberate. FORT is an operating facility that will continue to add infrastructure, retrofit areas, and potentially expand its footprint. Each of those changes may require additional camera coverage. With 256 channels and 92 cameras currently assigned, the facility has 164 spare channels - capacity to nearly triple the camera count before the recording infrastructure needs revisiting. For a facility where a tender, an installation, and a commissioning cycle can take six to twelve months, having infrastructure headroom already in place means security coverage can keep pace with operational changes without a recording infrastructure project every time a new area is brought online.
The same logic applied to the access control upgrade. Rather than a like-for-like replacement of the existing ZKTeco readers, we upgraded to current hardware and firmware specification - ensuring the platform is supportable and extensible, not just functional today.
Working in a live data centre requires a different kind of discipline from a standard commercial upgrade. Server racks are sensitive to vibration and dust. Access continuity cannot be broken - a data centre cannot have a period where doors are uncontrolled while readers are swapped. Camera feeds cannot have unexplained gaps during the transition from old to new hardware. Every step of the installation had to be planned and sequenced to maintain full operational integrity throughout.
The 70 existing cameras were upgraded zone by zone so that coverage was maintained continuously - at no point was a full area left without surveillance during the swap. New cameras for the storeroom area were installed in parallel with the existing camera upgrade.
The two new 128-channel NVRs were commissioned alongside the existing recording infrastructure before cutover, so that no recording gap occurred during the transition. Cameras were migrated to the new NVRs incrementally and verified before the old infrastructure was decommissioned.
ZKTeco reader upgrades were carried out one door at a time, with access continuity maintained at every point. Credential data was migrated before hardware was swapped so that authorised personnel never experienced an access failure during the upgrade window.
The two new ZKTeco fingerprint readers for the restricted storeroom were installed and commissioned before the area came into operation - so the storeroom was controlled from the moment it was first used, with no interim period of uncontrolled access.
Three systems addressed in a single coordinated project - camera fleet expansion, high-capacity NVR infrastructure, and access control renewal - with Securevision appointed as the ongoing maintenance contractor on completion.
70 existing cameras upgraded to current IP specification, 22 new cameras added to cover the storeroom and any coverage gaps identified during the site audit. All 92 cameras feed into two Hikvision 128-channel NVRs - giving the facility 256 total recording channels and substantial headroom for future expansion without a further recording infrastructure project.
Surveillance & Detection →The existing ZKTeco fingerprint system was upgraded to current hardware and firmware specification across the facility. Two new ZKTeco fingerprint readers were installed at the new restricted storeroom - commissioned before the area came into operation so that access was controlled from day one.
Entry Access Control →On completion of the upgrade, Securevision was appointed as the FORT facility's servicing and maintenance contractor for the full security platform. A single point of responsibility for cameras, NVRs, and access control - with the installation knowledge to respond to faults quickly and maintain the platform in a live data centre environment.
Platform & Management →A 92-camera IP surveillance system across two 128-channel NVRs, with ZKTeco fingerprint readers upgraded across existing access points and newly installed at the restricted storeroom.
Cameras: 92 total - 70 existing cameras upgraded, 22 new cameras added.
Recording: 2 × Hikvision 128-Channel NVRs.
Existing System Upgrade: ZKTeco fingerprint readers across the facility upgraded to current hardware and firmware specification.
New Storeroom: 2 × ZKTeco Fingerprint Readers at the new restricted storeroom.
With 92 cameras on 256 available channels, FORT has the recording infrastructure to nearly triple its camera count without revisiting the NVR platform - operational changes and new areas can be covered without a further infrastructure project.
The ZKTeco fingerprint platform was upgraded across the full facility without a single access failure - credential data migrated before hardware, doors upgraded one at a time, and continuity maintained throughout the transition.
Securevision's appointment as the ongoing maintenance contractor means the team that installed the system also maintains it - faster fault resolution, no knowledge gap between project team and service team, and a single point of accountability for the full platform.
A data centre upgrade is not a renovation. You cannot take a floor offline, swap everything out, and bring it back up. You upgrade while the facility runs - servers operating, clients accessing, cameras recording, doors opening. That requires a sequencing discipline that is more demanding than the installation itself. Zone by zone for cameras. Door by door for access. Parallel before cutover for recording. Every step planned so that at no point is there a gap in coverage, a break in access continuity, or a moment where something stops working in a facility where stopping is not an option. The technology choice is straightforward. The execution discipline is what the client is actually paying for.
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