With COVID-19 forcing people to work from home, cloud storage has become necessary for many businesses. Many leading providers offer powerful tools and platforms to access, monitor and manage security cameras.
The system’s software continuously updates, reducing the risk of hackers. It can also pair data with video to improve business efficiency and unlock insights.
Cost-Effectiveness
Video surveillance has become a valuable tool as enterprises look for new ways to reduce theft, fraud, and operational costs, improve customer service and commercial conversion rates, and identify new revenue opportunities. However, these systems must be capable of processing and storing a large amount of data to offer the benefits that customers seek.
Traditional DVRs and NVRs save all footage on centralized hardware at the site or corporate headquarters, creating a single failure point. If this central hardware is damaged, tampered with, or becomes inoperable due to a cyberattack, all cameras associated with that system are rendered useless.
With cloud-based solutions, the camera footage is saved both on-device and in the cloud, so it’s always available. Additionally, cloud-based video systems can access data from multiple locations over a reliable internet connection so that you can view live streams and footage from anywhere. This remote functionality also makes it easy to share footage and clips.
Scalability
Many organizations still need to work on security, compliance, and other issues that can inhibit cloud video security adoption. For example, some IT policies preclude using third-party servers to store business data. Port forwarding, firewalls, and network topology can also pose challenges to a video uploading to the cloud, and the IT teams involved in setting up the system need to understand these factors.
The best cloud systems feature intelligent scalability and provide the flexibility to increase resolution or storage retention on demand without additional hardware. Some cloud options can even continue recording on-device during a network outage and re-synchronize with the cloud when connectivity is restored.
In addition, businesses can choose from various strategies for optimizing bandwidth and storing footage in the cloud, including choosing to ‘throttle’ network capacity at certain times of the day. This page to help alleviate the challenge of overcoming slow and inconsistent bandwidth availability at multiple locations. Moreover, advanced VMSs allow companies to easily access and retrieve critical video evidence using intuitive search functions.
Remote Access
Unlike traditional systems that require air-gapped network video recorders (NVRs), cloud-based solutions send footage straight from the cameras to the cloud. This reduces the risk of data exposure and keeps your business safe.
Additionally, cloud-based systems protect you during network outages. When an internet connection is lost, a cloud system will continue recording on-device and synchronize with the cloud when it returns. This feature is referred to as “failover” functionality.
Ultimately, cloud-based video security is one of the best ways to protect your business. You can save time and money by eliminating the need for onsite equipment while increasing productivity and capabilities. With centralized management, scalable storage, and advanced analytics, a cloud-based security solution can help you make smarter decisions for your business.
Analytics
Today’s smart security cameras can perform several analytics functions. These include detecting motion, people detection, clothing detection, and more. AI search tools also allow for easier sifting through footage to find what you want.
These advanced capabilities allow companies to use video surveillance to reduce costs from theft and fraud, improve customer service and commercial conversion rates, monitor compliance issues, and more. But this is only possible if the system can be used reliably and securely, which requires cloud capabilities.
While some businesses may want to keep their footage in-house due to compliance standards or operational procedures, many others will find that cloud solutions are the best way forward. However, companies must evaluate bandwidth capacity and storage needs and ensure the solution is fully compatible with other systems before switching. This will help ensure the company’s infrastructure is optimized for the cloud. This will also help them make a real return on investment estimate.