How Cloud Surveillance Solutions Are Critical For Business Security

Cloud surveillance solutions are essential for businesses looking to protect their assets, employees, and customers while gaining valuable insights into daily operations. These systems provide more than just security—they offer advanced features like real-time monitoring, remote access, and smart alerts that help businesses stay proactive and efficient.  

In this blog, we’ll look at why cloud surveillance solutions are critical for modern businesses and how they can offer enhanced protection and operational benefits. 

The Evolution of Video Surveillance  

Black and white, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) security systems became the standard for video surveillance for businesses in the decades since their introduction to the general public in 1949. Those early systems, large and cumbersome with complicated wiring, had to be monitored 24/7 due to having no recording capabilities, making them reactive and often only useful in a forensic sense after an event had occurred. It was not a foolproof system by any means, a theme depicted in many movies featuring an overnight security guard dozing away as a crime is seen underway on his monitors. The human element that the system depended on just wasn’t always dependable. 

As video recording technology advanced in the 1970s and 1980s, CCTV systems could be connected with videocassette recorders (VCRs), offering finite storage held on Video Home System (VHS) tapes and had limited applications for use due to the complicated wiring and tapes being prone to reacting with or degrading in certain environments or from overuse. The limited capacity of the tapes meant they had to be changed out or recorded over. While this was better than CCTV alone, VCRs still allowed for lost footage through human error, with vital footage getting recorded over or not recorded at all. 

Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) began to replace VCRs in the 1990s, ushering in digital capabilities, better picture quality, and zoom features. However, those early DVRs still had limited capacity, and footage was usually only stored for a short period of time before being recorded over. Since then, the development of fiber optic cabling, then IP technologies, and more recently cloud technologies, AI, and 5G have helped video surveillance evolve into a proactive tool. This not only helps businesses protect themselves against theft or vandalism but also from liabilities due to employee behaviors, weather, or natural events, and it helps speed insurance claim investigations and outcomes. 

A Necessary Tool for Protecting Assets 

Businesses of all sizes are leveraging the power of the cloud to enhance their operations and security efforts. They are utilizing new surveillance technologies to see sharper video, get real-time smart alerts, and safely store archives long term. With remote management and live feed viewing options, they can enjoy more flexibility and greater peace of mind. 

The cloud surveillance solutions of today can also provide business intelligence with analytics, traffic pattern analysis, and other next-generation capabilities built-in. This makes cloud surveillance solutions not just for security but also a proactive tool for gaining insight into your business and customers as well. And when linked to point-of-sale systems, they can help discover fraudulent transactions. Cloud surveillance solutions also assist in moving investigations along quickly with data from sensors and cameras, providing more detailed evidence of the event than traditional cameras alone. 

An October 2023 AM Best webinar on how video surveillance for businesses is changing insurance claims cited that 50 – 60 percent of all users, homeowners included, don’t know how to use all the features in their systems to successfully document, retain, or retrieve vital footage. The insurance industry strives to impress upon their clients the importance of preserving video evidence, because there are other uses for surveillance, such as slip and fall incident investigations, and they stress the importance of using video in case of litigation. It’s clear that video surveillance has become a necessary part of doing business and protecting your people and assets, no matter what size the organization may be. 

Business Owners Need Comprehensive, Not Complicated, Surveillance Solutions 

No two businesses or locations are the same, but what they do have in common is the need for flexible, effective surveillance solutions that are affordable and easy to use. A recent Security Magazine study revealed that almost half of the retailers surveyed had experienced an increase in theft in the year leading up to the study, with 88 percent responding that they now have made loss prevention a top priority. That focus from retailers is just part of the reason why the U.S. has seen tremendous growth in cloud-connected surveillance systems. Research firms like Mordor Intelligence are forecasting the video surveillance market to reach over $12 billion in 2024 and grow to over $22 billion in the next five years. This increase is due to the substantial expansion in the industrial, healthcare, and educational sectors in addition to new or previously mentioned businesses already using video surveillance. 

Features like remote access, large storage capacities, and low maintenance are just a few of the advantages new and next-generation technologies add to CCTV capabilities. Some of the lesser-known benefits of cloud-based, AI-enabled video surveillance include: 

• Increased cybersecurity – Cloud systems continuously monitor, analyze, and update security measures with up-to-the-minute protections 

• Ability to monitor and manage multiple locations remotely 

• Can integrate with traditional analog video security systems 

• Ability to share footage immediately with law enforcement or your insurance company 

• System self-diagnostics – You are instantly notified of any system issue or camera outage 

• Easy to move and scale as needed 

• No Network Video Recorders (NVRs), backup servers, or bridges needed 

• Easy to integrate with other cloud offerings from your provider to increase operational efficiency 

• When integrated with access management tools, the system can automatically lock an area of the building if an intrusion is detected 

• Thermal camera integration can detect the overheating of any machinery, batteries, or transformers 

• Advanced search features like object, color, or event, or vehicle type and brand search 

• Advanced recording features like object tracking, facial and license plate recognition, and weapon, aggression, and unattended object detection 

• Smoke and fire detection 

• False alarm filtering  

• Heat maps and traffic flow analysis  

Having all these intelligent security and business-enhancing features without the IT time and expense needed to implement and maintain an in-house system can be frustrating. It’s easy to see why so many businesses are migrating to cloud-based video surveillance solutions from managed service providers to protect their property, people, and assets. 

But A Cloud Surveillance Solution is Only as Good as its Provider 

Security as a Solution (SaaS) and Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) providers are not all the same, and when choosing a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to partner with, it is crucial to be sure they can meet all your needs, including: 

• Multiple device choices for indoor and outdoor use 

• Custom solutions to fit your facility 

• User-friendly interfaces 

• Robust encryption to protect your data 

• Regulatory compliance as required 

• Network reliability and redundancy 

• Business continuity and disaster recovery models for all scenarios 

• Installation, training, and 24/7/365 support before, during, and after implementation 

• Cloud offerings or packages that complement video surveillance to make your business as safe and efficient as possible 

Centra IP Networks is a veteran-owned, managed service provider for Unified Communications and Managed IT solutions based in Tampa, Florida, with additional offices in Orlando, Florida, and Dallas, Texas. We have over 15 years of experience and focus on providing SMBs with top-of-the-line equipment and services delivered nationwide. 

Our goal is to make technology like cloud surveillance solutions work for you so that you can leverage cutting-edge, cost-effective solutions that will grow with your business. 

Selecting Centra IP as your partner means choosing robust, reliable, and future-proof cloud-based solutions. We offer all the managed services you need in one place and excel at meeting budgets and deadlines. 

Our clients love us for our solutions, attention to detail, and professionalism, and we look forward to helping you protect your business. Contact us today and simplify your business with Centra IP Networks, your premier managed service provider.