The commercial security and surveillance industry continues to experience rapid growth. You might notice headlines rife with retail thefts, vandalism, and other physical threats. As you consider options for securing your business, it's helpful to know about current trends in the business video surveillance and security industry.
Security camera systems in businesses generate a large amount of video data. This data requires a lot of network and storage space. Technology advancements allow this new generation of cameras to do the processing work at the camera level.
This new technology, called Edge computing, processes data directly on cameras. This lessens the need for powerful servers and increased bandwidth to support a large camera fleet deployment.
This shifts the conversation from "How will our infrastructure support this upgrade?" to "Where do I want coverage?" when you're designing a security strategy.
You'll often see advanced video analytics and AI learning as common features in today's commercial cameras. The best commercial security cameras can now do work for you – looking for and alerting you to incidents when they occur.
This means you'll no longer have to spend hours fast-forwarding through days of footage to find a certain event. If you struggle with this, learn about emerging ways to make surveillance footage more easily accessible in our article: Is Your Business’ Security Video Footage Easy to Access?
Smarter business surveillance systems can also help you identify small details to investigate incidents properly. Parking lot cameras can use technology to identify license plates and analyze vehicle details like color and type. These features can in turn trigger alerts and monitor traffic patterns.
The best security cameras for small business locations are now proactive and can help prevent incidents before they occur. For example, features like loitering alerts detect individuals hovering around high-value items.
Others like "Fence-line" alerts trigger when a person moves the wrong way through an area. Both of these patterns can signify theft, so these features are helpful in crime prevention or intervention.
Another way to get ahead of crime is by placing security commercial camera systems in highly visible spots. Many people mistakenly believe that business camera systems should be hidden or subtly placed.
On the contrary, visible business surveillance cameras are known to discourage malicious activity.
Some security devices, such as commercial CCTV cameras and screens, are specially designed to deter malicious activity. They make it crystal clear that the premises is equipped with a video surveillance system, which can deter crime.
Modern security manufacturers are coming out with additional ecosystem-monitoring devices using the same infrastructure as cameras. New environmental sensors have air quality, sound analytics, and motion detection for areas where cameras can't go or don't perform well. They can monitor formaldehyde and CO2 levels to alert on environmental issues or safety policy violations.
Many K-12 schools are now using these systems to tackle the rise of vaping among children. Instant sensor alerts in areas where cameras can't be placed, like bathrooms, have become a powerful tool for educating students on the dangers of vaping.
To learn more about environmental sensors and how they can monitor places like school campuses for hazards or mischief, read our blog: Eliminate Vaping in Schools with Verkada Sensors.
Other usage examples include alerts for mold, which may result from high humidity, dangerous noise levels, and allergens. Effortless monitoring is a game-changing technology for the health and safety of the people in the environment.
As with any device placed on the network, protecting access and ensuring encryption is critical. Major brands have implemented HTTPS-encrypted communication as a default setting. Others have set cameras to only allow outbound connections every second as a "heartbeat" to their home server.
This heartbeat checks for requests to access the camera, which can only come from the server or cloud storage. This limits any vulnerability to one or two locations rather than every camera on the network. Some cameras store their recorded data within the camera.
In these instances, data should be encrypted to prevent unauthorized viewing. This may be automatic or require configuration – but as with anything attached to the network, security begins at the device level.
Security threats to your business will, unfortunately, never go away. However, using some of this new technology might help you rest a little easier at night, knowing your business is safe and secure.
Security providers can offer years of security experience and expertise on the latest small business security cameras and technology. If you're in the market for a commercial security camera system, click the button below to speak top an expert about your needs.