How To Build A Powerful, Budget-Friendly Surveillance System For SMB Retailers

By Jumbi Edulbehram, Next Level Security Systems

Today, there’s no doubt that video surveillance is moving to IP networks for a number of reasons such as superior image quality from IP cameras, ability to easily integrate video with other systems such as access control, the need for accessing video from remote locations and the added value from video analytics.

The move to IP video systems creates a huge opportunity for IT integrators.  Being knowledgeable about networking, IT integrators are ideally positioned to provide IP video systems to their SMB retail customers…but the question is what type of system is ideally suited to this market segment?  Here are some guidelines and suggestions:

1. Cost:  Goes without saying that SMB retailers are cost conscious.  Integrators should make sure that the system is not only budget friendly to purchase, but also cost effective to install, and easy to support and maintain over 5-6 years; i.e., it’s important to calculate the total cost of ownership rather than just the cost of the hardware and software.  Given the cost constraints, it’s best to go with systems that do not have additional charges such as  ‘licensing’ fees per channel of video or fees for integration.

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