IP Video For SMBs

By Mike Scirica, VP of Marketing and Sales, WaveStore

Rapid growth using limited available resources presents plenty of challenges for small to medium-sized businesses (SMB), and the challenges extend to their choice of video surveillance systems. In contrast to large companies that can target personnel and resources to specialized areas, SMB customers often have to make do with less and call on their employees to wear “multiple hats.” All companies today stress the importance of lean operation, but at the level of small and medium-sized businesses, lean practices are critical to the thin margin between success and failure.

SMB customers increasingly are embracing the benefits of video surveillance, including the newer IP networked systems, both for security and to improve overall business operations. For IT integrators, SMB customers represent a fast-growing market as more users look to capitalize on the benefits of IP technologies. In particular, integrators are experiencing a significant uptick in business over the last year among retailers, quick-service restaurants (QSR) and retail bank locations. The retail sector, especially, is starting to tap into IP video for training and marketing purposes, in addition to security and loss prevention.

For businesses in the SMB sector, surveillance systems must be especially easy to use and cost-effective. These companies often do not have full-time security personnel and, therefore, need systems that are easy to configure and manage. Effectively addressing the video needs of the SMB sector requires that an IT integrator build powerful, as well as budget-friendly, surveillance systems. Here are some considerations to help an integrator maximize his or her success — and customers' satisfaction — in the SMB market.

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