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How Cloud Storage Benefits Video Surveillance

Apr 11, 2018

The security surveillance industry has evolved over time. The major reasons behind some of the changes we have witnessed so far include the need to reduce costs and the desire for safer storage.

Cloud storage is just one of the additions to video surveillance which ensures these needs are met. It provides a larger storage space and allows surveillance videos to be accessed remotely using a tablet, smartphone or computer.

In addition, cloud storage can be applied as a backup for a hard drive or a Network Video Recorder (NVR). One of the major benefits is that cloud storage is safe from whatever affects your business space or damages your equipment.

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In the majority of cases, cloud storage forms part of a robust disaster recovery and data protection aspects of video surveillance. Many businesses incorporate it to zero down threats of prowling hackers and cybercriminals. Its wide acceptance can be attributed to the fact that it’s easy to use and requires lesser equipment than local storage.

Apart from the need for easier access and retrieval of video footages, it is recommended that you use cloud storage for other reasons. For instance, you need it if your video surveillance system consists of more than two security cameras and if it is installed on different local area networks (LANs).

How Cloud Storage Works

Analog and IP surveillance systems make use of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and Network Video Recorders (NVRs) respectively. These components function to transmit video feeds over a computer network and subsequently broadcast the data over the internet.

The transmission is real-time in the case of IP cameras due to the capacity of NVRs to process digital images on-the-spot. On the other hand, DVRs converts the analog image it receives to digital format before compressing and sending to a storage site.

In both cases, the digital signals are uploaded over the internet to a remote server. You can access these files with a PC, tablet or smartphone from any location whenever they are needed.

The process of uploading videos is usually seamless except that you might need to consider an NVR which allows uploading of videos on schedule. In other words, you can choose a suitable time to upload your security videos. This is important if your video files are large as it will help to reduce the impact of uploading large files on the network speed.

As a general rule of thumb, consider the size of upstream bandwidth available to you. Be sure the bandwidth can accommodate the size of videos you wish to upload to cloud storage. Otherwise, schedule your video uploads.

Overall, utilizing a video surveillance system that has cloud storage features is cost effective. It also allows you to either increase or decrease your bandwidth to accommodate any changes in your storage requirements. Additionally, an extended benefit is the long-term storage it provides, which is suitable for keeping sensitive information.

Alpha Video Surveillance provides a wide range of video surveillance cloud storage services which are not limited to buildings alone. An example is the fleet surveillance solution which allows automatic transmission of footages to a centralized storage location.

Our team of experts is available 24/7 to offer both proactive and forensic surveillance solutions coupled with the right storage facilities. You can count on us to start protecting your properties today. Contact us.

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