Why Companies Should Consider Cloud Video Recording and How to Get the Most Out of It

With more applications moving to the cloud, potential customers often want to know about cloud video recording and why they might want to consider using it.  As background, traditional CCTV systems have stored all video content on NVR’s or servers at the same location as the cameras.  This has the benefit of being one self-contained system but has several drawbacks including not being very scalable or manageable.  Additionally, the video cannot be accessed remotely, and cloud storage options are not available.

With today’s abundance of different cloud technologies, it makes sense for companies to store video footage in the cloud and to utilize the latest technology when necessary.

So you may be asking, what are the main reasons why companies, or enterprises, choose to store their video in the cloud?  Well, here they are:

1. Compliance
2. Redundancy
3. Accessibility

Compliance

Many businesses face certain industry regulations where they are required to store a certain amount of video footage.  These companies often need to store anywhere between 60 – 180 days of video and must guarantee that it’s secure.

In these situations, it’s important to confirm that the solution you choose meets your required standards for encryption, access, retention, and security.  A video security vendor must be able to show that it uses industry standard encryption for both data at rest and in transit, as well as demonstrate that they take certain security precautions with your data, particularly who has access to the infrastructure where the data is stored.

Companies that take compliance seriously, factor these details in when choosing a video security solution.  Storing video in the cloud allows companies to customize the amount of storage needed, as well as assess encryption, access, retention and security information from reputable vendors to ensure that their high standards are met.

Redundancy

Many enterprises like to know that their data is stored in 2 places simultaneously.  They often have security cameras in sensitive areas, so it gives them peace of mind to know there is a real-time backup of their video footage.

When considering redundancy, you’ll need to factor in whether you want the backup to happen in real-time or on a schedule.  Real-time guarantees that if anything were to happen to the camera, all of the video footage will be safe in the cloud.  A scheduled backup helps address bandwidth concerns.  Specifically, if you have limited bandwidth it might be important to choose this option as it allows you to schedule video footage backup to hours when bandwidth usage is less of a concern.

Cloud options are generally perfect for redundancy as it ensures a backup copy is always stored offsite, giving you more security when it comes to the footage.

Accessibility

For highly distributed organizations, having video stored in the cloud provides assurances that the video they want is always accessible, regardless if cameras are online.

What this means is that even if a camera goes offline (power or network connectivity), the stored cloud footage is always available.  In addition, depending on where the viewer is, it might even allow the cloud copy to have faster view and load times.  This performance variability depends on how well the vendor has set-up their infrastructure for streaming.

Increasing accessibility and flexibility of video footage appeals to many businesses and is one of the primary reasons organizations look into the cloud for video storage.

Getting the Most out of a Cloud Video Recording System

To get the most out of cloud video recording, it is important to decide which of these 3 (or all) apply most to your organization. There are plenty of options, but determining a budget, the number of cameras needed, and what features matter the most to your organization will help narrow your focus.

After initial planning, selecting the right amount of storage is vital.  If there isn’t a compliance standard that needs to be followed, then we generally recommend 30 days.  Most vendors will generally charge for the storage on a per camera basis and the amount will vary depending on the storage duration.

With some solutions, you can apply licenses on a per camera basis. This will ensure that if a specific camera needs to save more footage (e.g. a room with sensitive data stored) or less, you can adjust accordingly so that you’re never buying more storage than you actually need.

Ultimately you need to decide what’s best for your organization, but as we see with many of our customers, once you’ve made the decision to move infrastructure into the cloud, it can remove a lot of pain and headaches!