What keeps your business safe when the workday's over and everyone exits the office?
Nothing is more important than protecting your business assets. You're either safe or sorry. But what about being safe and "smart"?
PlanetMagpie chose the Axis Communications line of network cameras for our office building. Axis has developed state-of-the-art "smart" video surveillance to protect your company when you cannot.
These "smart" network cameras record video footage in HD. They self-adjust to monitor any activity near them. Exterior cameras can even pick up moving objects up to 4 miles away. Axis systems have captured illegal activities like "smash and grab" burglaries and office break-ins, and helped convict the perpetrators.
In this issue of WOOF! we'll talk about Video Surveillance advancements, and why it’s essential for the protection of your growing business.
Video Surveillance: Now Better for Business, with Easier Storage
Video surveillance systems make your business safer by being a second pair of eyes and ears. Businesses and government have used them for years now.
In the past, however, it was very expensive to implement, and storage costs were astronomical. Newer technology has not only made video surveillance more cost effective and easier to use, it’s also lowered storage costs and improved the security capabilities.
The video surveillance market is expected to grow to a $74 Billion industry by 2025. But what’s really driving all that growth?
"Smart" Technology Driving Growth in Video Surveillance
Powerful new features and 24/7 access, that’s what. Specifically:
- Fully-networked surveillance that stores its footage digitally. No tapes to change. You store video footage on a hard drive (which makes it easy to back up).
- HDTV footage of your facilities for high-definition picture quality (five times the resolution of analog cameras). Option to set cameras to "motion-activated" which reduces data storage.
- View live footage (streaming) on your desktop, tablet or smartphone. With zoom-on-demand.
- Panoramic cameras with a 360-degree view, and optical zoom for detailed views. Other cameras have automated Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ).
- Perimeter Protection—Receive automatic alerts and get visual verification of activity at your facilities before taking action.
- People Counting—Surveillance systems can measure customer footfall, to help determine staffing requirements and provide sales intelligence.
- Infrared cameras provide evening surveillance.
- Explosion-protected cameras can be used for hazardous job sites.
- Sound Detection cameras can listen too, because sound is often the precursor of activity that soon falls within video range.
- Cameras with tampering alarms, in case a clever thief tries to disable it.
Reasons for Video Surveillance Adoption
Many of these features are unique to new, "smart" video surveillance. Older analog cameras can’t stream to smartphones, or store footage on a server.
Businesses now have some good reasons to adopt network video surveillance. Not just for features, but for the advantages they provide to your business.
Advantages like these:
- Protection. According to the CA District Attorney's crime statistics, non-residence burglaries have decreased by 2,000 since 2010, due in part to video as a deterrent.
- Long-Term Storage. Thanks to cloud services, maintaining a long record of video history is now less expensive and easier to manage.
- Helpful Analytics. Analyze your video data, and use it for other applications. Determine which products attract the most attention in a retail environment, for instance. Or establish delivery routines, so you know the times when a truck is NOT supposed to park outside your doors. The Video Analytics field will reach $2 Billion by 2020 all by itself!
- Universal Access. View network camera systems from anywhere. Send real-time alerts to your email. Access video footage from your phone or laptop whenever you want.
- Audio Recording. You can hear and speak to people in range of the camera system.
- Vigilance. Video becomes part of your network. Your reviews of video streams are quick & simple. Images stored are High Definition. Many analog cameras provide worthless footage when needed due to poor video resolution.
Note: PlanetMagpie is an authorized reseller and installer for Axis network cameras, which makes it easier to manage and troubleshoot any surveillance issues for your business.
Want to see a demo? Visit PlanetMagpie’s offices in Fremont! We're happy to show you how a "smart" video system works. Contact us at info@planetmagpie.com.