If your CCTV cameras suddenly stopped working…

Would you notice? Would it matter to your business?

Important questions. Especially at this time of the year with Christmas holidays pending when your business or premises is not always ‘manned’. You know what they say — Always have a backup plan.

In the security trade, we call it planning in redundancy around critical infrastructure.

Because CCTV cameras can fail for any number of reasons — hardware failure, overheating, dust damage, extreme weather damage or simply a power outage. So you want to know instantly when they fail, and ideally, you want something to kick in to ensure continuity of recording.

Enter video management software.

Video Management Software (VMS)

VMS is an essential part of any good security camera setup. A VMS system will run on any and all CCTV camera types and brands. It collects video from cameras and other sources, records that video to a storage device, and provides an interface to both view the live video, and access recorded video.

If a camera stops operating for any reason the VMS will search the network for any available cameras, locate them and bring them onboard. And if there is a failure anywhere, the system will alert you so that you can respond.

A good VMS system is especially useful for businesses where the CCTV footage is important. For example, businesses dealing with a lot of cash, or where health and safety is critical, or people and/or property safety and security is important. Any situation where the loss of CCTV footage creates a risk.

And if your CCTV footage is critical, make sure the VMS is supported by UPS (excuse all the acronyms). UPS stands for uninterruptible power supply. It provides near-instantaneous protection from power interruptions, by supplying energy stored in batteries. The on-battery runtime is relatively short (only a few minutes) but sufficient to start a standby power source or properly shut down the protected equipment.

Is your CCTV footage safe?

The great thing about VMS and UPS is they’re not necessarily expensive.

Need a better back-up plan for your security? We should talk.

Industrial, retail or commercial, we know the challenges businesses face when it comes to loss prevention, cash handling, health and safety compliance, and making sure your people and premises are protected.

Interested to find out more? Give me (Gavin) a call on 027 578 1298.

‍