By Martin Renkis, VP OpenBlue Security and Innovation at Johnson Controls

Leveraging cloud-hosted video solutions is the wave of the future and it’s here now – available for you to reap its many advantages.
When you specify cloud-hosted surveillance infrastructures and offsite servers, you take a lot of the pain points from systems integration – while adding efficiencies and opportunities that equal improved profitability. Cloud-hosted solutions also result in a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for the end-user, who can shape the application to meet their needs without deploying additional servers at their data center and recruiting IT teams to manage that new piece of data-collection hardware. 

Accessibility and remote maintenance are two of many benefits which can be realized in moving to the cloud for video surveillance recording and storage. From anywhere with an internet or VPN connection, you can view, manage and control cameras and video feeds for greater and more proactive situational awareness. Here are five other reasons to consider moving camera specifications to cloud-hosted environments.

1. Simple installation—Getting set up is easy. Leveraging POE switches and Ethernet cables, you can connect cloud cameras quickly, with automated syncing of new devices through IP addresses. For those who cannot install new cloud cameras, a cloud gateway can enable that cloud connection. As installation costs continue to skyrocket, saves time and can connect multiple properties or locations through a single dashboard. Cloud cameras can also be connected using a mobile or cellular network to support connectivity for remote sites, such as construction sites, which may not have access to a network.

2. Scalability and flexibility in application—As customer security footprints change and grow, you can pivot quickly in a cloud-hosted environment. Add more cameras or decommission units on the fly and as necessary. If the customer site expands or they require new areas for surveillance—for example warehouse loading areas to monitor worker safety or food processing locations to stay on the right side of compliance, you can satisfy these challenges and more with this super-expandable platform. The option to scale up is limitless.

3. Avoid rip and replace—It’s easier to put a migration strategy in place for the customer and make use of existing cameras while you plan for replacement with longer-term migration over a designated period of time and as the user’s budget allows. It’s also easy to convert non-cloud cameras into cloud cameras by installing a cloud gateway that helps to bridge the gap between the two. A thought-out, longer-term strategy can also assist with futureproofing and keeping technologies up to date by deploying the latest products.

4. Flexible storage and management options—As long as you have internet access or a browser, you have instant access to video feeds via the cloud. You don’t need an IT person on staff to manage local servers and with automatic software updates the latest platform version stands ready. Cloud offers flexibility of storage and management of video. If you want to store everything on the cloud, that is an option. A more popular approach is a hybrid option, where some of the data is stored locally and older data is retained in the cloud.

5. Inherently safer storage—With video storage in the cloud, data at rest and data in motion are encrypted, authenticated and kept safe offsite. Backups of data are automatic and users can decide the logistics of what they want to store and for how long. Cybersecurity, disaster recovery and redundancy is built-in, which means less time managing this crucial piece of protection for the customer.

Cloud-hosted video surveillance brings numerous opportunities, safeguards and unlimited flexibility to the systems integrator and the end-user customer. Making the move to offsite servers for video storage and recording simply makes sense.

Learn more about cloud video surveillance and cloud access control https://www.cloudvue.io/