Hidden Costs of Video Surveillance Systems

If you’re looking at purchasing a video surveillance solution, chances are you’ve run into digital video recorders (DVR) and network video recorders (NVR). Both of these security systems offer a centralized approach to video security that seems affordable up front; however, as time goes on, you will likely see increasing costs due to outdated technology and a host of other issues. These are some of the hidden costs of video surveillance systems:

Maintenance and updates

One of the biggest traps you will fall into when purchasing an NVR or DVR security system are maintenance costs. Many NVRs and DVRs use hardware and software that is outdated, and this antiquated approach to video security can wind up costing you as other network and internet technologies continue to evolve. 

In addition to having to manually push through firmware updates, you will likely need a specialized technician to service some aspects of your NVR system — an unforeseen cost many businesses don’t think to budget for. 

The costs of potential cybersecurity breaches

Another result of having an outdated video security system is that it makes your business far more susceptible to cybersecurity breaches. These sorts of attacks can make a major dent in more than maintenance fees, too. Beyond the costs of responding to a security breach, you may also wind up losing vital features of your business as a result of a hacker using your surveillance system as a backdoor to access your network. Since DVRs and NVRs are centralized, this means that hackers can truly wreck havoc on your company, should they find a way in. Especially for larger enterprises, these kinds of risks must be avoided in order to maintain normal business operations.

Expensive in multiple locations

Another weakness of NVRs and DVRs is their inability to scale in an affordable manner. While this may not be an issue if you only have one place of business, school districts and restaurant chains will definitely want to avoid picking either approach when it comes to choosing a surveillance system. As everything will need to be centralized at each location, that means that new equipment and recorders will need to be purchased each time you add surveillance security to another location. 

 

Beyond material costs, this also costs you time and labor. Ultimately, if you’re looking to expand your company’s reach, it may be more beneficial to pick a different solution rather than incur these costs every time your business needs to grow.

Video security systems that avoid these hidden costs

Thankfully, there are more options than just NVRs and DVRs for security surveillance. One popular newcomer to the field of video security is the hybrid cloud approach, which uses cloud connectivity and onboard storage. This results in a surveillance system that scales easily, receives updates automatically, and is far more secure than traditional surveillance options. Pioneers like Verkada are even introducing features that allow the systems to work while offline, further increasing the value of hybrid cloud surveillance for businesses of all sizes.

As you can tell, even though a surveillance system may be inexpensive, that doesn’t mean that it will always remain that way. Considering how quickly technology is advancing, a system that is only a few years old can still become outdated in a short amount of time. In addition, hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated and having an up-to-date, secure video surveillance solution is in your company’s best interests to combat them. Hybrid cloud video security mitigates many of the above weaknesses of traditional NVRs and DVRs, allowing you to gain peace of mind and save money in the long run.