When you hear the term “video surveillance”, you might have visions of high tech government agencies watching the masses, or you might think about a prime time TV show set in a Las Vegas casino with a whole team watching as the “eye in the sky”, or it could be the large department store chain that has cameras hanging from the ceiling.
While those are all amazing uses of video security technology, lets focus on a smaller, but equally important scale – the small and medium business.
What are the basic essentials required in order to provide a secure environment and to protect the assets of your small or medium business?
- For one, you have to secure your premise with locks so that when you are not present, people cannot access your facility and carry anything out the door they wish.
- You should have a burglar alarm for intrusion detection should someone breach the door locks and gain access.
- A clear line of site to your building and bright outside lighting could deter someone from snooping about after hours.
- Having good communication with alert business neighbors might let you know when someone is lurking around
- Personnel trained to lock doors properly and arm the security system is a must
Those are the steps most of us take in securing our property.
But what about having eyes on your property when you are not there? It could be the cheapest insurance you might ever buy.
What would a basic video surveillance system look like?
In the most simplistic form, you might have a camera on the front parking lot, one on the main entrance to your building, one on the outside looking at the rear entrance, and potentially a camera in a common area inside your building. This would provide views of most of the areas where people come and go and could protect you in the following situation:
- Someone breaks into a car in the parking lot – you might see the people who did it and have a good description.
- A courier could back into a vehicle and leave and upon reviewing the recorded video, you could find out which courier it was.
- Slip and fall type accidents could be reviewed and footage used in court to show what really happened.
As a bonus, you also know when your employees arrive and leave, so if you have suspicions of “buddy punching” where an employee leaves early and gets a coworker to clock them out on time, you can quickly pinpoint that.
If employees are horsing around behind the building, you also can easily determine that and footage can be used so they cannot say you terminated them wrongfully.
Rear entrances can remain locked, and a buzzer installed – a receptionist could see who was outside the door before heading to unlock it (or hitting the release button).
If you are an absentee business owner, where you find yourself away, you can use a mobile app or a web browser to watch your cameras in real-time. A camera can be configured to email you a snapshot whenever anyone walks into a specific area it can see.
A camera on a back entrance could also potentially catch an air conditioner thief, as they back their vehicle right up to the unit to steal it, you might get their license.
More elaborate systems might employ 8, 16, or more cameras, and watch specific assets, such as a vending machine, cash register or HVAC system.
If you are interested in this type of technology, it is more affordable than ever! Homeland Secure IT is happy to offer the biggest names in video surveillance! Our most recent partnership is with AXIS, the originator of IP camera systems.
Obviously, it is easy to see that having a video surveillance solution in place is not only a deterrent to would-be criminals and employees who might be tempted in your absence, but it also may protect your legally, assist in the apprehension of criminals after the fact, and most importantly, give you peace of mind while you are away!
We offer both sales and installation, as well as consultation. Please call us at 864-990-4748 or use our contact form on our website for additional information!
Want to see some footage from a video security system used at a remote location? Check THIS LINK… And watch for the follow up, as the people featured will surely be caught soon now that the video has been released.