5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Installing Surveillance Systems
Opting for a surveillance system can prove to be a challenging task if you have received proposals from multiple vendors. Going through the proposals, you will find that most of the proposals emphasize or outline the same standard features and services that all are offering. However, if you are looking to dig deeper and find the best surveillance system for your office, home, or school, then the 5 most important questions you need to ask before installing surveillance systems are:
1. What is the reason behind installing the surveillance system?
Some of the most common objectives behind installing a surveillance system are to provide better security to the residents of the building, office or home. Vandalism, theft, and terrorist attacks are some of the threats that every school, house, office or business premises face. In order to identify the perpetrators and nip the threats in the bud, you will have to get a surveillance system that sends alerts to the monitoring rooms. CCTV cameras are installed at strategic locations in the premises. People in an office, school, house, and building deserve to feel secure and if you too are wondering about the ways to ensure that then there can’t be anything better than a surveillance system.
2. Is your current infrastructure including recording relevant?
If you already have cameras and network cables connecting the cameras then you can make huge savings by using them for your surveillance system. However, CCTV and related technologies have undergone massive advancements in recent years and your old equipment might not be compatible with the latest recording or transmission devices. Modern equipment can transmit data over the Net and can be connected directly to security agencies nearby for instant action and relief. Modern equipment can trigger your smartphone and show a video clip, giving you the opportunity to take action. Modern equipment can not only record onsite but on the cloud also.
3. Who is going to carry out the installation?
This is a very pertinent question because there are many complex types of surveillance equipment that might need expert technicians. Because of the dynamic changes in technology, even trained vendors may need help at times.
4. What kind of support can I expect?
Support forms a very important part of any hardware installation and you will need to clear all the support related doubts with the vendor. You need to understand that poor support will make it really vitiate the use of the surveillance system. You will have to ensure that the service contract is separately drawn up with the vendor so that there are legal bindings attached to the support services.
5. What is the facility that is being put on surveillance?
This is probably the most important factor that would help you determine the kind of surveillance system you require. You need to first take into account the number of buildings where you need surveillance. If you are choosing a surveillance system for your school or hospital or company, then it is quite natural for the buildings to be separated. You also need to determine whether monitoring needs to be done from a central location or distributed. The location types will help you find out the type of cameras that you need along with their placement. If you are going to place the cameras outside the premises or buildings then it is imperative that they need to be placed in protective casings.
The 5 questions that we have discussed above will definitely help to you get the best surveillance system. Some of the questions are internal. That would need some planning on your part. Having installed a large number of surveillance systems, we have the knowledge on what needs to be analyzed and understood before deciding.
Call us today and we will make your surveillance system procurement a breeze.
About Dove Communications
Dove Communication is a leader in installing and supporting VoIP and IP based communication systems. From voice to video to full integration to your computerized system for data integration, we can provide all the knowledge and technology needed for you to switch over to VoIP communication. Our association with Toshiba gives us a strong edge in technology. Toshiba’s VIPedge, their IP telephony in the cloud, has been winning awards year after year.
If your phone usage is high, we can also offer your IPedge, another award-winning product from Toshiba. If you have call center requirement, we have the wonderful Strata CIX. All these products are backed by powerful software as well as our installation and support capabilities.
