If developed correctly the future for VSaaS (Surveillance as a Service) is an exciting one. There is certainly substantial new business up for grabs for forward thinking service providers who have the vision to innovatively exploit the opportunity.
I agree with a recent comment from Sam Grinter that VSaaS must provide more for less.
Can surveillance data be kept secure?
There are in theory two challenges to overcome. Firstly there may be concern about the security of the video and secondly, will users have enough bandwidth for VSaaS to be effective?
Concerns about the security of the video are understandable but when you reflect on how the Internet is now used it would not seem to be a major issue. Ten years ago, very few people even shopped online and yet millions of people are now confident about the ability to securely bank on-line. The exposure of personal credit cards and banking details is of course of far greater importance than the possibility of the loss of some video clips, and yet even this does not have to be a risk if appropriate password and encryption processes are put in place.
Enough bandwidth?
Will I have enough bandwidth? Well this question needs to be divided into are three parts: How many cameras have been installed, what exactly do you wish to upload to the cloud e.g. just events or a video stream, and how much bandwidth are you willing to pay for?
Using VSaaS to store video of pre-defined specific events would seem the logical approach for the majority of installations and particularly so for domestic or small commercial applications as why, for example, would a user want to pay to store video of an empty living room.
As the market becomes more competitive, the cost of providing VSaaS for smallish video surveillance projects, (say 4-5 cameras), could look much more attractive than the total cost of installing an NVR, as well as the cost of upgrades and service charges.
Surveillance as a service
The question of how much bandwidth people are willing to pay for opens up a bigger question as to what type and levels of services will be on offer.
In addition to the limited service levels of just storing video of specific events, some service providers may offer a full control room facility where they carry out ‘Event Management’ e.g. contact the emergency services if and when appropriate.
In addition, VSaaS could include the utilisation of Video Analytics (e.g. people counting, trend analysis, etc) as well as a facility for camera firmware upgrades to be carried out, as is now possible with mobile phones and tablets.
All these options are not all that different to the services currently provided by ARCs, but the technology available to use via the Internet is crying out to be fully exploited and in doing so, provide users worldwide with what has the potential to be a competitively priced alternative to the traditional methods of recording, storing and monitoring video.
Peter Ainsworth is senior product manager Europe for Samsung Techwin Europe.
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