When it comes to a great CCTV system a lot of thought goes into choosing the right hardware, its placement on the site and the length of the video storage. Traditionally, video surveillance footage has always been stored locally. Local storage means anything that is ‘on-site’ such as an NVR, DVR or a NAS drive. However, in recent years ‘cloud-based’ technology has taken off and more and more businesses are moving their services to the cloud.
So what’s the better option for your video surveillance footage? Local storage or cloud? We delve into this in detail over on our YouTube channel – check out our Local Storage vs Cloud Storage video, or read more below.
Local onsite CCTV storage
The most common option is local onsite storage. To store CCTV footage locally you’ll only need a recorder or a hard drive, or in the case of standalone security cameras, an SD card.
The main benefit of onsite storage is the ease of setup, as recorders and cameras often come with built-in storage. In addition, you won’t need any other hardware other than the one being installed as a part of the CCTV system.
However, there are several downsides to using only onsite storage. Firstly, as recorders are susceptible to damage or theft, your customers are left with no back up. Furthermore, you can only store a limited amount before it starts getting expensive. For example, while it may be affordable to save footage for 30 days on a standard 1TB hard drive, the longer you need to store the footage for, the more costly it gets. And let’s not forget the footage may get overwritten. Finally, while it may be easy to set up, it’s not the most convenient option as you don’t have easy access to footage if you’re offsite.
Offsite (cloud) CCTV storage
An alternative to local storage is storing your footage offsite, in the cloud. Storing your footage in the cloud, or adding cloud-backup to your recorder, means you can access your video from anywhere and add sophisticated features to a legacy security system. Cloud opens up a greater opportunity for collaboration, as you can view all your cameras in one place, provide access to additional people and control their permissions.
As well as this, cloud video surveillance is more bandwidth friendly than you might think. Videoloft’s cloud platform has been tested and optimised for real world networks, meaning it will use as little bandwidth as possible.
Setting up offsite cloud storage is also much simpler than you’d imagine. All you need is a Videoloft Cloud Adapter and compatible hardware, and you’re ready to go!
Choosing the right CCTV storage option
Your CCTV storage choice will ultimately depend on your requirements. Some companies prefer a hybrid approach to video storage – keeping their local recorder and adding cloud-backup so that they can enjoy all the benefits of cloud, including remote viewing and centralised footage, whilst maintaining their local storage. Videoloft can add cloud-backup and remote viewing to any compatible recorder, and it takes just minutes to set up.
Interested in Videoloft for your business? Look no further, choose your cloud plan, and create your account by getting started.
