How to choose the right video management system?

Video surveillance is one of the most important technologies that you can use in your strategies to prevent cyberattacks caused through physical security breaches, and for this reason, it is very important to choose the best video management software.

There were more than 22.6 million cyberattacks between January and February of this year. According to Kaspersky, from April 2020 to February 2021, globally, there has never been under 300 million cyberattacks per month, with a record of more than 409 million attacks during November 2020. In February, almost a year after the COVID pandemic began, there were 377.5 million cyberattacks.

That is why today more than ever, it has become a priority for organizations to protect people. An indicator of this is the income from sales of security hardware and software solutions. Software (video analytics and systems of management) and services will grow at an annual rate of 10.4%, reaching 74.6 billion dollars in 2025.

In addition, for companies it is a critical mission to maintain everyone’s safety to minimize risks. To contain these risks, video surveillance is one of the most important strategies. According to Genetec, choosing a video management system (VMS) should be a process in which requirements, budget, and ease of use must be determined. It is important to consider the elements that lead to the appropriate selection of VMS solutions that are tailored toward your business’s use case.

A video surveillance solution consists of several components: choosing a provider of quality video surveillance cameras and a software that manages cameras that does the “heavy lifting” behind the scenes. Rather than being limited to immediate security concerns, consider a video management security solution and video technology that evolve over time to your needs. Primary considerations when choosing a modern VMS platform are scalability, IP camera integration, readiness to support HD, FHD and 4K video computing needs, and adaptability to complex network topologies and new storage solutions.

Open architecture is vital

A VMS should offer great compatibility with a wide range of cameras, encoders, and video surveillance equipment. Third party cameras and their functions must be able to be programmed directly from the VMS. It is also essential that the VMS can configure a number of important parameters, such as: discovering the camera or encoder on an IP network, IP address, frame rate, ability to adjust for different camera resolution, motion detection (in-camera or based on the server), bit rate, audio inputs / outputs, video streams by device, and firmware update. Nobody wants to switch between software applications to perform simple commands that should be available on the VMS platform.

The cloud is the limit!

The possibility that a VMS platform can be hybrid or cloud-based allows expanding the functionality of a local system or even replacing it. This also allows business continuity and sustainability. Cloud solutions can reduce costs in IT infrastructure and help a security department become more agile. Additionally, a cloud-based video surveillance system can be deployed quickly, as no on premise servers are required.

A hybrid solution can address the need for a longer retention period by storing long-term data and video files in the cloud, while short-term files are stored on local servers. A hybrid system can also improve video storage redundancy by providing backup in the event of local hardware failure, among many other benefits.

For companies looking to expand, a hybrid system allows additional sites to be added along without having to invest in additional hardware at the central location. On the other hand, it is critical to have a VMS that employs a security strategy that protects your system against both physical and cyber threats with multiple layers of defense, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, and authorization.