Remote Guarding – Saving Money with Technology

In today’s current economic times, more and more business are experiencing losses due to theft. Businesses that tend to store inventory outside are seeing greater losses of product. Traditionally, these businesses would have a couple options; either installing traditional burglar alarm devices that have been modified for outdoor use, or deploying a security guard to watch the premises during non-business hours. Typically, these solutions were either unreliable or expensive.

False alarms can cost your bottom-line

Businesses installing exterior security systems are finding the false alarm rate to be high. These systems are susceptible to false alarms due to weather, animals and other exterior events. Additionally, the monitoring center receiving the alarms has no way of verifying that it was an actual alarm. With municipalities increasing the amount of the fines for false alarms, and in some cases refusing to respond, this type of system can be very problematic. Deploying a security guard can be an effective means of preventing theft. However, one full time 24/7 security guard can cost over $150k per year. Businesses deploying one security guard for non-business hours only are seeing costs as high as $75k for one year.

Video Analytics and Intelligent Cameras

Recently, multiple providers of video analytics and intelligent cameras have introduced products that are solving the security dilemma for a number of businesses. Intelligent cameras are now being deployed as a remote guarding system. Areas of interest can be created in the camera to monitor for the presence of people or vehicles. The cameras are typically connected via the internet to a remote monitoring station. Upon receipt of an alarm, the remote monitoring station can view the cameras and establish two way voice communications. This allows the monitoring station to verify that an event is occurring, prior to dispatching the police.

Remote Guarding can help

The cost for installing a remote guarding system depends on variables ranging from number and type of camera, size of area being covered, etc. For the businesses where we have installed remote guarding systems, our customers have experienced greater reliability compared to conventional exterior security systems and significant cost reductions compared to deploying security guards. With a typical “quick win” in both ROI and reliability, this solution is hard to ignore.