Cloud solutions continue to gain traction within electronic security. We analyze some reasons.
by Per Björkdahl*
Whether the industry was ready or not, the cloud has had an impact, driving market innovations. While not a new technology for the security industry, it continues to experience growth, driven by growing opportunities in the IoT space.
With an increase in global spending on public cloud infrastructure and services, security end users and their organizations are shifting to adopt the cloud. Cloud services can provide benefits not only to large enterprise organizations, but also to small and medium-sized businesses by providing cost-effective solutions and greater flexibility. These aspects are particularly important now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is causing many organizations to reevaluate the traditional use of corporate office space.
With cloud-based video and access control services, organizations can save on hardware and service costs by reducing the purchase of hardware (NVRs, access control servers, or controllers) and allowing end users to increase or decrease the level of service as needed.
In particular, cloud-based access can be more accessible, flexible, and easier to manage than ever before. For the small business owner looking for easier credential management, cloud connectivity capabilities include granting and revoking access rights, creating schedules, and remote monitoring of their access control system. If you haven't considered cloud solutions, here are three reasons why now might be a good time to evaluate your options and consider investing in this technology.
Cyber security
Cloud-based physical security systems come in many different shapes and sizes, and each poses its own cybersecurity challenges. As many vendors rely on large cloud providers, which make cybersecurity a core part of their offering, cloud security systems can take advantage of these large cybersecurity investments. However, as access control and video systems have become more connected, they face the same cyber requirements as any device within the corporate network.
If the end user and manufacturer do not have a set of cybersecurity policies that take into account cybersecurity practices, any device can fall victim to a cyber attack. It is important for all stakeholders (security and IT end users, integrators, and manufacturers) to ensure that best practices are followed at every step of the implementation.
Hybrid Solutions
Video Management Systems (VMS) manufacturers offer another area of industry growth, driven by cloud solutions, to ease the transition to the cloud, for those users for whom it makes sense. While full migration to the cloud can be challenging for large enterprise organizations, a hybrid solution that offers both on-site and off-site capabilities offers an ideal alternative. End users can choose which events are uploaded to the cloud, thus saving on bandwidth and storage costs. These hybrid options, along with the growing popularity of the cloud, are increasing the demand for integration, as well as generating an increased demand for open protocols. As the demand for hybrid solutions increases, more and more services are being built around this model, such as remote monitoring.
Remote monitoring
As the cloud grows in popularity, the demand for integration and the supply of rich services, such as remote monitoring capability, is also on the rise. With many facilities still temporarily closed due to COVID-19, the ease of remote monitoring is especially important and is expected to play a role in reopening the facility.
Cloud services can help determine the overall system health and device status, such as in the event that the camera has been damaged, if there were errors, by providing notifications long before an administrator is notified on the site. These are crucial capabilities for facility managers navigating the management of empty spaces and storefronts from a remote location.
* Per Björkdahl is the Chairman of the ONVIF Steering Committee.
