Solution Topics

Video Surveillance for Offices

Topic: Offices

Interested in keeping your offices safe? Want to lessen the risk of crime, be it violent outbursts, theft or vandalism within the office? An IP video surveillance system can be an excellent tool in increasing the safety of your employees at the office and reducing crime.

Benefits of IP Video Surveillance for Offices

A video surveillance system gives you a clear view of what is happening anywhere in the building at any given time. This can be used to spot suspicious activity and alert security personnel to the proper location to find out what is going on. With advanced facial recognition software, a video surveillance system could also be used to find unauthorized personnel on the premises.

IP video cameras come with a built-in web server. This allows for video feeds to be transmitted directly over a network, either a Local Area Network or the Internet. This makes remote monitoring of video feeds a snap, as any computer with either LAN or Internet access can view feeds from the office. Check up on surveillance footage while your at home, on vacation, wherever you may happen to be!

While crime is generally unusual within the office environment, one can never be too careful. Sometimes criminals will just wander into the building during lunchtime and begin stealing items from people�s desks. This is not good for you or your employees. On some occasions employees themselves are the culprits. An IP video surveillance system allows you to monitor activity within the office to spot such incidents and keep them from occurring.

Do You Need an IP Video Surveillance System?

Every business and office is different, and will have different needs. Before installing an IP video surveillance system at your place of work, there are several questions you should ask. How big is your company? How many employees do you have? Is there a major security threat within the office environment? What sort of business are you in?

For smaller companies with few employees and few people entering or leaving the premises at any given time, an IP video surveillance system may be unnecessary. However, as number of people within the office increases, the potential for security threats increases.

Are you in a business where valuable items are part of the office environment? Are any valuable materials kept within the office overnight? If so, this might be a good reason to install a video surveillance system for nighttime surveillance. Break-ins do happen, and an IP video surveillance system can be an excellent way to help prevent or at least alert you to these incidents and give you time to take proper action.

Placement of IP Video Cameras

When installing any IP video surveillance system, placement is of extreme importance. Poorly placed cameras can render your video surveillance system inadequate for the task, regardless how good of cameras you use.

One area that should be focused on is the lobby. This is the main entry/exit point for just about anyone coming into the building, be they employees, customers, delivery men etc. Having good coverage of the entrance and lobby allows you to know everyone who is in the office at any given moment. Any other entrances or exits should also be covered.

Any open spaces within the office should also be covered. More private areas, such as offices, bathrooms and break rooms should generally be avoided, unless you feel there is a strong security risk in one of these areas. Employees deserve their privacy as much as anyone, and a video surveillance system should not violate that privacy.