Page 54 - Security Today, September 2019

5 Questions for Your Cloud Provider It’s going to become the ubiquitous platform for physical security, so start querying now
BDy Martin Renkis
o you want the real bottom line in providing cloud services for video, access control and other integrated services? It’s a challenging and uncomfortable busi- ness transformation, but one that will ultimately pre- pare security integrators for the future. Moving ser-
vices to the cloud does require a totally different financial model and sales process. While profit margins are compressed and the upfront payouts for installing hardware are much smaller, the good news is that security businesses will instead benefit from incremental and pre- dictable income from recurring monthly revenue (RMR) generated from system management, maintenance and monitoring.
The real story here is that it’s no longer a matter of if you move to the cloud, but when. End users are asking for the cloud, with many CEOs, CIOs and CSOs insisting on moving all their “iron” off prem- ise and relying on hosted, off-site cloud solutions for secure and easy maintenance. Systems integrators need to be able to deliver the value proposition expected of the cloud during the industry’s ongoing digi- tal transformation—reliability, expandability and the move to oper- ating expense (OpEx) versus capital expense (CapEx). With cloud, integrators can yield services that can be maintained on a grand scale even with thousands of cameras across the globe, ensuring the solu- tion is running reliably. Installations are also simpler, utilizing one portal for all systems, services and user management, yielding a uni- fied platform for video and access control.
When systems integrators embrace cloud technology they en- able a long-term solution that allows a transitional approach with many different options available to customers. There’s also inherent, enhanced, cybersecurity and compliance embedded into cloud plat- forms. Long term, leveraging cloud solutions means a healthier rev-
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“The real story here is that it’s
no longer a matter of if you move
to the cloud, but when.”
enue stream and additional options for future profitability. It’s easy to add or offload services, not to mention the added benefits of provid- ing remote maintenance and management through a single interface or mobile devices. Together, these help to create a better user experi- ence and a stickier customer.
Moving to cloud management and storage starts with a deep dive into the functionality of the platform. Education and research come next, honing in on what your customers are looking for and what the cloud solution offers to meet their physical security needs or chal- lenges. When posed to your potential cloud provider, these five ques- tions should provide guidance in the quest to decide what’s best for you and your organization.
How Robust and Open is the Platform?
This is a simple question, but essential to the decision-making dis- cussion. The cloud platform you select should run on an open and modern architecture to deliver fast, scalable and secure cloud services globally in addition to covering video, access control, artificial intel- ligence, cyber security and unified legacy products.
To clarify, just because you have a cloud-based offering doesn’t mean you have to store video only in the cloud. In fact, the best cloud platforms allow you to share video securely and store video in cameras, via gateways, in the cloud or in a hybrid combination. This gives secu- rity integrators the ability to manage and store via cloud, and custom
CLOUD SECURITY
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