Page 17 - Security Today, November/December 2023

Images courtesy of Hanwha Vision America Cloud-based business models are be- coming more practical and attractive for several reasons: the cloud can offer a cen- tralized data and information platform, especially important with the increasing number of distributed employees and teams today. Using cloud-based platforms allows security professionals to collabo- rate over vast distances and gives them immediate access for sharing surveillance footage with other locations or even with law enforcement for example. Future Proofing in the Cloud The cloud is flexible and elastic and scales to a company’s needs and resources. It’s also possible to have a cloud-based video system up and running quickly. However, perhaps the most significant benefit of the cloud is the potential to “future proof ” an organization’s surveillance capabilities by adopting new business models. The cloud’s increasing maturity, com- bined with continually emerging technolo- gies such as AI, remote monitoring and edge computing integration, has expand- ed the options for security professionals in terms of how they want to structure and manage their surveillance systems, with one notable model that is continually emerging: Cloud-Based Video Surveil- lance as a Service (VSaaS). Cloud-based video surveillance offers several benefits for security and surveillance professionals, primarily removing many of the day-to-day burdens of managing and operating their surveillance operations. Cloud-based VSaaS gives security pro- fessionals additional flexibility to custom- ize and manage their services according to individual needs. It is similar to a subscrip- tion model allowing users to choose the level of services they need at certain times of the year or by project. This is becoming more common as a way of working, espe- cially as customers get more comfortable with the cloud and more confident in the cloud’s proven security and reliability. Deploying a cloud-based VSaaS model lets organizations avoid the often- significant capital investments in hard- ware-based surveillance infrastructures that only depreciate over time. Now, by adopting an OPEX model teams are no longer tying up capital expenditures on infrastructure. In addition to saving Ca- pEx costs, they can also reduce, and even eliminate, their time spent on maintaining these hardware infrastructures. Moving away from hardware-based infrastructures means a company no lon- ger has to worry about their surveillance system becoming obsolete. Their surveil- lance capabilities are now fully accessible through the cloud and maintained by their solutions provider. Cloud-based operations allow for the instant deployment of features and can easily accommodate updates, patches and automatic system maintenance. This en- sures that surveillance infrastructures are always up to date with the latest features and security protocols, again relieving organizations of the burden of manual maintenance. That relief is significant enough to overcome another long-held negative customer perception of the cloud: its as- sociation with recurring monthly revenue (RMR) and subscription models, espe- cially since the security and surveillance industry has a history of being licensing- focused and many companies don’t want to be charged extra fees. But many companies will often prefer to pay service fees and have manufacturers deal with complex and time-intensive main- tenance so their in-house teams can focus on other activities to benefit their business. More new solutions are emerging that leverage the cloud’s benefits are available. For example, Hanwha’s Device Manager Pro is designed to support system inte- grators seeking to maintain their deploy- ments. DMPro delivers near-real-time notifica- tions to users when their Wisenet WAVE VMS requires attention. DMPro will contin- ue to enhance its maintenance capabilities to support automatic camera firmware updates/ management and cybersecurity policies. These new types of tools give profes- sionals peace of mind knowing their sys- tem’s cybersecurity hardness is guaranteed and also gives them advance alerts so they can shift their responses from reactive to proactive. Solutions like these are well-suited to the changing landscape of the security and surveillance industry. It’s not uncom- mon for an organization’s security team to be understaffed or stretched too thin, but that team is often tasked with manag- ing thousands of devices. These types of tools can manage and track the health of hundreds and thousands of devices on multiple branches throughout their entire lifecycle. Customers can be alerted when there is a new software patch, when their cyberse- curity checklist needs updating, or when a hardware warranty is about to expire – all to guarantee the cybersecurity hardness and ongoing maintenance of the products in their surveillance system. WWW.SECURITYTODAY.COM 17