What is video surveillance as a service (VSaaS)? Moving video surveillance to the cloud.

No matter the industry, location or size of your company, video surveillance will play a crucial part in your security system. It reduces loss, theft and other crimes while protecting your employees and business.

At the same time, the adoption of cloud-based systems and software is on the rise: Zippia found that, in 2023, 94% of businesses used cloud services. More and more business needs are being met in faster and more cost-efficient ways within the cloud, where scalability and reducing IT costs are the norm for any software.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that video surveillance also benefits from becoming cloud native. Video surveillance as a service, or VSaaS, is video surveillance that is exclusively hosted and managed via the cloud. VSaaS solutions enable organisations to record and store their security footage in offsite servers. They can then access that footage from any location with an internet connection, as well as view real-time video streams, video analytics and many more advanced features.

As we’ll explore in this article, VSaaS is a vast improvement on traditional video surveillance and remains on track to become the future of commercial security systems. Find out how VSaaS works, why it’s so useful for businesses to adopt and what separates it from traditional forms of video security.

Cloud-based video surveillance: how does VSaaS work?

VSaaS works first by connecting with the cameras already set up on the company’s premises. The cameras can be in any location and can be any type of camera. Fixed, wireless, outdoors, re-deployable, vehicle-mounted: it’s all fair game for the best VSaaS software.

Once set up, the cameras record footage as normal. That footage is streamed to the cloud, from the camera itself or via an onsite router, where it’s then processed, stored and managed online.

The use of cloud storage means organisations don’t need to purchase and manage their own data centres. Instead, the cloud-based servers are operated and maintained by the VSaaS provider, and a company can access its data from anywhere, provided it has an internet connection.

It doesn’t stop at viewing real-time streams or accessing video recordings either. Depending on the complexity of the business’ chosen VSaaS platform, users will be able to carry out smart searches, access advanced video analytics, set up real-time alerts, implement facial recognition technology and more.

Like much software provided ‘as a service’, VSaaS platforms are paid for as a subscription on a monthly or annual basis. A business only needs to pay for the storage it uses, and when the company scales up and uses more camera feeds, it’s simple to adjust the subscription to suit.

The business benefits of implementing VSaaS

Businesses grow and diversify, spreading out as they do so. Organisations that manage miles of infrastructure or are responsible for monitoring vast networks can benefit hugely from deploying a VSaaS system. Compared to traditional forms of surveillance, VSaaS benefits businesses by:

• Consolidating disparate video streams into one source of truth. Any business that operates globally — or has multiple offices/shop fronts or needs to monitor remote locations — can use VSaaS to view all their security camera footage from one location. There’s no longer a need to maintain multiple costly on-premise servers.
• Enabling real-time monitoring from anywhere. With live remote accessibility to security footage, companies can respond in real-time to incidents equipped with the situational awareness to make informed decisions. As long as there’s internet access, companies can access their VSaaS systems and all live video feeds.
• Reducing the cost of setting up video surveillance. Implementing VSaaS instead of a traditional video surveillance system means there’s little to no capital expenditure required to set up the required hardware and software. Instead, there’s a smaller monthly operating expense, which is predictable and easier to fit into a company’s budget.
• Offering secure and flexible access to video. Being able to access your security footage from any internet connection — public or private — may at first raise privacy concerns. However, as all data is encrypted by the VSaaS platform, it’s completely safe to do so. What’s more, the best providers will build automatic firmware updates and additional redundancy into their operations so that your footage will always remain protected from bad actors.
• Introducing scalability into the security model. Like a lot of cloud-native technology, VSaaS makes scaling up a simple and cost-efficient task. Businesses only need to pay for the storage they use, and when they need more, it’s easy to acquire it. They can leave video surveillance in the hands of experts and focus on levelling up their core competencies.
• Lowering the total cost of ownership. The costs of installing, maintaining and upgrading the cloud servers are incurred by the VSaaS provider and then distributed to all customers across their shared infrastructure. This means the cost of upkeep for an individual company is significantly reduced.
• Deploying quickly for any and all cameras. Setting up existing or new cameras is a matter of minutes or even seconds. It’s a plug-and-play process that doesn’t require training, cables or integration. Businesses can connect multiple endpoints easily, so long as they’re all internet-enabled. For Digital Barriers, it’s as simple as scanning a QR code to get a new camera online.

What’s the difference between video surveillance and VSaaS?

Simply put, ‘video surveillance’ in security refers to the use of video cameras in specific locations to monitor activity, taping live video and recording it for later review. Video surveillance as a service is a branch of video surveillance that differs from traditional surveillance.

Traditional video surveillance solutions manage video streams via onsite hardware. An organisation investing in, say, a CCTV system must pay a large up-front cost for the technology and software and is then responsible for installing the entire system and keeping it up to date.

When a member of the business wants to access any security footage, they’ll often have to view it onsite. Many traditional surveillance video systems aren’t built for remote access and may not encrypt video data, leading to privacy concerns.

On the other hand, an organisation using VSaaS will invest a much smaller amount up-front for access to the cloud server — and perhaps an on-premise streaming appliance — and then pay a regular monthly cost on a subscription basis. It can then rely on the third-party provider to keep the necessary hardware and software updated.

Then, when somebody wants to view the camera streams, they can do so remotely with ease. High-quality, smooth video streams are the norm for the best VSaaS platforms, even when viewing live video. These streams are encrypted, so it’s safe to access them via any internet connection.

Enhance VSaaS further by streaming over cellular

Video surveillance as a service brings video security into the age of cloud computing. It’s a scalable, lower-cost and flexible solution that doesn’t compromise on quality or security. So long as there’s an internet connection, video footage is accessible from anywhere in the world.

How about in situations where there isn’t ready access to the internet, however? You might have lone workers operating in remote locations, a wide range of areas you need to monitor or cameras mounted on vehicles or worn by staff who are constantly on the move. You may even just have an unreliable Wi-Fi network on premises.

The solution is optimising your VSaaS platform for cellular networks. Using our unique low-bandwidth technology, CloudVis delivers high-quality video over low-speed connections, whether cellular or fixed. You can stream real-time video and audio without worrying about spiralling data costs or frustrating buffering while accessing cutting-edge advanced analytics that makes every camera in your network smart.

Ready to enhance your security with VSaaS over cellular? Contact hello@digitalbarriers.com for more information about CloudVis.