By Dilen Thakrar, Product Manager, Oncam
It’s safe to say the world hasn’t seen anything like this. The disruption that the spread of coronavirus has caused in both our personal and professional lives is anything but “normal.”
However, we’re seeing now more than ever, that technology is bringing people together in a unique way. This begs the question: How can this technology help ease the burden businesses are currently experiencing?
The saving grace for our business — and many others — is the ability we have to operate in a remote work environment.
Collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom, Go-to-Meeting (and more), are allowing teams that previously worked closely together in an office environment the means to continue communicating effectively.
However, these office environments and other vacant or low-occupancy facilities require additional protection from vandalism and theft from opportunistic attackers.
Remote video surveillance is essential in today’s landscape, as teams continue to work remotely and businesses, as well as security leaders are tasked with maintaining facilities and keeping people safe.
Remotely controlled video is at the center of this effort, providing situational oversight into a building’s operations. But there are even more benefits to implementing remote video management, including:
Improved flexibility. Control of video feeds — both live and retrospectively — is a huge benefit for users as they aim to achieve overall situational awareness while not on site.
Panoramic surveillance specifically can provide operators with an overview of a scene, as well as the added flexibility to dewarp and focus on a specific object in a scene. Traditional cameras on the other hand typically only view one area and might miss the rest of the action.
Constant Surveillance. The majority of video surveillance cameras operate on a 24/7/365 timeframe in an effort to provide ongoing oversight of a facility. Right now, we’re seeing so many “non-essential” businesses, such as retailers, salons, professional services, and more, shuttered and vacant, leaving valuable merchandise or tools inside.
Dependable video surveillance coupled with secure remote management and viewing can help owners better protect their assets from vandalism or theft.
Increased System Health. One often overlooked component of remote video management is the ability to provide overall system health monitoring of cameras.
For example, being notified when a camera goes offline (if it gets damaged or if something is blocking the feed), can alert business owners or security leaders immediately, allowing them to mitigate the potential damage. This is a crucial component of remote management, since these individuals do not have to be on-site to determine if there’s a problem.
Reduced On-site Staff. With the current situation, businesses are looking for ways to protect their employees and customers, limiting on-site staff and providing the ability to work remotely if at all possible.
Remote management of video achieves this for business owners or security leaders, giving them the ability to keep tabs on a facility from the comfort and safety of their home.
Although the impact that coronavirus will have on businesses is still somewhat unclear, the technology that we have available to us right now allows for large amounts of work to be done from wherever we are.
Remote management and viewing of video via a PC, mobile app or internet browser has the ability to help business owners remain vigilant over their facilities and address incoming threats (as well as provide investigative evidence in the event of an incident). There’s never been a better time to adopt technology that provides this ability than now.
Source: oncamgrandeye.com