10 Reasons To Scrap Your NVR For A Cloud CCTV System

NVRs never offered a perfect video surveillance solution and thanks to evolving technology, they are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In case you are still in doubt, read on to find our why your next CCTV installation should be a cloud solution.

1. Long term cost: NVR’s are still relatively expensive as are hard drives and when something happens to them, you end up paying for an engineer to come on site. A cloud-based solution often offers you less initial capital outlay and gives your security installer the ability to troubleshoot issues remotely, which means that he won't need to charge a call out fee.

2. Footage back up: Since there is a way to back up your footage offsite, you won’t find yourself in a situation where an intruder simply finds your NVR and disconnects it or takes it with them. Click here to read about cloud CCTV backup.

3. Scalability: Cloud Solutions are typically far easier to scale than traditional NVRs. Certain cloud providers make scaling from a single to many locations absolutely seamless, meaning that you see all of your location side by side and from a single login. Further, you can easily upgrade cameras to record at a higher quality and for the data to be stored in the cloud for longer periods of time (as opposed to having to add additional hard drive space on each NVR). Simply upgrade your plan.

4. Health monitoring: Cloud based systems have the ability to alert you when there is an issue with a camera or video feed, while this can be done on traditional systems it is far more complex and requires a lot of additional setup.

5. Maintenance & backup: With Cloud solutions all maintenance is done for you so no need to hassle with software upgrades or reliability issues. Software updates are released "over the air" and you just log in to find improvements.

6. Plug & play: Cloud based solutions tend to be far simpler to setup and configure, and most are plug & play. They are also simple to get linked to your smartphone. With an NVR, there is often port forwarding and other complications with the setup process.

7. Easy access from any device: Cloud solutions offer easy access to your surveillance system from most Tablets, PC’s and Smartphones. Provided you have the right credentials you should be able to access and view your surveillance system from anywhere. Further, if you buy a new computer, tablet or phone, you have to set up all of the software again. With cloud solutions, it is usually done automatically for you.

8. Better security: It’s a common misconception that cloud solutions are less secure than a physical NVR. In fact, the opposite is true if you use “port forwarding” to get remote access to your NVR. This opens up security risks from hackers, not only to your surveillance system but also to your internal network. Further, certain cloud systems have an ability to monitor for unauthorised access, system abuse and network intrusions.

9. Easier to use: Most NVR interfaces stem from the same outdated and complex model with little regard for the user's experience. The software is complex and often requires ongoing training to use. Cloud systems often offer a far more modern and simple interface.

10. Bandwidth: Internet bandwidth can be a concern it comes to cloud solutions, especially when you are considering installing more than a couple of cameras. Fortunately, several systems do take this into consideration and have created clever technology that lets you put as many cameras as you need through the cloud.

It's true that cloud CCTV solutions have their limitations as well. That's why the ultimate solution is a hybrid cloud solution because it offers the optimal parts of an NVR and cloud CCTV, without their typical downsides.