There are so many options when it comes to storage of your surveillance footage including traditional DVRs, NVRs, built-in SD cards, etc. However, what happens when one of these devices is removed or destroyed? What if there is no back up in place? There is a solution and it is cheap, convenient, and easy to use. Cloud storage is becoming a popular choice. Not only is it safe and secure, but it is also much easier to manage, especially across larger enterprises.

Back when I was the IT Director for a restaurant group in Atlanta, GA, we had the finest cameras and the latest and greatest NVRs in each of our restaurants. On many occasions I reviewed footage to help solve little mysteries here and there. Then I got the call that one of the sites was robbed at gunpoint. The police wanted to view the footage, but when I went to assess the damage, I found that the perpetrator not only took all of the money in the safe, but, you guessed it, he took the NVR as well! There was nothing left but a few Cat5 cables dangling off the shelf where the NVR once proudly stood watch over the office.

I replaced the NVR and literally locked it down thinking they wouldn’t be able to remove it this time. Well I was wrong. The same store was robbed a second time and they demanded that the manager unlock the NVR, and, since it was once again at gunpoint, the manager, of course, complied.

This began my quest to find a better solution. I started researching as much as possible and found that there were people using ftp sites to load their own footage in the cloud, but it was not always reliable. I found some others that were using other methods to stream footage into the cloud, but the technology was still in the infant stages.

Today many of the top security and surveillance companies have their own cloud storage solutions. Some charge a small fee per camera while others include it in the overall price of service. Many of these cameras are strictly cloud-connected and don’t have an onsite DVR or NVR. Others still require the use of an onsite recording device that acts as a gateway to the cloud. This hybrid solution is good because you can have footage stored in multiple places for added security.

I was so impressed with some of the solutions I found that I actually brought some of them into the Blaze5 family. We have partnered with alarm.com to bring you the best of the best when it comes to cameras, NVRs, access controls, and, of course, cloud storage for your footage. If you already have cameras and don’t want to convert to a new platform with new cameras, I like Camcloud because they work with most camera brands and have an easy to use GUI. Eagle Eye Networks is another platform that is brand agnostic and provides robust tools to keep your premises safe and secure.

Whether you are ready to install your first surveillance system or you have had cameras for years, there is a cloud storage solution that is right for you, and trust me when I say you need it! Don’t let your footage be stolen or destroyed like I did (I won’t make that mistake again). Protect what you have worked so hard to build!