Cloud technology is accelerating, mainly due, according to Justine Saunders, Program Manager for Video Management at Axis Communications, to advancements in data storage, video analytics, and remote access. This brings great benefits to the surveillance industry, enabling systems that are more secure, effective—and more accessible. Here Saunders discusses the benefits of cloud storage and why cloud computing is becoming an essential part of the security and surveillance industry.
Advancements in cloud technology will continue to shape surveillance systems in the coming years. In fact, according to research by Gartner, it’s predicted that worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will total $723.4 billion in 2025.
Cloud technology offers a range of services that allow systems to be more scalable and cost-efficient and increase the effectiveness of remote monitoring. One essential service is cloud storage, where data is saved and maintained on offsite servers and accessed via the Internet. This ensures great flexibility and allows you to easily enhance your system with cloud capabilities that match your specific needs.
For instance, it can be used as primary storage or as a backup for recovery purposes. It can also ensure your data is always accessible and continuously replicated in real-time for redundancy purposes. This offers great value and means you can always operate your system even if your primary storage is down.
Cloud storage services are easy to setup and deploy. And they’re fully maintained—everything is taken care of from setup, hosting, and delivery to services and system updates—so you don’t have to worry. Cloud storage data is accessible over the internet making it easy for users to access it at any time, from anywhere.
Cloud storage offers a high-security option, both from a physical and a cyber security perspective. Servers are physically located offsite in protected premises, so even if there’s an incident on your premises, your data is still safeguarded and always available. Plus, there are rigorous systems in place for data protection and backup.
For example, access is tightly controlled and protected with two-factor authentication and there’s usually regular security audits. In addition, your system is kept up to date and data is encrypted to provide essential security benefits and enhance compliance with data protection laws and standards such as GDPR and ISO 27001.
Stored data is often replicated across multiple remote servers, and users are free to choose in which region to store their data. This decision will depend on specific residency and compliance requirements. For instance, some data residency and localisation laws require data to be stored within the country or region to streamline compliance.
Usually subscription-based, cloud storage offers great scalability allowing users to increase or decrease their storage as their needs change. This approach can be more cost-effective for organizations as it reduces the need to purchase and maintain storage infrastructure. In addition, cloud storage services often use technologies that ensure the continuous amount of data streamed is kept to a minimum, reducing bandwidth costs.
Cloud storage offers simpler setup, easy scalability, and advanced security for surveillance solutions. Not only is it a secure way of storing data, it’s also accessible from anywhere, making it even easier to stay in control. With the growing demand for cloud-based solutions and services, it is absolutely clear that cloud computing is forming an essential part of the surveillance industry.
