Surveillance on a Tight Budget; Three Tips that can Help!
Having a surveillance system installed in your business is a great way to protect your assests. However if you don’t have one, it may be tough to cough up the money in today’s tough economic climate.
However here are Three Tips that will save you some money upfront, allow you to have a surveillance system installed today, and allow for future expansion when your business improves.
1. Surveillance System- Choose a surveillance system that is networkable, meaning that if you add another machine it can communicate seamlessly. If you want a 16 channel DVR, settle for an 8 channel system today and put cameras in the highest priority areas. If you choose a smaller sized system in the beginning, make sure it is easily expandable. Hybrid DVR’s are an excellent option allowing for analog cameras today, and IP cameras in the future. If you currently have a surveillance system, consider just replacing the system itself and not the cameras. A new surveillance system alone will make a huge difference in quality and performance.
2. Cameras- Choosing the correct cameras is another way to keep inital surveilance costs in check. Use cameras that have a lower level resoultion, no LED’s (usually cost more, if you have well lit areas you will need them), and OEM brands rather than name brands. Also stick with analog cameras vs IP.
3. Installation- DIY, that’s right do-it-yourself. Most surveillance equipment suppliers can help walk you through an installation. Explain to them what you are doing and make sure you have the right equipment for the project. Make sure you ask your supplier if they offer technical support when you are setting up your system. You can save 25-40% when you do-it-yourself!
The biggest impact you will see is when your new surveillance system is installed. Employees will notice and take note of the new equipment immediatly. I would encourage you to talk with your employees about this before you have it installed. Give them the business reasons and have them understand that every dollar that the business loses, is a potential dollar that could be seen in raises, increased benefits, and bonus’s. If you handle it correctly your top performers will see it as a benefit, while others may just move on.
Ryan Temple is the Director of Operations for PCSurveillance.net. PCSurveillance has been serving integrators and manufacturing customized Surveillance Systems throughout the US since 2002. You can read more of Ryan’s articles at http://blog.pcsurveillance.net/ Ryan can be reached at ryan@pcsurveillance.net
