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Video surveillance systems are used to monitor employee and visitor safety and to confirm theft and vandalism. As you might imagine, choosing the right video surveillance system for your business begins with determining the purpose for the surveillance and the area you want to monitor. For example, if you want the surveillance cameras to also act as a deterrent, then you might consider the largest and most obvious box cameras to remind people that they’re being monitored. However, if discretion is the intent, then dome cameras are best because of their small half spherical-shape.

Here are 9 questions to get you started thinking about the right video surveillance system:

1. Is the area to be monitored a harsh environment? Not just in terms of the weather, but is it subject to water, humidity, dust, grease, vibrations, extreme hot or cold?
2. Is the area to be monitored relatively confined or expansive?
3. What are the lighting conditions? How much daylight is there at different times of day, or seasonally? Is there backlighting or reflections that will cause glare?
4. Do the cameras need to be discreet or act as a visual deterrent?
5. Will you want the ability to zoom in on particular activity and/or track an individual?
6. How much image clarity and detail do you require?
7. Is audio important? (Audio can be used to trigger recordings and alarms.)
8. Is scalability important? Will you need to add more cameras as time goes on?
9. How much storage capacity will you need? (The answer depends on the number of cameras in your system, each camera’s resolution, the amount of footage you intend to archive, and how long you plan to keep recorded footage.)

Metro Alarm & Lock can help you assess your particular needs and each area you want to monitor to design the right surveillance system for your money.