TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

“Security” is a word with a very elastic definition, especially when applied to businesses. For an e-commerce-only firm doing all of its sales and transactions over the Internet, this term means safeguarding data, protecting customer and company credit information, stopping hackers and backing up all its computer records. A retail store of the brick-and-mortar type not only has these things to consider, but the rest of the “security” definition, as well – physical security, that is, for the buildings and the people in them.

Companies today need more than just an ethical workforce to prevent theft and good locks on the doors to provide after-hours break-ins. They also need a good way to document “security events,” for a variety of insurance, business and legal reasons. There is one thing, and one thing alone, that can handle an assignment this broad, and it’s a CCTV (Closed Circuit TeleVision) system. Since it comprises various subsets of “high tech” – computers, cameras, optics and sensors for light, sound, motion, temperature, etc. – it is a field where there is constant progress. It is also, thankfully, a field where prices drop as technology matures, something that warms the heart of every bottom-line-focused businessperson.

First things first Do not get ahead of yourself if you are getting a CCTV system for the first time. Ease into it by doing some reading and getting accustomed to the terminology. You need to learn at least a bit about cameras, wireless technology, DVRs and NVRs (Digital Video Recorders and Network Video Recorders), do-it-yourself packages, the role of the PC in computer-based systems and various other system components. Each of these areas uses terms – gigabytes and terabytes, frame rates and fps, flash memory and USB, and so on – that you or your designated security manager must understand. You won’t be designing circuitry or building a PC, so there is nothing here that requires anything but average intelligence and a little studying.

Multiple kinds of protection Just the presence of a few pan/tilt/zoom cameras around your perimeter serves notice that your building is serious about security. The deterrent effect of visible cameras is so powerful that there is still a booming business in fake cameras, the best of which have multicolored blinking lights, can make panning movements and even emit an occasional “whirr” or “click” to simulate a lens zooming in or a shutter opening and closing. However, the fake cameras are a gamble, and are not recommended for business use except as “extras” after installation of real ones. Since, in this particular installation example, you are also installing inside cameras, adding a few dummies in non-critical areas can serve as a reminder to both shoplifters and employees that you are serious about stopping theft.

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