If you’re thinking about implementing a CCTV surveillance system that’ll keep your business and employees safe, it’s highly possible that you don’t know where to begin. After all, there is a wide range of things that you’ll consider, all of which will help you determine exactly what you’ll require for your business.
The most frequently asked question all business owners have is how many cameras they’ll require for protecting their workplace. To answer this question right away, you might need anywhere from 15 to 60 cameras, and this will depend on various factors. Before we take a look at the factors, let’s take a look at why it’s important to ask yourself how many cameras you’ll need:
Why is it Important to Ask This Question?
Before we continue to the steps you should take to determine what you’ll have to do, it’s worth mentioning why it’s important to ask yourself how many recording devices you’ll need. The first thing you should know is that you cannot learn how many devices you’ll need while browsing through your options, mostly because knowing how much you’ll require can save you a lot of money and time as well.
For example, if you opt for purchasing three devices at the beginning, this will save you a portion of your budget and you can go with a 4-channel recorder. However, this will limit you to only 4 cameras, hence, if you decide to add more cameras in the future, you’ll have to purchase another recorder, which means that it’ll end up costing you more than you initially thought. But, if you know how many devices you’ll need, you can buy an 8-channel recorder, and when you have enough capital, you can add more cameras.
This means that if you don’t consider how many cameras you might totally need – even though you don’t have to purchase all of them right away – you won’t be capable of saving money, instead, it’ll just end up costing you more. This is why it’s important for you to determine how many devices you’ll require. To assist you with determining what you’ll have to do and buy in order to protect your business, you should choose to follow our step-by-step guide:
Step 01: First Things First – Determine How Much You Can Spend
No matter if you own a small, medium, or large company, the very first thing that you must do is to determine your budget. Hence, think about how much you’ll willing to invest in the CCTV surveillance system. Of course, the price you put down should always be a little bit higher, mostly because this will allow you some flexibility when it comes to the devices you can opt for. Also, once you set your budget, you should try your best to stick to it.
Step 02: How Many Locations do You Want to Cover?
Once you determine your budget, you should also determine which areas you’d like to cover with the cameras. For business, this might include the main and back entrances, the parking lot, waiting room, customer areas, staff-only areas cash registers, cafeterias, as well as any other location that you might want to protect. When you’re done, you can simply count all of the locations you’ve written down, and by doing so, you’ll know how many cameras you’ll need to purchase.
Now, as we previously mentioned, you don’t have to purchase all the CCTV devices at once, mostly because you’ll also have to pay for the installation of the system. Thus, you could start by installing them at the most important locations, and later on, you can add more cameras. Keep in mind, you’ll want to work with a professional and licensed CCTV installation company and you can click here for more information on the services you can opt for.
Step 03: Can You Use One Camera For Several Things?
To put it simply, yes, you can multi-task with your cameras. For instance, if you want to monitor your main entrance that is relatively close to the parking lot, you could opt for a fisheye lens device that can record a wide, 360-degree area, meaning that you can record both locations at once. By considering these multi-tasking options, you’ll be able to cover all the areas, but more importantly, you’ll save a lot of money.
Step 04: Think About The Features
Live streaming, alerts, wireless, wired, night vision, remote control… all of these things are only some features your CCTV cameras might have. So, before you go ahead and purchase the first option that comes up in your search results, ensure that you think about whether or not you’ll want some advanced features. Keep in mind, the more features a device has, it’ll be more expensive, hence, determine which ones you’ll have and want the most.
Step 05: Find a Reliable, Experienced, And Licensed Installation Company
This guide wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention the fact that you must ensure that you find a reliable, experienced, as well as licensed CCTV camera installation company. Why is this important? Well, the people that’ll install them will know the weakest points of your workplace and they’ll also know where the cameras are placed, thus, working with an organization that might turn out to be a scam is the worse thing you could do.
The easiest way to find a reliable installation organization? Well, for starters, you should find a few potential firms and from there, read the reviews posted by previous clients. If there are more negative than positive testimonials, you should opt for hiring a different firm. Also, check how long they’ve been working in the industry, ask to see their license, and don’t forget to compare everything, including the price of their services.
Conclusion
For many business owners, it can be extremely daunting and time-consuming to piece together a CCTV surveillance system that’ll keep their businesses safe. However, it doesn’t have to be like that and if you want to make things easier for yourself, you should follow out how-to guide above.
Since you now know exactly what you should do in order to decide how many cameras you’ll require for your company, you shouldn’t lose time. Instead, you should return to the beginning of our guide and start with the first tip we’ve mentioned – which is determining how much you can spend on implementing a surveillance system.
