Commercial surveillance video isn’t necessarily needed for every business. Your first step should be determining if your business needs commercial video. But for those that do need it, it’s important that it be done right. If your business is at risk from break-ins and robberies, commercial video can be a strong deterrent to burglars and criminals.
Commercial Security Camera Cost Considerations
Aside from the cost of the cameras themselves, there are two costs to consider with commercial video systems. The first is the cost of installation. This upfront cost is usually the most significant cost and is largely determined by the number of cameras and the quality of the cameras being used.
The second cost relates to what will be done with the video footage. Will the system be monitored? If the recorded footage is all you need, the only other considerations will be the cost of the recording equipment and any ongoing maintenance. If you want to be able to access that footage from a smartphone or have a 3rd party be able to access and monitor the video when an alarm trips, expect to pay a bit more.
What About the Actual Costs of Commercial Security Cameras?
The cost of installing a commercial camera system can vary wildly. In fact, many variables affect the price of security cameras used in businesses. The type of camera, the number of cameras, the manufacturer, monitoring, smart features, and installation will all impact how much a business will actually pay for a complete commercial security camera system.
Here Are Some Very Rough Estimates of What a Business Might Expect To Pay for Commercial Security Cameras:
Box camera, box-shaped: $20 – $200- Outdoor camera, weather resistant: $50 – $300
- Dome camera, mounted on the ceiling: $80 – $200
- Hidden cameras that look like something else: $100 – $250
- C-Mount camera, most common/standard type of camera: $100 – $300
Here’s another Rough Estimate of What One Might Expect to Pay for the Installation of Commercial Security Cameras:
- Installation Costs for a Small Facility: $100 – $500
- Installation Costs for a Medium Facility: $500 – $2,000
- Installation Costs at a Larger Facility: $2,000 – $10,000
- Installation of Cameras at : $10,000+
These are all very rough estimates. The cost of installation depends entirely on the number of cameras installed. If you have a small 500 square foot retail store, you’re going to pay a lot less than a 15 acres industrial facility with several large buildings, warehouses, and parking lots.
Other Commercial Security Camera Cost Considerations
Some security companies allow small business owners to lease commercial security camera equipment, which typically costs about $300-500 per year, depending on the number of cameras. Third-Party-Monitoring usually ranges between $50 and $250 or more per month.
Monitoring Is a Recurring Expense
When recorded video isn’t enough, monitored video can offer many tremendous benefits to a commercial security system. The cost of ongoing monitoring is going to be less than the upfront cost of the system, but it’s important to keep in mind that this will be a recurring cost that will persist as long as the system remains operational.
Style of Monitoring Plays the Greatest Impact On Ongoing Cost of the System.
There are three types of commercial video monitoring: self-monitored, 3rd party monitored, and intelligent video. Each style of monitored video has different costs depending on what a business needs.
Self-Monitored Video
For small retail stores or office spaces that don’t have particularly high risk of burglary, self-monitored video might be all the business needs. This is the least expensive monitoring style, because the business owner or manager monitors the system on their own time using a smartphone.
Self-monitoring can be set up using a simple tool like Alarm.com or Honeywell Total Connect. However, the effectiveness of self-monitoring loses its advantage when a business owner isn’t available, and no one can be available all the time.
3rd Party Video Monitoring
While 3rd party monitoring costs more than self-monitoring, this style helps ensure that someone is always available if an emergency arises. Larger businesses with more cameras and motion sensors, or facilities with more risk or products with high ‘street value’ are a better fit for 3rd Party monitoring and typically make the added investment worthwhile.
Intelligent Commercial Video
The next generation of ‘smart’ video monitoring systems have already arrived; however, intelligent video is considerably more expensive than the other two monitoring options. Your business will likely only want to consider intelligent video if you already have a security staff that is available and equipped to react to the findings.
Industrial facilities, shopping malls, corporate campuses, hospitals, energy production facilities, schools, government buildings and other large facilities are usually a good fit for intelligent video systems, and most can easily accommodate the cost.
How Does Intelligent Video Work?
Intelligent video combines analytics and algorithms with video footage to make determinations of things happening in real time. The system looks for security threats, highlights the threat on a screen, and then sends a clip of the video to onsite security personnel.
Someone attacking another person in a parking lot, someone climbing over a fence, a car entering an unauthorized area, an unattended bag or potential bomb threat are the types of threats that can be identified by an intelligent video system.
Here’s a Video of an Intelligent Video System in Action:
Finding the Right Commercial Video Solution
It’s important to pick a commercial video system that will accomplish what you want within the budget you have available. This is where a trained security professional can help type of system that will be a good fit for your business.
Contact Butler Durrell Security to learn more about the cost of a commercial video system or help picking the right system for your business.
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