More and more frequently, technology-related products utilize the internet to add unique features. Unsurprisingly, the security industry has followed this trend over the past couple decades. Internet-based security measures allow our customers to easily control and communicate with their home security equipment. In this post, we will introduce you to some of our most popular equipment that fits this bill.
For starters, we’ll introduce the concept and benefits of internet-based alarm monitoring. This type of monitoring provides the most consistent and secure alarm monitoring available. From there, we’ll look at a couple of camera-related internet security features. Specifically, we’ll show you how both smart cameras and traditional cameras utilize the internet. Then, we’ll look at how access control systems use the internet. The software associated with these systems allows users to control and track access to their building both onsite and offsite! Now, let’s get started by exploring internet-based alarm monitoring.
Internet-based alarm monitoring allows your alarm to communicate with our central station even when there is no phone service available.
Internet-Based Security System Monitoring
We offer several ways to connect your alarm to our central station. When most people think about this service, they think of “traditional” alarm monitoring. This process involves tying your phone lines to your security panel. In turn, this allows the alarm to dial out to the central station upon detecting trouble. For a long time, this type of monitoring remained the only alarm monitoring option. However, traditional alarm monitoring has its limitations. Specifically, this monitoring option relies on a working phone line to maintain central station communication. This means that phone outages will stop alarm signals from going through. Furthermore, savvy burglars will cut a property’s phone lines to attempt to cut off a property’s alarm communication. However, we now have ways to address these issues.
Cellular monitoring, our most popular monitoring offering, adds tremendous reliability and security. Cellular dialers use a cell network, rather than a landline, to communicate with our central station.. Therefore, cell dialer monitoring allows your alarm to dial out for help even during phone outages! Furthermore, our cellular dialer, powered by Alarm.com, adds a unique monitoring feature. We can create a connection between an Alarm.com dialer and a property’s network for internet-based monitoring. This allows for cellular dialers to use your internet for central station communication when your property received poor cell phone service. Since some areas of our community do have notoriously bad cell service, we lean on this internet-based communication method when installing alarms in these locations! Next, let’s see how cameras create internet-based security benefits.
Camera-Related Internet Security
Video surveillance has risen in popularity quite a bit over the past couple decades. We can attribute this to a couple of factors. For starters, camera equipment has gotten quite advanced in recent years. Surveillance systems now provide high-definition picture, and come with equipment designed to create effective security even at night. Moreover, this equipment is more affordable than ever before. This combination of quality and affordability make adding surveillance a no-brainer for both home and business owners. In this section, we’ll explain how we use the internet to make video surveillance as effective as possible. Let’s get started by seeing how smart cameras provide an easy introduction to the world of video surveillance for many customers!
Smart Cameras
Hardwired cameras make up the more “traditional” method of adding surveillance to a property. When we install these cameras, we run wiring from each camera location back to a recorder. In turn, this recorder captures and stores several weeks’ worth of continuous video footage. However, adding hardwired cameras to any location can prove cost-prohibitive in some applications. Part of the reason lies in the fact that the recorder and cameras come with a reasonably high price point. Moreover, the labor cost to run the required wiring to each camera can also drive the price up quite a bit. Furthermore, the layout of some properties restricts us from running wiring to several areas of a building. This limits where we can even install cameras in some instances.
Smart cameras, such as these Alarm.com cameras, do not need to be wired to a common location, allowing homeowners tremendous flexibility when choosing locations to install cameras.
Smart cameras can help solve both these issues. These cameras do not require us to run wiring to a central location in order to capture video. Instead, they use a Wifi-based connection to your network to save motion-based video clips in the cloud. Customers can use a phone or any internet-connected device to view their cameras’ stored footage. This feature saves customers from having to buy an expensive recorder. Additionally, it also leads to a lower installation cost due to the lack of wire-running involved in installing these cameras. Let’s now see how we use the internet to our advantage even when installing hardwired surveillance.
Connecting Traditional Cameras to Your Network
As we pointed out earlier, we run wiring from a recorder to each camera location when installing hardwired surveillance. From there, customers have a couple options for creating a way to watch this footage. Traditionally, we attach a monitor to the recorder for customers to watch camera footage while onsite. Occasionally, we install the recorder near a television set and connect the two devices with an HDMI cable. This allows customers to view their cameras right on the television.
However, another popular option allows customers to view their cameras from anywhere, at any time! This option involves connecting our recorder to a property’s network with an ethernet cable. Once completed, it allows you to use a computer, tablet or smartphone to view live footage of your cameras. Furthermore, it allows you to log in to your recorder from any computer and view and save archived footage as well! More often than not, our surveillance customers ask for us to create this ability for them. Last but not least, let’s look at how access control systems create powerful internet-based security for our commercial customers.
Access Control Software
Access control systems represent an increasingly popular business security option. This security measure involves using advanced lock equipment to control access to your property. Access control systems utilize electronic locking hardware to operate specific doors within a business. Rather than using a key at these doors, users approach a reader and present a credential. Occasionally, these credentials take biometric forms. We can install readers that use fingerprint, palm, or even eye scans as a credential. However, more often than not we provide cards or fobs as a credential to hold in front of a reader. Users who present an approved credential will then be able to open the door after the reader interacts with the door’s electronics to unlock it.
Business owners or managers can assign employees credentials that open all of an office’s doors. Additionally, they can customize each employee’s access to include only certain doors if they wish. Moreover, they can even create time-based access so that employees attempting to enter the building after hours or on weekends get denied access! Access control customers do this using internet-based software. This software allows for both onsite and offsite access. Therefore, credentials can be issued to individuals to grant access to a property without anyone having to go to the business itself. The security and convenience offered by these systems make them one of our most popular types of commercial security!
Using Internet-Based Security Measures in Your Own Home
We hope that this post has shed some light on how we use the internet to increase both home and business-related security. Additionally, we encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have about the material presented here. We regularly work with customers to design and install internet-compatible security equipment. Moreover, we provide free site surveys to both new and existing customers alike to help with the design process and see how this equipment can work in your application. While on site, we can also address any security concerns you have and make suggestions of our own based on what we see. Together, we can create a security plan to keep your home or business — as well as anyone inside of it — as safe and secure as possible.
All photos used under the CC0 Public Domain License.