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No matter how trustworthy your employees are. When it comes to your business, you want to be able to rest easy knowing you’re protected against theft.

In addition to preventing the various ways an employee could steal from you, a security system has the positive benefit of reducing your insurance costs and helping you avoid frivolous lawsuits.

Of course, when it comes time to shop around for commercial security camera systems, it helps to know where to start. Here are a few tips to help you find the right system for you.

Know How Many Cameras You Need

The first step to any security system is knowing how many cameras you need.

There’s an easy way to determine this, and it has nothing to do with whether you select a single- or multi-camera system. The size of the area requiring surveillance is the determining factor.

For example, if you have a certain square footage area you need under surveillance, you’re going to need multiple cameras to see the whole area properly. The same thing applies if you need to cover multiple rooms or more than one area.

Once you know the size of the area you want to be secure, (and thus which areas you’re most concerned about) you can figure out the number of cameras you need by pinpointing important areas.

A common example is doors and entrances, but it also applies to anywhere a thief might be able to gain entrance, such as a window or roof. And if you are going to have multiple cameras, make sure that you’ve accounted for potential blind spots.

Know the Types of Cameras Available

With this in mind, there are several types of security cameras on the market depending on what you want that camera to accomplish for you.

Take, for example, the ever-popular dome camera. This type of camera mounts easily on most ceilings and can be inconspicuous if placed properly, but the major benefit is that it’s difficult for a thief to tell which way the camera is watching.

The most noticeable type of camera is a bullet camera, which you’ll often see in outdoor parking lots or on the sides of buildings.

Additionally, there is the spy camera, which can be concealed almost anywhere for under-the-radar surveillance. The downside, of course, is that the video and audio quality may not be as good as a bullet or dome camera.

There’s also the PTZ camera (pan/tilt/zoom) which allows you 360-degree surveillance coverage with a single camera.

The key is to figure out what kind of surveillance you’re looking for and then choose your cameras from there.

What Should You Look For?

With all this in mind, let’s talk about the features you should look for in a security system.

This will depend largely on your priorities for your security system. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you start shopping around:

• Do you want to be able to identify someone in low light conditions?
• Where will the cameras be mounted?
• Do you want cameras with wireless/WiFi capabilities?
• What recording resolution do you need?
• Do you need weatherproof cameras?
• Do you need to set up remote viewing on your cameras?
• If so, how easy is it to set up remote viewing?

All of these questions help you figure out what kind of cameras you’re after for the specific area you’re looking to cover.

In particular, pay attention to where the cameras will be mounted, what you want them to see, and the resolution at which you need to see it. For example, a system with 420 lines of resolution versus 1080 lines of resolution is the difference between a legible and illegible license plate number.

Commercial Security Camera Systems for Your Business

Now that you know what to look for in commercial security camera systems, are you ready to find the system your company needs to boost your building security?

We offer the latest in commercial security services and custom build every security system for our clients, so when you come to us, you can rest assured that you’re in good hands.

Ready to secure your future? So are we. Fill out our contact form and we’ll reach out to start discussing your next security project.