Both the NVR and VSaaS architectures have pros and cons. Here we further look at who can better benefit from each, how cost-effective VSaaS really is, and how to decide which architecture to choose.
In the NVR architecture, most equipment, including the NVR and storage, are at the user site, whereas in VSaaS most of the processing and storage is done in the cloud that the user pays a monthly fee for. Due to their different natures, they are suitable for different types of projects.
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Who Can Benefit from NVR
The NVR architecture may be considered by medium to large organizations who typically have more money to spend on initial equipment purchases and in-house IT staff. They have the purchasing power to regularly acquire network equipment and have established relationships with IT providers and leverage buying power, share resources and expertise.
Larger organizations with larger facility operations, and robust IT infrastructure, management, cybersecurity, and sophisticated physical security operations can manage large-scale enterprise on-prem systems as part of the broader enterprise.
Projects that have higher camera counts can also find NVR beneficial, as transmitting video from all cameras to the cloud would be costly and bandwidth-consuming. NVR is suitable for corporate or institutional users who have a large number of cameras concentrated at a single site. Examples would include corporate campuses, factories, hospitals, and schools.
Finally, NVR may be the only option for end users who are prohibited by law to transmit video to the cloud or who are subject to extremely poor Internet connection.
NVR is suitable for military sites prohibited from connecting to the Internet. Locations without 4G or Internet connections can also benefit.
Any entity that maintains highly sensitive data and is governed by strict regulations such as government agencies, airports or research institutes can go with a fully on-prem model or a hybrid model that ensures sensitive data continues to be stored locally.
Locations that have no Internet connectivity for cameras or very low bandwidth (assuming LTE modem with solid plan isn’t an option) can benefit from NVR.
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Who Can Benefit from VSaaS
As for the VSaaS business model, it’s more ideal for smaller businesses with less sophisticated IT skills and less budget to work from. VSaaS suits smaller sites with a limited number of cameras where the volume of data transferred to the cloud is small, or any site which captures data with a low bitrate (low resolution, FPS). The transfer of data tends to be cost-effective and suit companies on a limited budget.
It’s ideal for SMBs with basic monitoring needs, looking for a VMS with less than10 cameras.
Smaller clients will benefit from the fully managed nature of a service that is always kept up to date. It is also beneficial for short-term deployments (for example 12 months) where the upfront costs of purchasing servers and storage would not be recovered.
Further, due to the cloud’s ability for centralized management, end user entities with multiple sites dispersed across a region may find cloud appealing as there’s no need to set up NVRs at each individual site. Small business to enterprise size deployments with multiple sites that are geographically dispersed benefit greatly from VSaaS solutions. Traditional VMS operations become difficult to manage, use and maintain without the centralization cloud offers. The larger the system, the more compounded this effect will be.
There is far less hardware components especially in a multi-site setup. For example, take a coffee shop owner – with one location NVR may make sense. However, if that owner has two or three locations, it becomes harder to justify the price for the NVR setup especially when you take into account maintenance of failing hardware.
Adapted from a&s Magazine
