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Also known as Video Monltorlng-as-a-ServIce (VMaaS) or remote guarding, the idea Is to deter criminals via voice-down. Maybe video can even replace a traditional alarm system.
When cars were getting broken into at a local food pantry, those in charge contacted Solana Beach, Calif.-based Pioneer Security Services about installing video surveillance cameras in the parking lot.
But Ken Goldman, president of the local security dealer business, told them, "I can sell you cameras, but they won't solve the problem. After a car is broken into, the next morning you'll look at grainy video, and law enforcement... will give you little satisfaction and you'll say you were ripped off two times because I charged you for a useless camera. You need to interrupt bad behavior in real time."
How do I do that?" the potential customer asked.
I have no idea," said Goldman. "But I'll figure it out.'
That was a couple of years ago. Pioneer now offers what some call proactive video monitoring and others call remote guarding or Video-Monitoring-as-a-Service (VMaas). The company buys the services on a wholesale basis from four different central stations.
What makes the service so powerful is that operators use voice-down capability to alert intruders there are eyes on them, Goldman explains.
WHY EXISTING CLIENTS MAKE GREAT PROSPECTS
Multiple sources interviewed for this story agree on one thing: Existing video accounts without proactive video monitoring are great prospects for the service.
Selling to them is much easier than selling proactive video as part of a new system, observes Ken Goldman of Pioneer Security Services.
Several experts cautioned, though, that dealers may need to reposition existing cameras when upgrading a customer to proactive video monitoring.
"As you use cameras with video analytics, placement is critical," comments Justin Wilmas of Netwatch. "A camera may be great for surveillance, but it may not be in the right spot for analytics to work."
Pioneer charges about $150 per camera each month, which includes maintenance on the cameras. The cameras are leased, which means it might take six months to breakeven on the installation. Most of the central stations charge less than $50 a month per camera, although one charges $65 to $70.
Why four central stations? Goldman has been keeping tabs on operator...