Buyer Beware: Why DIY Camera Systems Are Not Designed for Commercial Applications

By David Alessandrini

The “Do it Yourself” video security systems are all the rage in the residential market, enabling home owners to easily monitor who is coming to the front door, watch when children come home after school or to track package deliveries.

While these easy-to-deploy and use surveillance systems have introduced surveillance technology to the residential market, it’s important to remember that these systems are not suitable for enterprise and corporate level surveillance needs.

First, DIY camera systems do not allow you to switch out the camera that comes as part of the DIY surveillance kit. All components in the kit have to be by the same brand in order to work together.  This means that if you need a camera to provide clearer images at night and the cameras in your system do not do that, you are stuck with using the camera included in the box.

Second, these kit-based surveillance systems do not offer scalability. It’s important to ensure that any surveillance system installed can grow as security needs evolve and grow. Should a location need an additional camera to provide increased coverage in a parking lot, for example, many of these systems cannot accommodate even one additional camera.

Another area not typically taken into consideration is storage needs. The DIY surveillance kits often have limited storage capabilities, especially when trying to ensure that the system records usable, quality video. Many of these systems also do not provide enough storage needs to follow best practices for archiving surveillance.

Many people think that the DIY surveillance kits offer more features, but business and commercial users of these systems actually lose capabilities. Often it will also cost them more money by investing in a surveillance system that doesn’t fully meet the needs of their business.

While it may be tempting to install a DIY surveillance system, it’s best to work with a professional security systems integrator to design and install a commercial grade surveillance system customized for specific businesses’ needs.  Commercial clients have greater requirements than residential surveillance system users, where the lack of video to show a staged slip and fall incident in a parking lot can mean the difference between winning or losing a lawsuit.