We often see apartment community owners and property managers confused when it comes to the expense and cost direction for video surveillance on their property. How much is too little, and how much is too much? Camera equipment can be expensive. There is no argument there. Conversely, the old adage, “You get what you pay for” has never been truer when it comes to surveillance cameras and technology.
Risk v.s. Cost
The reason why security cameras are even considered for a property, is because there is something at risk, be it resident safety, asset and property protection or the overall sense of well being to residents and property management employees.
The amount of money a property spends on their video surveillance system should be directly proportionate to the amount of concern and risks seen on the property. Yes, it would be nice to have a system which covers one-hundred percent of the property grounds, but the reality is a property does not have unlimited resources to deploy such a system.
The “cost per door” would be high, and the return on such investment would be minimum. A property should focus their dollars on the typical primary areas of concern, where the information gathered from the video surveillance system is best utilized and where the visibility of a camera system can be most effective.
Is Purchasing Camera Equipment for an Apartment Community a good idea?
What good is purchasing expensive camera equipment for a permanent installation, that later becomes a problem of its own? An average video surveillance system, focusing on gate access to the property, the leasing center and amenities areas and one other area of concern (dumpsters, parks…) can cost a property upwards of $10,000. The system can be composed of not only the cameras and network video recorder, but many other technology items, such as secure wireless radios, network switches, firewalls and remote power supplies. Each component of the system can cause a failure and compromise the entire system.
As we call can attest to, technology can become obsolete after just a few years, and a video surveillance system is no different. The system can encounter errors and issues, the cameras will wear out or get damaged or the property manager changes and there is no one who understands how to operate the system. The main deliverable of any camera or video system, is to have archived video evidence of an incident on the property, and when the system is non-functional or no one knows how to retrieve the footage, there is no return on the investment, great or small.
The idea of purchasing a video surveillance for the property doesn’t sound like a very good one anymore, especially when it was meant to be a “permanent” solution.
The Most Cost-Effective Video Surveillance Solution
The most cost-effective solution for a property, is to subscribe to a scalable managed video surveillance service, where you receive all the positives of the video system and minimize the negatives. Only spend money where the property needs to, focus on the primary areas of concern, ensure that the up-time on the system is high, allow a constant trained team to retrieve needed footage and when needed, work with local law enforcement on criminal investigations.
SentriForce offers this service, developed over 15 years of innovation in the surveillance industry, including industry-leading camera systems, proactive system health monitoring, and rapid forensic review.
We offer periodic upgrades, replacing our own cameras and systems when they become obsolete, with no additional cash outlay to you.
Our surveillance solutions are customized to your needs and budget, and are designed, installed and maintained by local licensed professionals.
Your Property, Our Focus
SentriForce
For more information about managed video surveillance for your apartment community, contact SentriForce today.
Combining industry leading technology with our Texas-based and owned monitoring facility to help you and your team reduce loss and mitigate risk.
