Business CCTV: a buyer's guide to CCTV systems for business

The Secured by Design commercial guide, from the UK police crime prevention initiative, says a business should draw up an operational requirement before it goes to tender, so that the aims of the system are clear first. In plain terms, decide what the cameras are for. A system built to deter looks different from one built to identify people at a door.

Write the answers down and give them to every supplier. It is the easiest way to get quotes you can compare.

• Deter: cameras people can see, with signs, at the places that matter.
• Identify: close views at entrances, at the height of a face, so you can tell who it was.
• Evidence: footage good enough to hand to the police or an insurer.
• Be told: someone learns about a problem while it is happening, not the next morning.
• Check: settle questions about deliveries, safety or disputes by looking back.

A business CCTV system is more than cameras. When you compare quotes, check that each one covers all of these parts, and who looks after them afterwards.

• Cameras, chosen and placed for a job. Some should identify people, and some should observe a wider scene.
• A recorder with hard disks. It stores the video. Our DVR vs NVR guide shows which kind you have, and our CCTV hard disk guide shows how to work out how many days of video the disks hold.
• Cables and power. IP cameras can take power and video down one network cable. Our PoE security cameras guide explains it.
• A way to view the video, on a screen at the site and on a phone or computer when you are away.
• Signs, and a short written note of what the system is for and who can view it.
• Installation and servicing. Our guide to choosing a business CCTV installer covers the stages and what to ask for in writing.

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The recorder is the box that stores your video on hard disks. The main types differ in which cameras they take. Our DVR vs NVR guide helps you tell which one you have.

• DVR (digital video recorder): takes analogue cameras over coaxial cable. The recorder turns the picture into digital files.
• NVR (network video recorder): takes IP cameras over network cable. The cameras turn the picture into digital video themselves, and the recorder stores it.
• Hybrid recorder: takes both kinds, so you can keep old cameras while you add new ones.
• Cloud or hosted storage: video is kept in a provider's data centre. It is convenient, but it depends on your internet and it has a running cost. Ask what happens when the connection drops. Our cloud video surveillance guide explains the options.
• Whatever you buy, ask how many days of video the disks hold at your settings, and how you would find out if a disk failed.

Analogue cameras send a video signal down a coaxial cable. Modern HD analogue gives a sharper picture than the older kind, and it can reuse cable that is already in the walls. IP cameras are small computers on your network. They send digital video over network cable, and most can be powered through the same cable (called PoE, power over Ethernet).

• IP tends to suit: new installs, sites with many cameras, and anywhere you want to add features later, because one cable does power and video and the system is easy to extend.
• Analogue tends to suit: a like for like replacement where the coaxial cable is already in place, and small sites with a few cameras.
• Either way, ask whether the cameras follow open standards. ONVIF and RTSP are industry standards that let cameras, recorders and software from different makers work together. Ask for it in writing, so you are not tied to one maker for ever. Our RTSP and ONVIF guide explains both.

Cameras do two different jobs. Some should identify: close, at face height, at places everyone has to pass. Others should observe: wide views that show what is going on. A good plan has both, and it is clear which camera is which.

The police guide gives a useful starting rule. It says it is normal for a system to observe all vehicle and pedestrian entrances as a minimum. After that, add the places where your valuables are, and the places nobody can see from the street.

• Entrances first: gates, front door, loading doors and emergency exits.
• Then stock, cash, plant and anything else worth stealing, and the corners of the building that cannot be seen from outside.
• Plan the lighting with the cameras. The guide says the system should be compatible with the lighting, that the lighting should be enough to support the cameras, and that it should not cause glare.
• Protect cameras that people can reach. The guide says to use vandal-resistant housings in high crime areas, or when the police crime prevention officer advises it.
• Check the recording settings. For its awards, the guide asks for recording at a minimum of 25 frames per second and for capacity to store images for at least 30 days.

The same parts go into every business system, but the priorities change with the site. We have separate guides for some of them.

• Shops: counters, doors and stock areas. See our guide to a CCTV camera for a shop and our retail loss prevention guide.
• Warehouses and yards: long hours with nobody in the building. See our warehouse security guide.
• Building sites: power, internet and theft at night. See our construction site CCTV guide and our jobsite security cameras guide.
• Farms: cameras far from the mains. See our farm CCTV camera guide.
• Car dealerships: a lot full of stock after close. See our guide to after-hours alerts for a dealership lot.
• Offices and other premises: start with the entrances and the places where valuables are kept, then work outwards.

In the UK, the Secured by Design commercial guide asks for video surveillance systems to be installed to BS EN 62676, the standard for video surveillance systems in security applications. For footage that may be used as evidence, it points to BS 7958, a code of practice for managing and operating CCTV. For remotely monitored systems that are triggered by detectors, it points to BS 8418.

Other countries have their own standards. Ask any installer which standards they work to, and ask for it to be written into the quote. Ask also who looks after faults once the system is in.

Cameras that film people raise privacy questions, and the rules depend on where you are. Ask a lawyer about your own site. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) publishes CCTV guidance for small organisations on ico.org.uk. In Australia, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) publishes a page on security cameras on oaic.gov.au, and state and territory laws on surveillance devices are separate. Read the page for your country before you install.

These habits are a sensible base wherever you are.

• Write down why you have cameras, which areas they cover and how long you keep video.
• Put up signs that make clear cameras are in use. The ICO says signs should give the organisation that runs the system, the purpose and who to contact.
• Keep video only as long as you need it. The ICO says the purpose decides the period, and not the recorder's settings.
• Let only the people who need to see video see it, and keep the recorder and any logins secure.
• Make sure you can find and export a clip when someone asks for one.
• Think hard before you record sound. The ICO says recording conversations can be particularly intrusive and is difficult to justify, and that audio should be switched off by default.

A system that has quietly stopped working is worse than none, because you think you are covered. The police guide lists maintenance of equipment and the management of recording as things to settle with an installer at the start. A short routine does most of the work. Our security camera maintenance checklist has more, and our guide to CCTV AMC contracts explains what a service contract should cover.

• Every week, look at every camera. Is there a picture? Is it the right view? A camera that has been covered, knocked or switched off is easy to miss.
• Clean lenses, and cut back anything that grows in front of a camera.
• Check that the recorder's clock is right. Footage with the wrong time is hard to use.
• Check that the disks are healthy and that the days of video stored match your policy.
• Practise exporting a clip, and check it plays on another computer. The first time should not be the day the police ask.
• Change any default passwords, and keep the recorder and cameras up to date.
• Agree who fixes faults, and how quickly.

A quote lists equipment. These questions find out what you will really get.

• What is each camera for: identify or observe? Show me the view it will have.
• What does it see at night, and when the sun is low or a light shines into the lens?
• How many days of video does the recorder hold at these settings?
• Which standards do you install to, and who services the system afterwards?
• Can the cameras and recorder work with other software, for example through ONVIF or RTSP?
• How will I know if a camera stops working or is covered?
• Who is told when something happens, how fast, and by what?
• Who else can see my footage, and where is it stored?

A lot of businesses already have a system. It records. Nobody is looking at 2 a.m., and a recorder with nobody looking tells you what you lost, not what is happening.

That is where our software fits. It runs on a Windows PC at your site and works with the cameras and recorders you already have: Hikvision and Prama, Dahua, CP Plus, TVT, Uniview, Axis, Hanwha, and any camera or recorder that supports RTSP or ONVIF. It installs in 60 seconds. Your recorder keeps recording as usual, and recordings stay on site. See alerts from the cameras you have and after-hours intruder alerts from existing cameras.

Our own AI models, trained in-house, watch every camera for three things: smoke and fire, people after hours in zones you mark, and a camera that has been covered. A second, larger model double-checks every event before you are alerted. Then the photo arrives on WhatsApp, Telegram or the Foreman app while it is still happening. Event clips are encrypted and deleted after 30 days, and we never train on your footage.

Some things are set up for your site with you, not switched on by default: helmet and vest checks, number-plate reading, forklift near-miss and idle machines.

A few honest limits. We do not sell cameras, so a site with none needs some first. We do not provide guards or a monitoring centre, so the alert comes to you and the people you choose. And where we watch for smoke and fire, we do not replace certified fire alarms or life-safety systems.