Video Monitoring is Serving Your Business in More Ways Than One

Featured article by Rick DelGado, Independent Technology Author

Video monitoring serves your business in a surprising number of ways. Gone are the days when all video monitoring meant was you had a picture of a thief in a mask after he (or she) had already taken off with something valuable. Technology has come a long way in the last decade and intelligent systems are being utilized in video monitoring to serve businesses in real time. With intelligent video object tracking and analytics, your business can collect all kinds of valuable data. This data turns into smarter business decisions, which usually means a better profit. It’s not hard to see the many useful ways that video monitoring can benefit your business. Let’s look at a couple.

1. This is the first, the most obvious, and quite possibly the most important way that video monitoring can serve your business. According to the CITRIS report, video monitoring is an effective deterrent to property crime. If your assets are secure, you don’t have to worry about calling the insurance company when something is stolen or vandalized, not being able to fulfill customer orders, or getting behind schedule. A huge bonus if you’re using an intelligent surveillance system is the ability to track objects, which means that your surveillance system can be programmed to track pretty much anything you ask it to. Video object tracking can be programmed to match your inventory and your security system can follow your inventory over time. In other words, you can see what is going on with your assets wherever they are.

Employee Productivity. Generally, employees work to be more productive when they know they are being watched (see the Hawthorne effect). They’re even more productive when they work side by side with other employees and management. More importantly, video monitoring can serve your business by determining which of your employees is most effective. Business.com suggests using tracking to improve employee performance rather than use it as a tool for punishment.

Employee Safety. Surveillance systems in places like parking garages, construction sites, entrances, and other facilities can help keep your employees safe. The Urban Institute found that the presence of a surveillance system did, in fact, deter crime. Your employees will feel safer knowing fewer crimes happen when a surveillance system is in use. On the flip side, employees will keep themselves safer when they know they’re being watched. Employees are less likely to take risks and cut corners in the face of a camera. This also improves the overall safety of an organization.

Customer Observation. Another way video monitoring can serve your business is by observing customers. Utilizing video analytics can take raw footage and turn it into structured data, meaning, the technology is there for a camera to collect data on a customer based on the customer’s behavior while in sight of the camera. It can analyze such things as: What path did a customer take through your store? How long did they spend in a particular area? What did they end up purchasing? Did they pick up anything extra at the checkout counter? These are just a few of the things you would automatically be able to analyze. You don’t have to go through hours and hours of footage by hand. Video analytics can get you the numbers you need to make better decisions.

People Counting. Want to know how many people come through your door? You don’t need a door greeter with a clicker. Intelligent video monitoring can do this for you. It takes the raw footage from a video feed and runs software that can turn this into structured data. You don’t have to estimate the number of customers you had. You’ll know.

From employee safety and productivity to customer data, a surveillance system can benefit your business in more ways than you imagined. Take advantage of the technology that can turn unstructured data into quantifiable, structured data that can be used for making business decisions. Make better decisions with the data you gather by installing a surveillance system.

by Rick DelGado, Independent Author

“I’ve been blessed to have a successful career and have recently taken a step back to pursue my passion of writing. I’ve started doing freelance writing and I love to write about new technologies and how it can help us and our planet.” – Rick DelGado