White Paper
Blog
On-Demand Webinar
Grow your business
Join our partner network
Become a technology partner
Learn what cloud video security is, how cloud-managed surveillance works, and how it helps businesses streamline access, management, security, and growth.
Managing video security traditionally meant being physically close to the system. Cameras recorded to equipment on-site, and reviewing footage or changing settings often meant logging into that specific system. While that might be manageable for one location, it becomes more difficult across hundreds of locations.
Cloud video security gives businesses a different way to manage the system. By combining video surveillance with cloud management, organizations can access video remotely, manage devices and users across locations, receive alerts, and find important footage without treating every site as its own separate system.
Cloud video security is a video surveillance approach that uses cloud capabilities to provide remote access, centralized management, proactive alerts, system health monitoring, and other functionalities across a geographically dispersed enterprise.
One important distinction is that “cloud video security” doesn’t necessarily mean that all the video lives in the cloud. In a cloud-managed video system, for example, video can be recorded and stored locally while the cloud connects locations, devices, and users to their video through one centralized platform. Businesses can experience the flexibility of multiple recording options along with the convenience of cloud-based management.
Cloud video security connects cameras and video infrastructure to a cloud-managed surveillance platform. In a cloud-managed system, cameras capture video that can be recorded and stored locally or shared and saved to the cloud. The cloud then provides the connection to allow authorized users to access their video and manage the system remotely, providing centralized management across numerous locations that’s simultaneously secure and works with on-site hardware.
From there, users can:
Traditional video surveillance systems tend to be managed entirely locally. Cameras connect to recording infrastructure at the site, and viewing footage, managing devices, or changing configurations may require access to that individual system. Cloud-managed surveillance provide many of the advantages of local recording while adding centralized cloud management.
This can change how the video system is managed for enterprise businesses. Instead of logging into each location individually, teams can see what’s happening across the organization from a centralized platform. The difference becomes even more noticeable as the business grows. Adding another store, restaurant, branch, or facility doesn’t have to mean adding another isolated video environment that someone must manage separately.
Security and IT teams alike can experience the same benefits of other cloud software within their video solution. Specifically, they can reduce the time spent on routine tasks such as getting new users added with proper permissions or offboarding with changes in a large team thanks to single sign-on and identity management permissions. Cloud security reduces the burden of keeping software up-to-date and time spent troubleshooting issues with device health monitoring tools and remote access to devices.
Cloud connectivity allows authorized users to view live and recorded video remotely, whether they’re working from a central station, traveling between locations, or responding to an alert after hours.
Remote access gives teams more flexibility in how and where they work. A regional manager can check a store without driving there, a security director can investigate an incident from another state, and an administrator can see whether cameras at a remote facility are online thanks to the cloud.
Without centralized management, every new location can become another system that needs attention, with more users, devices, and permissions for security and IT to keep track of.
Cloud management enables administrators to centrally manage the system from a single platform. Employees can be given access to the locations and features they need without opening up the entire system. This prevents the management model from becoming complicated as the business grows.
Video surveillance can create additional work for IT teams. Software must be maintained, users need access, and devices need to stay connected. When an organization operates many locations, small administrative tasks can multiply quickly.
Cloud-managed systems can centralize or automate parts of that work, while browser-based access can reduce the amount of software that needs to be installed and maintained on individual workstations. Updates and changes, such as resetting forgotten passwords, can be handled remotely. This reduces the total number of recursive tasks IT techs often juggle when assisting users. Health monitoring and centralized management provides visibility into device functionality, user access, and corresponding locations to further streamline workload.
Cloud video security systems can provide intelligent search tools that help users narrow down footage and get to relevant events faster across devices and locations.
Once they locate the video, users can save and securely share the clip with colleagues, law enforcement, insurance providers, or other authorized parties through the cloud, with no need to save locally. A cloud-connected system provides visibility into clip usage and the ability to quickly share, reducing time wasted from saving clips locally or sending through other systems. More importantly, a cloud video system provides the chain of custody over video and audit trail needed to manage critical business events.
Alerts in a cloud video surveillance platform notify security and operations teams when an event occurs so they can remotely review and respond to the relevant footage. With multiple client options, operators can receive push notifications on a mobile device or quickly check video feeds on a computer, creating adaptable response strategies and providing greater assistance from team members regardless of their location.
AI video analytics can make those alerts more useful by helping organizations focus on specific events or conditions rather than treating every camera feed the same way, making it easier to spot the situations that deserve a closer look.
Opening a new location shouldn’t require rethinking how the entire video security architecture works. With cloud-managed video, new cameras, devices, users, and locations can become part of the centralized environment.
A company managing five locations today might be managing 25 in the future. A complete cloud video security platform should help streamline that growth without creating a patchwork of disconnected systems along the way.
Cloud video security can provide several ways to access the system:
Cloud-based user management and user groups allow teams to give the necessary access to video for individual users. Equally as important, it can ensure access is restricted when needed. This includes the ability for different user groups to retain permissions by location or cameras as well as by client or IP address.
Cloud-managed video gives security teams a centralized view across multiple sites. Administrators can manage users and devices centrally, while regional or operational leaders can be given access only to the locations relevant to them. When another location opens, it can be brought into the existing environment rather than becoming another standalone system.
This can help businesses scale their operations as they grow. The settings, user roles, and permissions put in place for the first 10 locations can carry over to the next 50. A restaurant group opening new franchise locations can bring each one online with the same camera configurations and user roles. A school district adding a building can give campus administrators access to their own site while the district security team keeps visibility across every school. A logistics company expanding into a new region can view a new distribution center under construction within the same platform to see how work is progressing. It enables geographically dispersed teams to keep eyes on their business from wherever they are, reducing travel time and expense and limiting additional communication needed from those on site.
Cybersecurity should be a central part of evaluating a surveillance system, and a strong cloud video security platform should use established security practices to protect users, system access, and connected devices.
Important protections can include:
Multi-factor authentication is particularly important for systems that can be accessed remotely. In a Microsoft study of commercial accounts, researchers found that MFA reduced the risk of account compromise by 99.22%, and by 98.56% even when the password had already been leaked.
Independent security certifications can provide another way to evaluate a provider. Certifications such as SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001:2022 can help organizations determine whether a provider has established controls and processes for protecting information. Centralized cloud management can also make it easier to apply an organization’s security policies consistently across many locations.
Video is more useful when it doesn’t sit in a silo. An open video security platform can integrate with other technologies to give users more context around what they’re seeing on camera.
Depending on the platform and the needs of the business, video may connect with access control, intrusion detection, point-of-sale (POS) systems, AI video analytics, and other solutions. These integrations can extend video beyond traditional security applications and benefit the operations of the organization. For example, video verification of integrated POS systems can help provide visual insights into receipt data. If there are discrepancies during transactions, managers can investigate what the cause may be, whether that’s a fraudulent return or an employee who needs additional training on operating the register.
With cloud-managed systems, everything can be accessed and managed remotely in the cloud video platform regardless of whether the integrations or systems are local or cloud-to-cloud.
Cameras play an important role in protecting people and property, but businesses are increasingly finding that video can help improve operations, too.
What’s happening at a location right now? Was a procedure followed? Is there a recurring issue at one location that isn’t showing up elsewhere?
When authorized teams can receive proactive alerts and quickly find needed footage, video becomes a much more practical source of information. Teams can use it to investigate incidents, understand what’s happening at remote locations, and verify events rather than solely relying only on manual checks. This is all able to be accomplished via the cloud, as loss prevention and operations departments can access the video, event data, and AI tools they need across every location for a more complete view of their business.
Cloud-managed video security benefits many industries, including:
Cloud video is perfect for multi-site businesses that want remote access to video with the ease of use and management provided by a cloud platform. A retailer may prioritize loss prevention and visibility across hundreds of stores, while a manufacturer may be more focused on consistent facility safety procedures and managing investigations at multiple sites. A property management company may prioritize an easy-to-use platform that makes everyday security and operations tasks more efficient throughout locations to deliver better tenant experiences.
When evaluating video security platforms, it can be helpful to start with how your organization works today, then consider where it’s going.
Questions worth asking include:
It’s easy to choose a system based on what you need right now, but the better question is whether it will benefit your operations as your organization changes. Adding another 50 cameras or 20 locations shouldn’t suddenly turn a manageable video security system into an IT headache.
Cloud video security makes video easier to access and systems easier to manage. For an enterprise organization, that could mean managing cameras and users across locations from one place instead of logging into dozens of separate systems. For a security manager, it could mean investigating an incident without driving to the individual site. For an operations team, it could mean remotely seeing what happened by quickly surfacing the needed video.
Explore a more connected approach to video security that can grow along with your organization.
Cloud video security uses cloud technology to provide capabilities such as remote video access, centralized management, proactive alerts, intelligent search, and system health monitoring. Depending on the system, video may be stored locally and managed in the cloud, stored in the cloud, or through a combination of both.
In a cloud-managed system, cameras capture video that can be recorded and stored locally while a cloud platform provides remote access and centralized management. Authorized users can then view video, search footage, receive alerts, and manage the system from supported clients.
Traditional video surveillance is generally managed at the individual location or through on-premises infrastructure. Cloud-managed surveillance adds centralized cloud capabilities, making it easier to remotely access video and manage cameras, users, and multiple locations from a single platform.
No. A cloud-managed video security system can store recorded video locally while using the cloud for centralized management, remote access, proactive alerts, and other functionalities.
A complete cloud video security system should include cybersecurity protections such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, user management, and system health monitoring. Organizations should also consider security certifications when evaluating providers such as SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001:2022.
Common benefits include remote access, centralized management, intelligent search, secure clip export and sharing, proactive alerts, reduced IT workload, and the ability to scale the system as an organization grows.
Yes. Centralized management is particularly valuable for multi-site businesses because users, cameras, devices, and locations can be remotely managed from a single platform rather than as disconnected video systems.
Cloud-managed surveillance is used across industries including retail, convenience stores, restaurants, banking, cannabis, education, manufacturing, logistics, multi-family property management, and commercial real estate.
Share it on:
Video security is a core part of physical security operations. Yet, the systems many teams rely on can be outdated, disconnected, or difficult to manage. Between investigations that take too long, safety concerns that are difficult to track consistently, and systems that can fail without warning, security teams are often left struggling with the very…
10 min read
Discover how video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) helps businesses improve scalability, cloud connectivity, operational efficiency, and long-term security performance.
1 min read
Discover secure video surveillance systems designed to protect assets, improve safety, and deliver smarter monitoring. Learn how cloud-managed solutions reduce risk.
14 min read
This website uses essential cookies for the operation and security of the website and uses other cookies to improve functionality and the user experience. You may select your choice of cookies to allow on our website below.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with the services available through our website, including the use of certain features like secure access to password-protected accounts. This category of cookies cannot be disabled.
Analytics Cookies
These cookies are used to enhance the performance and functionality of the website, but they are non-essential to your use of the website. However, without these cookies certain functionality may be unavailable to you. These cookies may collect information that help us understand usage of our website to measure and improve performance of our website.
Analytics/Tracking Cookies
These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. These cookies may also collect information about which pages you visit on our website and if you are accessing the website from clicking on advertising on another site or social network. These cookies allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns and our website.
