With so many DIY kits on the market, smaller companies can find themselves tempted to save a few pounds by getting the company handyman to throw up a few cameras to connect to a monitor in reception.
After all, some cameras and signposting are a deterrent – and that’s all that counts, right?
When you’re considering DIY versus professional installation of CCTV equipment, it comes down to two central questions.
What are you trying to achieve? And are you fully up to date on the law?
Worth doing? Then it’s worth doing it properly
If you think CCTV is really just about the presence of cameras and signs, you may be missing the point. (And a great deal of the commercial value of having proper premises surveillance.)
There are various additional services and features a professional installer can provide to make your CCTV equipment extra valuable in the running of your business. This could include, for example, remote monitoring so you can check on what’s happening from anywhere in the world while your factory is shut up for the weekend.
Staying within the law
One of the biggest differences that professional installation of CCTV equipment provides for business premises is keeping you within the law.
There are strict regulations on how, where and when you can use CCTV equipment. For example, if you start picking up imagery from a neighbouring site or the general public, you could be at risk of prosecution.
Having a professional installer means not contravening data protection and privacy laws, and keeping well within the CCTV code of conduct.
Going it alone could put your company at risk from action taken against you for breaching CCTV regulations.
Clear imagery and security
There is another potential problem that can crop up with DIY CCTV equipment – vulnerability to hackers.
There really is nothing that’s safe from cybercriminals these days. However, at least with professional commercial CCTV installation, you know everything is being done to protect that imagery from malicious misuse.
Multiple advantages to bringing in the pros
Trained experts also know how to angle cameras for the best effect, and they can supply and install equipment to get the best results.
A grainy or blurred image is next to useless for taking legal action or even identifying culprits.
There are also many physical and non-obvious features of buildings that can interfere with CCTV equipment. It may work when you first put it up, but what if someone is using equipment that interferes with the signal, or you move machinery the following week.
Professional installers have the insights and experience to create CCTV systems that stand the test of time – and can cope with busy business premises day and night.
