A cloud migration strategy is a plan created to move existing on-premises applications and their associated data onto the cloud. Due to budget cuts caused by economic pressure, more customers are requesting our partners to purchase cloud applications via subscription services. Therefore, it is important to be flexible with your video surveillance offerings and offer a migration service that can be monthly billed to comply with the change in the budget. Here are two recent examples of how you can implement a subscription-based cloud migration strategy which is sensitive to different requirements and budgets.
The loss prevention team of a health and beauty retailer with over 40 stores in the UK approached a Morphean installation partner. They wanted a solution that was able to monitor incriminating footage without having to go on-site. They had an existing estate of slightly old but functional analogue video cameras. When doing their financial planning, it was clear that their security budget was not going to be large enough to replace all existing cameras with brand-new IP cameras. The team opted to create a long-term migration strategy, with plans of connecting the existing analogue video cameras to an Axis Communications onsite analogue encoder to attain the benefits of a cloud system.
With these cameras connected to Morphean, the loss prevention team could easily access footage across all their stores from their web browser, eliminating the need to travel to all store locations around the country. The managers could also view the relevant footage at an area, regional and national level which dramatically improved store safety and streamlined the whole investigation process. Certain, larger stores had slightly higher budgets for new IP cameras, which gave them access to smart analytics like transaction checker and people counting. Their security system could now be used to gauge occupancy and help store managers understand demand. Meanwhile, the transaction checker could help managers eliminate ‘sweethearting’ incidents carried out by staff members.
When their existing analogue cameras depreciate over time, they can replace them with new IP cameras seamlessly connected to the cloud using one-click technology. The 4 channel encoders can be easily moved between locations when 4 of the older analogue cameras have been replaced by modern IP models. This means the new channel encoder equipment can be used across all the stores. With time, all the cameras will be replaced, eliminating the need for an encoder and every store will have an IP cloud surveillance system. This is a great example of how even with a low budget, you can create a long-term cloud surveillance strategy which can future-proof your installation business and customers’ security infrastructure.
More recently, an Area IT manager of a Highstreet bank chain approached a Morphean installation partner. They had an on-premise IP camera solution across multiple store locations. They explained how the current engineering team were spending too much time travelling to different sites to maintain devices. Furthermore, some servers were reaching the end of their 5-year lifespan. If these were to be replaced it would be an expensive, time-consuming, and complex purchase. Yet rather than buying new ones, they were advised by the installation partner to perform an immediate one-click connection migration to the Morphean Cloud Platform.
This was quickly implemented in a matter of weeks and removed any need for a new server, saving a significant cost saving that could be spent elsewhere. Furthermore, the remote access features of the camera allowed the IT team to be able to monitor and check for any camera downtime from the seats of their office or at their kitchen table.
As the above dictates, a cloud security migration strategy will substantially benefit an end-user saving money, time, and resources for those who manage the security of their locations. If you are an installer and you provide these cloud migration services for your clients, you can guarantee convenient and recurring monthly income while the customer can pay in monthly affordable payments. By creating this recurring revenue model, you remain competitive and drive new business opportunities in line with your customer's changing needs and demands.