Freddy Kuo, Chairman of Luminys Systems Corporation and Special Office Executive Assistant at Foxlink.
A retail manager, a middle school vice principal and a construction site manager walk into a bar. What do they end up talking about? What concern could possibly link these three disparate professionals?
Just one word: security.
Each of these people is tasked with protecting a physical location—its assets, its structural integrity and, most importantly, its people. Furthermore, each is attempting to do this at what is, unambiguously, a frightening new chapter in the era of property crime.
The trends here have been consistent: fewer residential burglaries and more nonresidential burglaries—an increase of 12% between 2019 and 2024, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Isolate just retail, and an even grimmer picture emerges: Per data from the National Retail Federation, shoplifting has soared by 93% since the pre-Covid era.
Traditional security methods continue to have their place in combating this crisis, but increasingly, organizations are turning to newer, more sophisticated solutions to ensure the safety of their properties. Chief among these is a technology called video security as a service, or VSaaS. This field is projected to grow to $24.7 billion by 2033—and with good reason. It is already protecting countless organizations from this marked uptick in crime.
The Old Methods Are Failing Us
The shortfalls of traditional security setups are well-known. For one thing, they are far too reliant on the abilities of individual security personnel. The most competent security professional in the world is still susceptible to blind spots and human error—and that goes triple for everybody else.
But even the automated aspects of traditional security setups present significant pitfalls. These are ungainly systems devised in—and for—earlier eras. Lacking the ability to make fine distinctions, they end up viewing everything as a threat—which explains why nearly half of security owners say that their system triggers too many false alarms.
Conventional CCTV systems can give you the raw data, but fast-moving moving footage can only tell you so much, especially when viewed manually. No organization has the resources to sift through and analyze all that material. Worse yet, the picture shown by this material is often woefully partial—with storage limitations leading organizations to regularly overwrite or delete key recorded video.
Why VSaaS Could Be The Answer
VSaaS takes the latest video security technology and combines it with cutting-edge cloud-based storage strategies—granting organizations the ability to store, access and activate security information from anywhere and at any time. It enhances understanding through improved (and automated) analytics.
As an example of how this might work in action, think of a modest regional sneaker chain. Let’s say this chain is popular—kids and adults alike flow in and out of its 200 locations from morning until night. And let’s say this chain is also—like retail concerns across the country—experiencing what could plausibly be called an epidemic of theft.
In-store security personnel can only do so much—they cannot have their eyes on every part of the store at all times. And even viewing recorded video of perpetrated crimes retroactively can only get them so far—these are, after all, fast-moving, often chaotic crowd scenes rife with obstructions.
On a store-by-store level, VSaaS technology can provide highly useful deterrence intel, instantly alerting security personnel to potential trouble spots. But just as important is what it can do on a holistic level. Back at the shoe chain’s HQ, security professionals can take in the entirety of their sprawling security operations. VSaaS is designed to integrate with existing security technology, presenting security personnel with a synthesized, insight-rich portrait of exactly what is going on in their organization.
Beyond merely deterring in-the-moment theft, VSaaS solutions can actually help organizations craft strategies that will fortify their operations in the long term. It can identify patterns, help point them toward weak spots and ultimately help guide the creation of new, security-forward policies. Then, of course, there are the benefits common to all SaaS technology—scalability, ease and affordability. Instead of having to guess their precise security needs in advance, organizations can pay as they go.
Is VSaaS Right For Your Organization?
Undoubtedly, VSaaS is better for some environments than others.
The fact is that many businesses—particularly smaller chains—cannot afford the costs associated with the higher upstream internet bandwidth that proper VSaaS implementation demands. This goes double for rural locations where such internet may not be available in the first place.
Likewise, the transition to VSaaS might prove challenging for places like casinos, where even minimal latency in cloud video playback poses serious risks. There are also privacy concerns: In highly regulated sectors like healthcare, storing patient-related data of any kind, including video, brings up countless complex questions around encryption, access control and jurisdiction.
Even for non-regulated industries, implementing VSaaS can require extensive preparation. That means devising clear objectives and use cases, as well as figuring out why you need this technology and precisely how you intend to use it. The right policies must be created beforehand around things like retention and privacy. There also must be investment in the relevant network infrastructure. Organizations need to be realistic about how much deployment will cost and budget accordingly.
Cost can be a huge deciding factor when vetting VSaaS vendors. Businesses should seek transparency on this front: Ideally, you should be able to see a total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis before signing on, which will allow you to compare final costs to that of an on-premise solution. Businesses should also carefully vet each prospective vendor’s security and privacy policies, available integrations (for instance, do they support hybrid solutions?) and general scalability.
Conclusion
Conventional on-premises setups are simply not equipped to take on the challenges of this uneasy, crime-ridden era. VSaaS, by contrast, is not only up to the job—it can fundamentally change what the job looks like. In the coming years, security professionals have a lot to look forward to. Criminals, on the other hand—not so much.
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