How to Choose a CCTV System for Your Business

Start with coverage, not cameras

The most common mistake in business surveillance is shopping for camera models before deciding what the system must actually see. Walk your premises and list the points that matter: entrances and exits, reception, cash handling areas, server or store rooms, loading bays and car park approaches. Each point has different lighting, distance and detail requirements. A camera that identifies faces at a door is different from one that watches a yard.

A simple floor plan with camera positions marked is worth more than any specification sheet. It also makes quotations comparable, because every supplier is then pricing the same coverage.

Resolution is only useful with the right placement

Higher megapixel counts help, but only within the area a camera actually covers. A 4K camera watching a wide car park may still not capture a usable face at thirty metres, while a modest camera at head height beside a door will. Decide for each position whether you need to detect movement, recognise a person, or identify them beyond dispute. These are three different levels of detail and they drive both camera choice and mounting height.

Recording: DVR, NVR and retention

IP camera systems record to a network video recorder (NVR); older analogue systems use a DVR. For most new installations, IP and NVR is the sensible default: better image quality, easier expansion and simpler cabling over your office network.

Decide how many days of footage you need to keep. Fourteen to thirty days is typical for Malaysian offices, and retention drives storage size, and storage is a real cost. Also decide who may export footage and how, before an incident forces the question.

Questions to ask any installer

Ask how the system handles power failure, whether remote viewing is secured with proper passwords and encryption, what the warranty covers and who maintains the system afterwards. Ask for the camera layout in writing. A supplier who cannot explain why each camera sits where it does is selling boxes, not surveillance.