Secure, Smart & Scalable: The Future of Video Storage

In recent years, the video surveillance ecosystem has undergone intense transformation, driven by a convergence of technological advancements and evolving security needs. These changes have had a significant impact on video surveillance storage solutions, prompting a shift toward more sophisticated and efficient approaches to handling vast amounts of video data.

Each type of video surveillance storage solution (See Various Flavors of Video Storage Alternatives below) has its own advantages and considerations. The choice depends on factors such as the scale of the surveillance deployment, data retention requirements, performance needs, budget constraints and the desired level of accessibility. Ahead, we consult with members of the vendor community to delve into these topics, including emerging storage trends, the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), best practices for security integrators and more.

Developing Trends to Track

From harnessing the power of edge computing to unlocking the potential of AI-driven analytics, emerging trends are propelling the video surveillance industry toward more efficient, scalable and secure storage solutions.

Rapidly changing technology is a main thrust fueling the industry’s evolution, says David Boland, vice president of cloud strategy for Boston-based Wasabi.

High-resolution cameras, multi-camera systems and the use of analytics are increasing the size and amount of surveillance data needed to be stored. At the same time, stricter compliance regulations are increasing the length of time that data must be retained.

“While this has placed massive burdens on surveillance storage systems, ironically, storage is the one area where innovation has been lacking,” Boland says. “Until now.”

Boland says although it’s still early in the transition, market research from Omdia estimates that the overall cloud usage in the market is about 30 percent and is expected to surpass 50 percent by 2026.

“In the world of video surveillance, the utilization of cloud storage will continue to rapidly gain momentum, largely attributable to its scalability and adaptability,” Boland says. “The traditional methods of storage worked well for years, when the need for new cameras was rare, resolutions were low and overall file sizes were relatively small. However, that’s all changed. Cloud object storage, with its ability to cost-effectively scale as you grow, is ideally suited to solve the surveillance industry’s storage capacity problem.”

Direct-to-cloud storage is going to become more common as bandwidth becomes more available and prices — specifically with regards to upstream bandwidth — come down, explains Chris Garner, senior software product manager, Salient Systems, Austin, Texas. Still, he says, on-premise storage solutions will still be the norm for large (200+ cameras) video deployments.

“Also, the resolution war among camera manufacturers shows no sign of abating as ever-higher resolution cameras are introduced and lower resolution cameras become scarce,” Garner adds. “Resolution has a direct impact on storage requirements and increasingly 4MP, 6MP and 4K cameras are becoming common, replacing SD, 720p and 1080p cameras.”

Michael Brewer, regional marketing manager, video systems – North America for Bosch Security and Safety Systems, Fairport, N.Y., says connection of traditional on-premise systems to cloud environments is an emerging request. Historically, many customers who utilize large on-premise storage systems have been unable to use online services outside of their networks; but now that seems to be changing for many, he says.

“This year, Bosch launched Remote System Management,” Brewer continues. “This new service permits remote management of our DIVAR IP (NVR) products via cloud connection. With advanced warnings of potential hard drive, power or other component failures, integrators can now provide proactive insight into the health of remote storage devices.”

“Storage often makes up the bulk of upfront costs but can also result in significantly higher ongoing costs that increase the lifecycle costs and the total cost of ownership of a surveillance system.” — Jason Burrows, IDIS America

IDIS America Sales Director Jason Burrows, located in Coppell, Texas, cites an increasing demand for high-capacity storage technologies among emerging trends in the video storage sector. These include solid-state drives (SSDs) to accommodate the growing need for high-capacity storage solutions.

“The 2018 NDAA swiftly followed by the FCC ruling, has also made manufacturing origin a top priority as even smaller enterprises can’t be certain of a futureproof surveillance solution unless they opt for NDAA-compliant storage options,” he says.

Burrows also notes that as video surveillance data becomes more sensitive and valuable, there is a growing focus on ensuring its security. “Encryption and other security measures must be implemented to protect stored data from unauthorized access and cyber threats,” he adds.

Rising Role for AI

According to Boland, there are two simultaneous technology shifts currently happening in the video surveillance space. The first is the shift from a primarily on-premises environment to cloud infrastructure. The second is the shift of concepts: physical security to physical security technology.

“The traditional model of physical security, which is currently still being used today, relies on video surveillance cameras specifically for public safety and protection of assets,” he explains. “As new artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to be introduced and improved throughout this space, users can now rely on automation to extract valuable insights from the video captured. This is where we are seeing the shift to physical security technology.”

Even if an end-user organization is only using security cameras for physical security today, that doesn’t mean they won’t be utilizing them for other aspects of the business in the future, Boland says. Having a flexible storage infrastructure in place now will address the needs end users currently face, while positioning the organization to easily scale as needed when taking advantage of different AI/ML technologies.

“When it comes to other data heavy use cases and providing insights back to the business, organizations will want to analyze multiple recordings over a given, often long, time period without the need of a human to watch every second of that video,” he continues. “It’s important that organizations start planning their infrastructure today with tomorrow in mind, which will require that every aspect of their infrastructure is focused on enabling video use cases.”

AI and machine learning analytics are increasing storage requirements due to the fact that users must now not only store the video data, Garner explains, but also the metadata generated by AI and machine learning-powered cameras or by server-based AI analytic applications.

Thanks to AI, Burrows says, what was previously the domain of corporate organizations — enterprise-class VMS with federated architecture and deep learning capabilities — has also become more feasible and affordable for smaller businesses to benefit from analytics and remote access to video data.

However, it’s important to remember the industry is only at the start of the AI revolution. “AI is playing a crucial role in the evolution of video storage solutions by improving efficiency, scalability and analytical capabilities,” Burrows says. “As these technologies continue to advance, we can expect even more sophisticated and powerful solutions that will further enhance video analysis and insights for better security and safety management as well as video being increasingly used for business intelligence and to tackle other operational challenges.”

Best Practices for Security Integrators

The effectiveness of a video surveillance system hinges not only on the quality of cameras and analytics but also on the implementation of storage solutions. Security integrators play a pivotal role in shaping the success of video surveillance projects, and adhering to best practices during storage installations is paramount.

“It must start by listening to user requirements and understanding each customer application site by site and getting the system design right the first time,” Burrows of IDIS says. “Storage often makes up the bulk of upfront costs but can also result in significantly higher ongoing costs that increase the lifecycle costs and the total cost of ownership of a surveillance system.”

The number of cameras needed to provide complete domain awareness of internal areas, perimeters and coverage of high risk areas such as entrances and exits will help determine the amount of storage needed. At the same time, it’s important to understand the specific needs and pain points of each user, from heads of security, facilities and loss prevention to control room operators and non-security staff to assess camera resolution, frame rate, and retention time.

“Combining this information will help determine the overall storage capacity required to offer the best storage method, rather than simply basing retention on camera counts,” Burrows says. “It’s important to consider that users’ needs change over time so it’s best to specify a storage solution that can easily scale.”

Traditionally, video surveillance data storage was primarily located on the end user’s premises. But as the concept of video surveillance expands beyond common use cases due to rapid technology innovation, the video surveillance space has morphed into a complex data management process, explains Boland of Wasabi. As data generation continues to increase, coupled with longer required retention times, an inverse relationship between the need for more data management and the roles of end-user IT/security personnel is emerging.

“End users are constantly looking for new solutions to relieve the complexity of day-to-day storage management, while lowering their total cost of ownership,” he says.

The easiest way for integrators to deliver a relief in storage management, while keeping costs low, is by implementing a hybrid-cloud storage solution for customers, Boland suggests. Through this model, customers can keep a specific amount of video locally, while pushing the remainder offsite to a cloud environment, meeting total retention periods.

“Not only does this model let the end user utilize the same infrastructure that they’re used to using, but they are also now incorporating an additional safety measure — keeping video offsite in case of onsite failures or malicious activity,” he continues. “Offering an alternative storage solution to customers positions your organization as knowledgeable leaders in the earlier stages of a technology shift.”

“With advanced warnings of potential hard drive, power, or other component failures, integrators can now provide proactive insight into the health of remote storage devices.” — Michael Brewer, Bosch Security and Safety Systems

Integrators should be proficient with using storage calculators and should consult with the end user to determine what type of recording is expected or required, advises Garner of Salient Systems.

Choices in resolution, frame rate, lighting conditions and traffic patterns have immense impacts on storage utilization, Garner says. For example, a camera looking down a seldom used, interior hallway is going to produce much less data than an exterior camera looking at a busy entrance.

“Additionally, to make better use of available storage, integrators should consider leveraging multi-streaming configurations to reduce the recording bitrate during times of no activity and higher bitrate when events occur,” he adds.

Brewer at Bosch also emphasizes the need for storage calculator proficiency for integrators.

“There are many important factors to understand when working to identify storage needs such as frames per second (FPS), resolution, length of individual recordings and even compression mode,” he explains. “Consider only recording when the camera senses movement. Motion-based recording can assist customers in getting the most out of their storage systems.”