IP Communications Featured Articles

IP communication is becoming more ubiquitous by the day. Businesses have adopted IP systems as a means to not only enhance their communication quality and features, but also to more easily stay connected with remote workers, multiple office locations, and employees in the field. IP communications offers plenty of features, such as high-definition voice and conference calling, but there are other applications of IP technology that deserve a little limelight. One growing use of IP is in the video and security sector.

Video over IP is becoming more prevalent today, not just in the business office for video conferencing, but also for surveillance. IP video’s uniquely high quality images, and its ability to link remotely to monitoring stations virtually anywhere, make it ideal for companies looking to bolster security. Now, businesses can monitor their offices, agents, storefronts, warehouses and more using IP surveillance linked to their existing IP communications systems. It’s a great investment that has both functional and financial benefits.

Johnson Yang, vice president of sales at Plustek (News - Alert) Security, described in a recent company statement that there are a number of ways to employ IP video technology. IP cameras with embedded storage capabilities, for example, offer additional video backup to companies worried about connection issues between cameras and the viewing location, or locations. These cameras come with an SD card slot so that users can install memory cards to store video or snapshots. This type of solution is also known as an “edge recording solution.”

For larger enterprises with vast facilities and access to powerful computers with lots of available data storage, video management software (VMS) and central management software (CMS) solutions are a great, PC-based option. VMS and CMS systems can integrate with all kinds of video analytic components, such as people counting, bag detection and license plate recognition.

As a solution that provides a little bit of everything, standalone network video recorders (NVRs) are a sort of “Jack of All Trades” option for IP video recording. These systems are fairly easy to manage, and tend to be more affordable for small and medium sized businesses. Unlike some IP surveillance solutions, standalone NVRs don’t require any special training, although some basic network knowledge is needed to set up and configure them properly.

As IP communication technology becomes more popular, the technology is accordingly growing and becoming more advanced. IP surveillance, for its part in the IP communications world, is increasingly easy to access, install, and use effectively as part of a larger IP-based system for businesses.