The How-to-Guide to Protect Outdoor Assets: Part 2

Welcome to my 2 part series on understanding the best ways to protect your outdoor assets.

In part 1 (click here to read part 1), we focused on the different protection options available and whether they are good solutions. In part 2, we walk through the steps to help you decide what protection is right for you and your unique needs.

What Kind of Outdoor Asset Protection is Right for Me?

Ask yourself the following questions to determine the best course of action. 
1) What is my budget? (Initially/upfront, monthly)
2) How much involvement do I/we want to have in the process?
3) What’s at risk? ( high value, low value)
4) Assess future or past crimes. Were they on going issues or a single isolated incident?
5) Could product or service provide other benefits (employee accountability, notification of events, tracking of inventory)?

Whether it’s a large or small business or homeowners’ association or for residential use you need to determine the threat and the potential loss. This can be hard to determine if you let emotions get in the way.

At the same time, if you feel your families’ lives are at risk then there is no cost that can’t be justified. Sometimes it’s good to step back and try to put your emotions aside and make a sound business decision where you consider the costs associated with the benefits.

Homeowners

I can’t tell you how many times I get calls from homeowners who feel their neighbor or some family member is mysteriously getting into their house or doing something and they want to catch them in the act. In most instances I will provide them with the cost of a commercial grade camera system and this will generally relieve their paranoid reaction, and they will think of some other relief from this typical overreaction.

Don’t get me wrong - I understand there are real threats.

There are threats that may fall into this area, but in most instances it is an overreaction that is not worth the cost involved for an irrational spur of the moment decision that will probably not yield their desired results.

Because there are really no good wireless camera systems, hardwired camera systems need to be installed and in most instances it is difficult in existing homes. Take into the account the difficult installation and the cost of good commercial grade equipment and it is rare to justify the cost of a residential camera system. Your best bet is to go to Costco or go online and find some cheaper version and install it yourself (or with the help of a friend).

Business or Homeowners Association

With more resources available and more assets to protect, video monitoring solutions are the best value. There are several benefits besides security from these systems which can help the management of the organization. These would include the following:

• Document all activity day and night
• Increase employee accountability and productivity
• Lower insurance premiums
• Protect against false claims (insurance, workers compensation)
• Protect against Theft and Vandalism
• Shrinkage by employees/customers
• Save Money (from alternative effective services) i.e. guards

As with anything else, you must make an informed decision and take into account the risks and benefits to determine if it is right for you or your organization.

As with most products and services, you will find many different recommendations but try to find someone who has provided such services for at least 10 years or more, and not someone that is a rookie who just entered the space because it has become popular.

You should also find a security company and not some network person who thinks they can throw up a few IP cameras and call it a day.

Local companies are best because if you contract with an out-of-town security company they will subcontract future service to individuals who are not invested in the quality of service, in general. You need to have the cameras included with some type of “event driven” device that will notify someone to actually look at the cameras remotely as the event is happening. If you don’t have this you will simply be looking at old video after the fact which could be days, weeks or even months later.

Take into account that the archived video from a standalone camera will usually not provide enough evidence to take any justifiable action. In my 25 years in the security business, the “event driven” video monitoring should be a clear choice to protect assets in real time.

Let Best Security Products help you set up an outdoor protection system that brings you peace of mind and protects your assets. Give us a call or email us at 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com.