Our Verkada work includes camera systems at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Verkada works differently from a traditional camera system with a recorder in a closet, so here is what to know before you choose it.
What makes Verkada different
- No recorder in the closet. Each camera stores its own video. Verkada's standard models hold about 30 days of continuous video, and models with more storage are offered for 60, 90, 120 or 365 days.
- Managed from anywhere. Cameras, users and footage are managed through Verkada Command, a web and mobile platform, with one login for every location.
- No open ports. The cameras start their own connections to Verkada's cloud from inside your network, so remote viewing works without opening ports on your router, a well-known weak spot in older recorder-based systems.
- Updates take care of themselves. Verkada designs its cameras to apply firmware updates automatically.
- Optional cloud backup. Footage stays on the camera by default. With cloud backup turned on, Verkada includes 30 days with each camera (15 days for the CD31 and CD31-E), and longer retention is available as an add-on license.
Where Verkada fits best
- Businesses with several locations that want one account, one list of users and one set of permissions for every site.
- Offices with no one on staff to maintain a recorder, update firmware or manage remote access safely.
- Owners and managers who check cameras from their phones or share clips with police or insurers.
- Businesses comfortable with an ongoing license cost in exchange for cloud management and less hands-on upkeep.
Verkada is not the right answer for everyone. Where the internet is limited or unreliable, where a business would rather buy equipment once with no subscription, or where policy keeps video on premises, a traditional recorder can be the better fit. We install both, so we can tell you honestly which one suits your building.
What to know about licensing
Every Verkada camera needs a license, purchased in terms of one, three, five or ten years, and by default all of an organization's licenses share a single expiration date. Verkada says that if licenses are not renewed, after a 30-day grace period you lose access to most of Command and alarms and event notifications are disabled; connected cameras keep recording, and footage within each camera's retention period becomes available again once you renew. A Verkada system is hardware plus an ongoing subscription, so the fair comparison with a recorder is total cost over the years you expect to use it.
The cabling matters as much as the camera
A camera is only as reliable as the cable and network connection behind it. As a low-voltage contractor first, we plan cable paths through the building, run and test the cabling, and connect each camera to your network, so the system you see in Command keeps working long after installation day.
See our security camera installation page for the rest of our camera work, or our network cabling page for the infrastructure behind it.