ByRemote Overview

Published May 26, 2009 00:00 AM
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ByRemote is one of the first companies to enter Managed Video/ Video Surveillance as a Service. Given the high level of interest in this area, I recently spoke with them to learn more about their business strategy / technical offering.

ByRemote has their own VMS software. The provide 2 offerings: hosted, where cameras are directly connected to their software running in their data center and managed, where an appliance with ByRemote's software is loaded on a PC local to the cameras. The MSRP per camera starts at about $20 per month.

ByRemote sells only through dealers (prior to Jan 2008, they sold direct). ByRemote is building a network of dealers who sells the service to end users. Dealers can set their own prices and sell the cameras (the cameras are in addition to the $20 per month).

ByRemote offers continuous recording at a default rate of 1 frame per second. They say they commonly support 4-6 cameras per site with these settings. ByRemote does not use Axis STS.

Setting up IP cameras with ByRemote requires setting up DDNS and port forwarding to enable ByRemote to connect to cameras remotely.

I think this approach, using dealers and requiring on-site setup, will be a niche play. I think the best probability of success for hosted video surveillance is to sell direct, online only and bundle in the cameras for the cost of the subscription. Right now, at $20 per camera plus the cost of the camera and install, the economics are not extremely attractive relative to traditional video surveillance offerings.