Video surveillance storage market threatens DVR

IT network storage, in particular IP SANs (Storage Area Networks), is at the forefront of new enterprise surveillance projects. IMS Research's latest market research report, 'The World Market for Enterprise and IP Storage used for Video Surveillance,' forecasts network storage will account for over 30% of world video surveillance storage revenues in 2013. The latest data from IMS Research forecasts the world market for video surveillance storage will exceed $5.6bn in 2013. Does this spell the end for the DVR?

IMS Research Market Analyst, William Rhodes suggests that "although the market is currently dominated by DVR solutions; network surveillance storage is gaining traction and is more scalable and flexible to the needs of some end-users."

There is currently a very large installed base of DVRs being used to record surveillance footage. Some end-users will replace DVR appliances with like-for-like solutions; however, more forward looking end-users are requesting new technologies such as network storage or VSaaS. Hosted video or Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) is another area that may drive the decline of the DVR. William Rhodes comments that "The target market for VSaaS vendors is SMB or residential deployments; essentially low-camera count installations with minimal recording capabilities and little requirement for constant monitoring. The market is currently small and nascent. However, if brought to the market in the right way and at the right time, it has the potential to disrupt the traditional DVR market."

DVR solutions should not be ruled out, as there will continue to be a sizeable need for a locally recorded 'plug and play solution' particularly in low-end applications. But as demand grows for network storage and as hosted video solutions gain traction, the traditional DVR solution is likely to be challenged in low-camera count installations.

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