There are several industries which CCTV security companies in South Africa would recommend CCTV as a necessity. CCTV monitoring security solutions maximise the safety of assets and individuals. Although any institution of every industry will always benefit in some way or another from CCTV installation and monitoring, it should be a requirement for entities of the industries mentioned below.

The Healthcare Industry

From clinics to large hospitals, institutions that fall under the healthcare industry should have a CCTV security system in place, which includes monitoring. Places that provide healthcare solutions to the public should always put the health of their patients first, this includes maximising their safety. CCTV monitoring can also be used to complete regular quality checks.

Retail Entities

Retail SMEs and larger corporations require CCTV monitoring to achieve a variety of security milestones. With professional monitoring camera feed, theft by staff or customers can be detected immediately. You can also look back on the camera feed to find out why stock is missing, or it can be used as a deterrent with “we’re watching you” warnings in store.

Educational Institutions

As a more obvious industry, especially for those with young children, CCTV is a must-have for educational institutions. Professionals will be able to monitor cameras remotely and detect if there is any suspicious activity afoot, effectively putting a stop to any unsavoury actions before they take place. It has also become poplar for crèches to have live feeds that parents can log into in order to check-in on their little ones – although these feeds must offer the best in web security to ensure the feed cannot be hacked.

Other industries which should have CCTV installation and monitoring solutions conducted by expert CCTV security companies include:

• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Warehousing
• Real Estate

Over the past few years there has been a significant growth in the availability of Wi-Fi enabled security cameras. Foscam is probably one of the biggest and oldest players in this market. They first came into popularity as Nanny Cams, used indoors to keep an eye on your family and pets. But now they have moved into the domain of serious mainstream indoor and outdoor security CCTV.

But are they any good? The short answer is yes, if used for the appropriate location with the correct infrastructure. One of the greatest criticisms is reliability, how often have you heard that you can’t trust Wi-Fi? Yet we use Wi-Fi to connect our phones, our laptops and computers, we use Wi-Fi to connect our smart TV and stream movies, we use if for alarms and almost everything. The days of the traditional cable CCTV camera are numbered. Both big business and the smaller domestic consumer are typically relying more and more on Wi-Fi than cable. The key to a successfull deployment of Wi-Fi security cameras lies in the Wi-Fi infrastructure, not the camera. Just like your cell phone, if it can’t connect to your Wi-Fi network then your camera probably won’t either. For a simple nanny cam like the Foscam C2 or R2 a normal Wi-Fi router sitting in the study will be sufficient. Simply power the camera up, join the Wi-Fi and away you go. But when you start wanting to monitor your main gate, pool area, etc things can get tricky. There are normally a few thick concrete walls between your study and where you want to place your camera. So most people then turn to running a network cable to the camera, but is that the most effective solution? Surely its more practical to extend your Wi-Fi , that way you cover a previously “dead” region and now you can add many new devises, from your cell phone to cameras.

Wi-Fi has come a long way, the options are varied from mesh (High density of devices) to point to point (for long distance, up to 8 km great for farm or large commercial applications along with solar) options. The TP Link Powerline range is also often a viable solution by using your buildings electrical wiring to deliver a Wi-Fi access point at any plug in your home? The trick is to not overload your access point, plan your Wi-Fi correctly and spread your cameras over two or more access points correctly placed and you can benefit from great Wi-Fi coverage all over your property including your garden as well as having the freedom to place your cameras anywhere you choose, two birds with one stone.

The TP Link Powerline range is also often a viable solution by using your buildings electrical wiring to deliver a Wi-Fi access point at any plug in your home? The trick is to not overload your access point, plan your Wi-Fi correctly and spread your cameras over two or more access points correctly placed and you can you can benefit from great Wi-Fi coverage all over your property including your garden as well as having the freedom to place your cameras anywhere you choose, two birds with one stone.

One of my favourite budget entry level Wi-Fi router/access points is the TOTO-LINK N300RH 300Mbps High Gain Wireless N Router, this is cost effective 11DB router that punches through walls like a knife through butter. I have regularly placed one in the roof of a large home and connected 6 to 8 cameras to it, from the driveway gate to the pool boundary wall.  For larger homes two of these placed correctly does the job.

For smaller homes and business the Foscam FN3104W-B4 kit even comes with its own NVR with built-in Wi-Fi, so all you need to do is plug a network cable in from router to the NVR, turn it on and away you go. No configuration as the cameras come already paired to the NVR’s Wi-Fi. They can however join your existing Wi-Fi or even use a normal network cable if you wish.

Foscam South Africa is the authorised distributor of the Foscam brand in South Africa, we support and guarantee our products locally and passionately believe in the future of Wi-Fi enabled cameras. We have 8 over years of experience in supplying, advising and installing Wi-Fi security cameras.  For any trade or purchase queries please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa - Meet AxxonSoft, the leading software developer that combines IP-based physical security management, intelligent video surveillance, and an enterprise-wide platform into fully integrated vertical and horizontal solutions.  

With so many CCTV resellers out there, it’s not uncommon for businesses to assume that they are making the right decision by choosing the cheapest option as a way to be more cost-effective. However, how sure are they that their CCTV provider will not simply walk away after they’ve been sold the product, expecting them to rely on their own skillsets to manage and monitor their CCTV systems?  

Choose AxxonSoft if you want to make more intelligent business decisions, achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, and implement powerful security for people, facilities and assets - all with less cost and less effort. With AxxonSoft award-winning products and services, you’ll be guaranteed proactive monitoring and management.  

AxxonSoft makes this all happen with intelligent video surveillance systems, plug-and-play modules, and a core technology platform that enables users to get the benefit of a fully networked, interconnected infrastructure - without the cost and complexity of a new enterprise-level solution. Plus, our solutions are completely customizable and are quickly and easily deployed right out-of-the-box.  

Axxon Next open-platform video management system  

With Axxon Next next-generation open-platform Video Management System (VMS), you get intelligent video surveillance that saves you time and money, while increasing your security and ability to prevent problems. Every day organisations around the world — just like yours — use Axxon's solutions to build their business, increase their profitability, and satisfy their customers by providing the best integrated security systems available.  

Video surveillance systems based on Axxon Next can scale infinitely: there are no restrictions on the number of video servers, workstations or video cameras. Axxon Next also plays well with other devices and systems and supports over 6000 models of IP devices and more than 1500 models of IP cameras.  

Axxon Intellect Enterprise open PSIM platform  

As a unified security management system, Axxon Intellect Enterprise integrates any security applications, systems, and devices, including new IP-based systems and legacy software, into a single environment. Because it's based on an open architecture that allows for true interoperability, Axxon Intellect Enterprise makes it possible to connect security and video management systems with business applications.  

Axxon Intellect Enterprise is an IP-based physical security information management (PSIM) platform designed for creating security systems of any scale and based on various types of equipment. Axxon Intellect integrates video surveillance, access control, fire protection and other specialized systems into a single information environment which supports the interaction of all subsystems, intellectual information analysis, and automatic control.  

AxxonSoft meets the security needs of businesses of all sizes – from large-scale facilities to the smallest sites. Every license includes full, unrestricted VMS functionality, even on systems of just one camera. Users on tight budgets will appreciate the free version of the program, which supports up to 16 camera channels.  

Key features include:

• IP camera support
• Video archive
• Modern GUI
  • Create screens (layouts) in any arrangement you want, with any number of cameras you want.
  • Manage user and group rights.
  • Search recorded video near-instantly with MomentQuest2.
  • Manage alarm events interactively as they happen, quickly and efficiently.
  • Interactive 3D sitemaps
  • Autozoom with object tracking
  • Manage surveillance remotely
• Micromodule architecture
• Interactive 3D Map
• Time Compressor
• Powerful video analytics
• Motion detection
• Background change detection
• Detection of loss of video quality
• Abandoned objects detection
• Detection of crossing a line in a given direction
• Motion start detection
• Motion stop detection
• Loitering detection
• Object appearance detection
• Object disappearance detection
• Audio detectors
• MomentQuest2  

About AxxonSoft  

AxxonSoft is a leading software developer that combines IP-based PSIM (physical security information management), facial recognition, POS, video management software, intelligent video analytics, and road traffic monitoring, and an enterprise-wide platform into fully integrated solutions.  

Contact Colleen Glaesar, MD, AxxonSoft Southern Africa Suite 13 The Quarry Centre, Quarry Road, Hilton, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, 3245 Telephone: +27 (0) 33 343 5174 (24 Hours Number)  Fax: +27 (0) 33 343 1740 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    

We have all seen movies where the cops view surveillance footage. They have reams of video that they use to trace events and sometimes zoom in on certain parts of the video being viewed. The funny thing is that in reality, if they had to zoom in, the image would actually get worse and the image would pixelate further.

Luckily we live in modern times where technology is constantly improving. As a result we now have the IP camera or wireless camera which has taken the place of the dated CCTV as we know it. IP cameras can range in cost from really cheap (and nasty), to extremely expensive (used in high end operations).

IP means ‘internet protocol’ and refers to cameras that can send or receive digital video data by means of a network. Wireless IP cameras still need to be plugged in for power, but the ‘wireless’ part refers to the fact that they can pickup a network wirelessly once configured. As far as picture quality goes, IP cameras will win hands down. Even the most basic IP camera would have superior image quality over old analogue cameras.

Analogue cameras will be able to manage the equivalent of less than half a megapixel.IP cameras have an extremely wide field of view meaning one IP camera can possibly do the work of 3 or 4 CCTV cameras.

Video analytics allows you to setup motion detection triggers. It is no longer necessary to trawl through reams of video footage.The old DVR (Digital Video Recorder) is now being replaced with an NVR (Network video recorder). This device allows you to record footage.

A network switch can be used to power numerous cameras and transmit the internet signal. A single wire will run from the switch to the NVR. This is far less labour intensive and means fewer cables need to run. Whereas traditional DVR’s need each camera to be connected directly to the device.

Setting up a new security system can be costly and confusing, given all of the different options now made available to you. But if you want to keep abreast with technology, the benefits of an IP camera system will far outweigh an analogue system. If you would like to purchase an IP camera, that is excellent quality and well priced, then logon to www.foscam.co.za

Foscam has a wide range of indoor and outdoor cameras that are all reasonalby priced. Often they have an IP camera sale.