Everett firm brings home security to your iPhone
Published 10:54 pm Sunday, October 12, 2008
EVERETT — Not long ago, Gene Morgan could offer clients few options for video surveillance and those options cost thousands.
That changed when Morgan and his Everett security company tapped into new technology that makes video surveillance far less expensive and more accessible.
For as little as a few hundred dollars and a $24.99 monthly fee, Morgan can sell a digital camera that records images around the clock. Customers can log onto the Internet or an iPhone anytime and view what’s happening in real time or call up archived footage stored on a computer server.
His company, SecurFocus, opened a new storefront off Evergreen Way in Everett last week. The business began offering the Internet video recording option about 15 months ago. It’s a hit, he said. Already hundreds have signed on, including local businesses and several major clients in the Seattle area.
SecurFocus was able to reduce costs by offering an alternative to traditional closed-circuit security systems, the standard technology used by homeowners and businesses who want video surveillance, he said. The old system required a business owner to keep recording equipment on site. That equipment is usually calibrated for four, eight or 16 cameras and if an owner needs less or more than the standard amount, they pay extra. This equipment can start around $8,000. Keeping equipment on site also opens up opportunities for tampering by employees or savvy thieves, he said.
Internet video recording does away with onsite recording equipment, since data is stored offsite in a secure data center.
The cheaper price tag is luring a growing segment of customers: homeowners. They often pair the service with other gee-whiz “home integration” services that control lights, heating and cooling, sprinklers and other systems in the home.
Homeowners who purchased video surveillance cameras used to be limited to people with high-end homes but that’s not necessarily the case, he said. He has a few clients who train a camera from their apartment window to their car. Others buy an inexpensive camera and use it to secretly monitor how their elderly parents are treated at nursing homes.
“This technology has made video surveillance to the person who doesn’t have a whole lot of money,” he said.
Businesses are using this technology in backrooms and public areas to monitor for theft and inappropriate behavior.
If other companies aren’t offering something similar, they will be soon, he said. Morgan said that will likely mean more cameras in more places.
Video surveillance is one of the fastest growing segments in the security industry. In the past, hidden video cameras used on public spaces and businesses are far more common in other countries than here, Morgan said.
“Today that’s changing,” he said. “Cameras are everywhere.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
