Ask most suppliers what makes a good CCTV system and they'll lead with megapixels. It's the easiest number to put on a quote, and the least useful one for deciding whether a system will actually do its job. After installing systems across offices, retail floors, warehouses and gated compounds, here's what we tell clients to check first.
Storage retention beats resolution
Higher resolution footage takes up more storage, and storage is where most budget systems quietly cut corners. A camera can be beautifully sharp and still be useless if the footage only retains for three days before it's overwritten — by the time anyone asks to review an incident, it's gone.
Before comparing camera specs, decide how long you actually need footage retained. Retail and hospitality clients typically want 30 days minimum. For most offices, 14–21 days covers it. That number should drive your storage sizing, not the other way around.
Power reliability is the silent killer
A CCTV system that goes dark every time the power does isn't a security system — it's a liability with good marketing. In Kenya, that means every install needs a real answer for load-shedding and outages: a UPS sized for your actual runtime needs, not just "a UPS," and NVRs positioned somewhere that doesn't cook in the heat when the aircon also goes down with the power.
Coverage planning beats camera count
More cameras isn't automatically better coverage. We've walked into sites with a dozen cameras and still found blind spots at every entrance, because they were placed for ceiling aesthetics rather than sightlines. A proper site walk should map every entry point, every till or cash-handling area, every corridor junction — and place cameras to cover those specifically, with overlap at anything that matters.
Questions worth asking your installer
- What's my actual footage retention period, in days, given my camera count and resolution?
- What happens to recording during a power outage, and for how long?
- Can I view footage remotely, and how is that connection secured?
- Who has access to the footage, and is that access logged?
- What's the warranty and support plan if a camera or the NVR fails?
Access control is often the better first investment
For premises with a genuine access problem — unauthorised entry, unclear who's on-site at any time, staff sharing keys — biometric or card-based access control sometimes solves more of the actual risk than cameras alone. The two work best together: access control controls who gets in, CCTV records what happens once they're inside.
Whatever you choose, the honest advice is the same: get a proper site assessment before you get a quote. A quote built on a floor plan you emailed over is a guess. A quote built after someone's walked your premises is a plan.
