What cameras do well
Cameras record, and with AI detection they recognise people and vehicles and raise events. They give you evidence, a searchable history, and remote viewing. They deter, to a point. What they cannot do is respond. A camera that watches someone walk out with your stock has done its job perfectly.
What alarms do well
Alarms detect a breach and make noise, and with monitoring they get someone acting on it. What they cannot do is tell the difference between a burglar and a balloon. That is why unverified alarm monitoring produces so many false callouts, and why police prioritise verified events.
Why the answer is usually both
Video-verified monitoring combines them. The alarm or the AI raises the event, the operator checks the camera, and only a real event is escalated. You get response and evidence, and you stop paying for callouts that turn out to be the cleaner.
When cameras alone are enough
A home where someone is nearly always present, or a business that only needs a record of the day, may be fine with AI cameras and app alerts. Add monitoring when you travel, when the building is empty overnight, or when stock or people are at risk.
When an alarm alone is enough
Almost never, any more. The cost difference between an alarm and an alarm with cameras has shrunk, and the difference in usefulness has not.
What it costs in practice
Cameras are mostly a one-off cost: the hardware, the installation and a recorder. Monitoring is a monthly cost, because a person is on the other end of it. The mistake most buyers make is to compare the one-off price of cameras with the monthly price of monitoring and conclude that cameras are cheaper. They are different products. Cameras give you evidence and alerts. Monitoring gives you a response.
Ask any provider for both numbers separately: the installation quote and the monthly plan, with exactly what the monthly plan covers. If the answer is vague, the monthly cost is where the surprises will be.
Questions that settle it
- Is the building empty overnight or while you are away? If yes, you need a response, which means monitoring.
- Would you need to prove what happened to police or an insurer? If yes, you need cameras with searchable events.
- Do false alarms currently cost you callout fees or goodwill? If yes, you need video verification, which means both.
- Do you want the lights, the gate and the doors to react to an event? If yes, the alarm and cameras need to be on the same platform as the automation.