No NVR. No servers. No VPN.
The part your IT team will want to read. How the system is built, how it compares to the stack you have now, and what it brings to a security review.
A hybrid-cloud architecture that empties the server room
| Four separate vendors | One Verkada platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Logins | VMS, access, intercom, alarm — four systems | One console, one set of permissions |
| Infrastructure | NVR, access server, intercom box, alarm panel | One network cable per device |
| Investigating a badge event | Export from one system, match by hand in another | The clip is already attached to the event |
| Event search | Hours of scrubbing, per system | Plain-language search across all of them |
| Threat response | Reviewed after the fact | AI deterrence and video-verified dispatch in real time |
| Adding a site | Another server room, another integration project | Plug it in; it appears in the same console |
| Onboarding a new hire | Badge issued by hand, in a separate directory | Provisioned automatically via SCIM from your IdP |
| Security updates | Manual, per system, often skipped | Automatic over the air, every device |
Your IT and compliance teams will ask these first
A cloud security platform gets scrutinised harder than a camera does — as it should. Here is what it brings to that conversation.
The questions we actually get asked
Do we have to replace the cameras we already own?
No. Command Connector brings your existing third-party cameras into the same console and applies Verkada's AI search and alerting to their footage. Most sites migrate gradually — new areas and new doors go onto Verkada, the older cameras keep running until they're due for replacement anyway.
What happens to our doors if the internet goes down?
They keep working. Access decisions, credentials and device-to-device communication are processed at the edge, on the controllers themselves — the cloud is how you manage the system, not how a door decides whether to open. Cameras likewise keep recording to their own encrypted onboard storage and sync back once the link returns.
How much bandwidth does this actually consume?
Far less than people expect, because footage is not streamed to a server continuously — it stays on the camera and is pulled only when someone watches or exports it. Thumbnails and metadata go to the cloud, video does not. This is usually the point where a sceptical network engineer relaxes.
Can we start with one product and add the rest later?
Yes, and most sites do. A common path is cameras first, then access control at the doors that matter, then intercom at the entrances, then alarms. Because every product is already on the same platform, adding the next one is a hardware install and a licence — not an integration project.
How long does a deployment take, and will it stop production?
Each device takes a single PoE network cable and comes online in minutes, registering itself in Command automatically. There is no server to build and no software to install on anyone's machine, so work is scheduled around your operations rather than the other way round. A site of dozens of devices is typically a matter of days.
Where is our data stored, and who can see the footage?
Video is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES), with enterprise-controlled encryption. Access is governed by role-based permissions, SSO and MFA, and every view and export is written to an audit log. You can also blur faces live and mask privacy regions on individual cameras so certain areas are never recorded in the first place.
How does it fit our identity provider and our existing tools?
Users and badges sync from Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace over SCIM, so access is granted and revoked as part of your normal joiner-mover-leaver process. Open APIs push events and footage into an existing SOC platform, and Helix lets you tag video with your own ERP or MES data — which is how a quality team ends up searching footage by batch number.
What does this cost over ten years?
Pricing is one-time hardware plus a cloud licence per device. The comparison worth making is the ten-year one: no NVR or access-server refresh cycle, no on-site maintenance visits for updates, firmware and features included, unlimited user seats, and hardware warranted up to ten years. Send us your site details and we'll put a real number against your current system.
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A security expert will contact you within one business day to prepare your quote.
Don’t take our word for it. Put it on your site.
We’ll ship real Verkada hardware to your site for 30 days, free, and take it back at our cost if it isn’t for you. Put it on the hardest corner you have and see what it finds. Prefer a walkthrough first? Book a 30-minute live demo instead.