The oversaturated competitive telecom market, lowering communications and services, increasing service requirements and burdening the state on the operators' infrastructure means that falling profits for the operators do not allow them to grow as before. And someone is completely unwell. In the struggle for user loyalty and an increase in the average check, operators have one clear way - to offer their customers additional services.
The three most popular areas of telecom operators are home and mobile Internet and, of course, digital television. Reflecting on the fact that the subscriber can be interesting, you should pay attention to the street, access and home video surveillance. Organizing a similar service on the scale of an apartment building itself, the user, with all the desire and even for a loved one, can not for several reasons, so that such a service can be your trump card.

Why the client cannot cope with video surveillance?
At least it is illegal, since according to the housing code for the installation of video surveillance on the territory of an apartment building, the consent of all tenants is necessary. In addition, everyone will immediately need access to the cameras, even those who have never thought about it. This can easily put the Internet channel through which the recorder is connected, and it will be the smallest of the problems that you have ... If an ordinary person wants to hang the camera on a pole in the yard, then there will be even more coordination: from installation and connection to it Power up internet connectivity issues. And who will pay for it all? How to serve?
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In addition, all inexpensive Chinese DVRs and cameras with factory firmware do not have protection against hacking and can quickly become part of a botnet, for example, Mirai, and take part in hacker attacks. Here is a map of Mirai infections around the world:

The organization of such systems is not an easy process, requiring serious competencies and resources. Of course, if we are talking about a small network for a private house, then almost any company that deals with video surveillance can handle this issue. However, if we are talking about a large number of users, and especially about video surveillance as a commercial service, then we will have to admit that the resources of telecom operators are needed, without which it will not solve the problem. To start the cloud-based video surveillance service, in addition to obtaining all necessary permits for installation and opportunities for further support, a number of conditions must be met:
- Requires reliable transport, storage, backup video from cameras. Every stream from the camera, every subscriber archive is something that cannot be lost.
- We need a convenient, for both administrators and users, a web interface with a full set of necessary functions, as well as mobile applications.
- You need to be able to work with the zoo IP-cameras and be prepared for a huge number of technical problems that need to be addressed.
- It is necessary to adjust the process of quick launch of IP cameras to work. From the sale and installation before the video in the web interface should take very little time.
- We need to debug the process of communication with the camera vendor: from firmware to logistics.
- It is important to take care of scaling in advance. The server structure should be in the form of a cluster and allow additional units to be added in a hot mode. And administration should be simple and clear so that the growth of the system does not complicate the process of control.
And if the operator doesn’t have any problems with installing cameras and connecting them, then an independent development of a solution that will cover all of the above conditions, without many years of experience and deep relevant expertise in video, is associated with serious technical difficulties. Creating your own software is a few years of development. Naturally, you will have to "run" at breakneck speed in order to keep pace with those who have been on the market for many years. All this will delay the moment of earning the first money for a huge period, up to the probability of not reaching them at all. You will be forced to increase the functionality of the raw product more and more, which will lead to understandable consequences for the business. In this case, it is more efficient to use a ready-made, streamlined solution that will allow you to try out a business idea with minimal preparation and a start date.
Flussonic Watcher - ready-made solutions for launching camera surveillance
Flussonic Watcher is a software package designed specifically for launching video surveillance systems with connectivity and control options for virtually any IP camera, billing or inventory system integration, and mobile applications for users. With its help, the operator can start a cloud video surveillance service in a matter of days, thereby expanding the pool of services provided to subscribers.
Flussonic Watcher includes:
- Flussonic Media Server for storing and delivering video;
- web interface for administrators and users;
- mobile apps for iOS and Android;
- camera activation and provisioning service;
- API for billing integration with Watcher control through billing, as well as for developing external modules and mobile applications;
- Camera software (agent).

A question may arise: why is there any additional software for the camera? After all, almost any manufacturer offers opportunities to connect to their equipment through a personal account.
Agent
To tell why an agent is needed and what it is, consider the typical implementation of video surveillance by the operator:
- Cameras are bought.
- Each camera is entered into the inventory accounting system.
- Each camera is assigned an IP address.
- Subscribers in the billing add the appropriate services.
- Cameras are added to the video surveillance service admin area, where basic settings are entered and billing information is transmitted.
A separate problem may be setting up the visibility of the camera from the Internet (outside the local network). There are three classic schemes for doing this:
- Manual port forwarding.
- Installing OpenVPN proxy servers.
- Issuance of white IP addresses for each camera.
All these solutions have certain disadvantages: from the complexity of setting up each camera to the instability of video delivery to users. This issue is particularly acute when you need to give personal access to a specific camera with a specific archive depth according to the tariff plan that the subscriber will select. How to do it in Plug-n-play mode for the subscriber? And how to do it, if the cameras are sold in the store and before the first start-up the operator does not know anything about its existence, and especially about who bought it and what access it needs to be issued?
We answered all these questions with a small program called Flussonic Agent, which installs on the operator’s cameras (included in the Flussonic Watcher box). The operator is only required to add the serial number of the camera to its inventory or billing system, and the agent will do the rest - transfer the necessary information to activate and connect the camera with the user to billing or directly to the Watcher and start sending video to the operator’s streaming server. In addition, the agent is able to encrypt the video stream, protecting it from the risk of "Chinese backdoors" and at the same time improves the stability of delivery. There are no flowing pictures, proxy servers, complicated settings and desktop programs.

How to watch a video
Access to video surveillance for customers is provided through modern browsers and mobile applications. A control panel is available for the operator in Flussonic Watcher to control users. Also in the panel you can create private or public access to cameras, as well as work with the archive of records. It is possible to build a server cluster. Additionally, a map with cameras, creating a mosaic of cameras, and much more are available.
"Out of the box" is the ability to brand the interface. For example, to put your logo, corporate colors, to enable authorization through the operator's login and password, as well as to brand e-mail alerts.

For those who are inconvenient to work with the browser to check the child in the yard or the car in the parking lot, Flussonic Watcher has its own mobile applications for iOS and Android.

Our complex has already been adapted for running a business model at different operators and is ready for quick deployment so that this line of business of the operator can start to make money.