How to get a whole lot more than just building security out of your virtual surveillance system

It's true that building security is the primary reason more and more residential buildings in New York City are installing CCTV Cameras. But safeguarding your residents and your premises are not the only reasons why it's important for your buildings to have "eyes on the street," as well as in your lobbies, elevators, corridors, laundry and storage rooms at all times. While, thankfully, criminal incidents are not everyday occurrences in most New York City neighborhoods these days, there are many ways your video surveillance system can pay for itself beyond providing safety and security for residents and employees. At Virtual Doorman, we work with our customers to help them derive added value from our system on a day-to-day basis by tasking the cameras to perform these important services. 1. Monitor sidewalks to make certain the building staff is in full compliance with municipal laws and codes. This helps our customers avoid expensive tickets for violations like putting the trash out too early or not bagging it properly; 2. See whether porters have properly shoveled and salted on snow days; 3. Keep track of the time of day every member of the building staff arrives for work, takes a break and returns, and leaves for the day; 4. Reveal when the lobby needs to be cleaned; 5. See, plain as day, when the hallways lights are out; 6. Corroborate that fire extinguishers and smoke alarms have been inspected. Have staff place color-coded tags on them after inspections for the cameras to see; 7. Keep track of the comings and goings of your contractors; 8. Require contractors to hold their ID's up to the camera so that you always know that an authorized person has entered the building; 9. When the cameras spot a suspicious person loitering in or around your building, post a photo of him at the building entrance with this note: "If you spot this person near this building, call the police immediately." Rest assured, when the man sees his picture, he'll stay away; 10. Post a sign for all to see: "this building is under 24 hour video surveillance." You should know that every single one of these additional services would be possible with just CCTV cameras. But if your building had Virtual Doorman, those cameras would be monitored remotely by operators - on duty 24/7 at our command center - who would alert your building manager (or even the police) whenever further action is required. Developed more than 10 years ago by Virtual Service, the leader in advanced video security systems, Virtual Doorman now offers close to 200 buildings in the New York area - more every week - the safety and peace of mind of a full-time doorman at a fraction of the cost. Not only is Virtual Doorman 90% more cost-efficient than humanly possible, it never sleeps, takes breaks or accepts gratuities. What's more, with innovations like the industry's only Internet Web Portal and On The Go Mobile Application, Virtual Doorman allows building residents to manage their preferences and provide specific instructions from wherever they are using a computer or smartphone. In a world where more and more people are feeling increasingly empowered and comfortable with digital technology, it shouldn't be too long before Virtual Doorman, with a bunch of cool new features, is supplanting or augmenting real doormen in thousands of buildings across the country. Colin Foster is a partner and vice president of sales at Virtual Service, New York, N.Y.