Have you given yesterday’s post some thought?  What possible connection am I making between this film and managed video?

Should parents have cameras installed in their children’s bedrooms, made viewable from their favorite restaurant?  Should a public view monitor be made available to all babysitters so they can monitor the well-being of children in real-time?

This is not what I had in mind…although perhaps there is a niche here to fill for some video provider…

The connection I was suggesting has to do with the essence of the babysitter’s situation.  The caller exploited the babysitter’s vulnerability – namely the fear of the unknown.  This is not an indictment of the babysitter, but rather a reality of the situation.  She did not know how the children were at that moment because she hadn’t recently checked.  The children were sleeping upstairs.  She assumed that they were safe.  Only when the caller called did she realize that she and the children were not safe. 

An interesting question arises – Had the caller not phoned to taunt her, how long would she have gone before realizing the danger?

Customers of traditional DVR and VHS video systems must deal with a similar reality.  As long as nothing happens, why worry about whether all of their video systems are operational?  Assume everything is fine, right?  It is only when something happens that they find themselves hoping that their systems were operational. 

Traditional CCTV customers have reported that as many as 50% of their traditional video systems were not fully functional when they did an audit – rendering their investment useless.

A key element of Managed Video as a Service is the ability to monitor the status of all cameras and recorders in real-time, with proactive system notifications alerting the customers of any issues.  When the proverbial caller calls, customers of MVaaS know in advance that their systems are working.  This is something that Jill Johnson could have used.