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Vendor-neutral · 13 Platforms Certified

Moving to the cloud doesn't always mean starting over.

Find out what you can keep before you approve a quote to replace everything. Some cloud platforms require all new hardware. Others don't — and the difference can be the difference between a manageable project and a six-figure one.

Open vs closed, plainly

Already have a quote? Bring it. We'll tell you what you could keep. Not ready to talk? Download the Cloud Security Upgrade Guide.

  • Second opinion on an existing quote
  • We sell closed platforms too
  • No obligation
Cloud Readiness Review

Find out what you can keep

Already have a quote to replace everything? Bring it — we'll tell you what could have stayed.

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2004
Commercial and industrial only, since
13
Platforms we're certified across
80
Net Promoter Score
ON + CA
Ontario and nationwide coverage
The situation

Then the quote arrives, and it replaces cameras that were working fine that morning.

Cloud security is being marketed extremely well right now, and mostly by companies who sell one platform. The pitch is good and the technology is genuinely better in a lot of ways — remote access, no server to maintain, one screen across every site.

That replacement is not because cloud requires it. It is because some cloud platforms are closed systems, which means they only work with their own hardware. Others are open, and can bring a wide range of existing IP cameras into a cloud environment.

The difference between those two architectures can be the difference between a manageable project and a six-figure one.

Existing commercial security cameras mounted on an office ceiling
Open vs closed, plainly

Two architectures. Very different quotes.

Neither column is the villain. The mistake is not knowing which conversation you are in.

  Closed platform Open platform
Cameras Theirs only. Existing cameras come out. Works with a wide range of third-party cameras.
Up-front cost Higher. You are buying all new hardware. Lower where existing hardware carries forward.
Future flexibility Switching later means replacing again. Camera choice stays open.
When it's the right call New builds, old or failing cameras, or when the simplicity is worth the cost. Established buildings with usable camera infrastructure.
To be clear: closed platforms are genuinely excellent and we sell them when they fit — we are certified on Verkada, Eagle Eye and Brivo among others. The mistake is not knowing which conversation you are in before you sign.

Already have a quote to replace everything?

Bring it to the review. We'll tell you which cameras could have stayed — and whether the quote is right anyway.

Book a Cloud Readiness Review
What decides it

Whether your cameras can move comes down to five practical things.

None of them are visible from a spreadsheet, which is why this takes a walkthrough rather than a phone call.

Standard protocols

Whether they speak standard protocols rather than proprietary ones. This is usually the first gate.

Image quality

Resolution and image quality measured against what you actually need from that view — not against the spec sheet.

Age and condition

Physical condition, including whether housings and seals are still sound after years outdoors.

Positioning

Whether they are pointed where coverage is genuinely required, or where it made sense a decade ago.

Cabling and network

The state of the cabling and network they sit on, which often decides more than the cameras themselves.

And sometimes the answer is replace: a camera that could not identify anyone three years ago will not identify anyone in the cloud either. If that is what we find, we will say so — the point is that the decision is made on the camera, not on the platform's business model. Our guide to security camera types covers what each format is actually good for.

Want these five checked against your building?

A walkthrough gives you a camera-by-camera answer instead of a platform-wide assumption.

Book a Cloud Readiness Review
The honest bit

If replacing everything is genuinely right, we'll tell you — and we can do it.

We are certified across most of the major cloud platforms, including the closed ones. A full replacement is sometimes the correct answer, and we are not going to pretend otherwise to win an argument.

What we will not do is let you sign for one without knowing the alternative existed.

When full replacement is the right call

Cameras that are failing, badly positioned, or too low-resolution to identify anyone — plus new builds where there is nothing to carry forward.

When it isn't

Established buildings with recent, well-positioned cameras on sound cabling, quoted for replacement because the platform requires it.

What we actually do

Assess the cameras on their own merits, then recommend the platform that fits the result — including closed platforms, which we also sell.

Why us

We don't sell one platform. That's the whole point.

Which platform you end up on should depend on your building, not on what we happen to stock. Commercial and industrial only, across Ontario and Canada, since 2004.

Trusted by

Rogers Stadium PepsiCo Cologix Questrade Mattamy Russel Metals

Certified across every major platform

VerkadaBrivoEagle EyeAvigilon GenetecKantechLenelS2Axis HanwhaMilestoneExacqOpenEye Alarm.com

Open platforms and closed ones, cloud and on-premise. That is what makes an assessment an assessment rather than a pitch — see our cloud-based security cameras and Axis pages for the platform detail.

Support that answers

Net Promoter Score of 80. For context, that puts us well above the average for the security integration industry — and it is the metric we pay the most attention to, because it reflects whether clients would recommend us rather than whether they bought from us.

Control Desk response time: [pending — number to be supplied before launch]. Learn more about our Control Desk service.

Book a review

Already have a quote? Bring it. We'll tell you what you could keep.

A camera-by-camera assessment, an honest read on the quote you already have, and a recommendation that isn't tied to one manufacturer.

  • Which of your cameras can move, and which genuinely should be replaced
  • A second opinion on a replacement quote you've already been given
  • Open and closed platform options, costed against each other
  • No obligation, and no follow-up campaign if you decide to do nothing

Prefer to talk it through first? Call (877) 557-3175.

Cloud Readiness Review

Tell us what you're running

The more detail here, the more useful the first conversation is.

1 Contact 2 Your system
This field is required.
This field is required.
Please enter a valid email address.
This field is required.
Please enter a valid phone number.

Step 1 of 2. We only use this to prepare for the review.

This lets us come prepared, so the visit is useful rather than exploratory.

Please make a selection.
Please make a selection.
Please make a selection.
Please make a selection.

No obligation. See our privacy policy.

Traditional system versus cloud system comparison graphic from the Cloud Security Upgrade Guide
Free guide · PDF Cloud Security Upgrade Guide PDF
Free guide

Not ready to talk? Take the guide instead.

The Cloud Security Upgrade Guide covers what carries forward, what doesn't, and the questions worth asking any integrator before you approve a quote. No call required.

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FAQ

What people ask before they sign

If yours isn't here, ask it on the review. The answers below are the general case — your building is the specific one.

Have a quote in hand and want a second opinion before you approve it? That is exactly what this review is for.

Contact an Expert
Mostly it comes down to protocol support, image quality and physical condition. It takes a walkthrough to answer properly, which is what the review is — a camera-by-camera assessment rather than a platform-wide assumption.
Over five years it is usually closer than people expect, because the on-premise comparison has to include server replacement, maintenance and the internal time spent managing it. The up-front number is rarely the real number on either side.
Yes. Hybrid setups are common and often the right answer for buildings with significant existing infrastructure — you move what benefits from being in the cloud and leave the rest where it is.
It depends on the architecture. Some systems keep recording locally through an outage and sync when the connection returns. It is worth designing for rather than assuming, and it is one of the things we check during the assessment.
No. We are certified across Verkada, Brivo, Eagle Eye, Avigilon, Genetec, Kantech, LenelS2, Axis, Hanwha, Milestone, Exacq, OpenEye and Alarm.com. Which one you end up on should depend on your building, not on what we happen to stock.