Buying guide · 6 min read
Best Hikvision CCTV
for a business.
A business system is designed around an operation, not a floor plan. Here's what we specify for the common ones.
Shop or takeaway
8MP at the entrance for faces, 4MP over tills angled for hands and screens, a wide camera over the floor, AcuSense on the back door. Signage, 30-day retention, staff login with playback only. 8-channel AcuSense NVR.
Office
Entrance and reception in 8MP, perimeter AcuSense with out-of-hours alerts, car park ColorVu, integration with access control so a forced door pulls up the camera. VLAN for cameras. 8–16 channels.
Warehouse or yard
ANPR at the gate, ColorVu bullets across the apron and bays, AcuSense line-crossing along the perimeter fence, PTZ for the yard if it's large, interior wide cameras. 32-channel NVR with managed PoE switches, 60–90 day retention, 4G failover for alerts.
Restaurant or pub
Entrance, bar and till in 8MP, floor and beer garden in 4MP, AcuSense on the cellar and back door, retention to licensing policy. Quiet-hours alerts to the manager's phone.
Non-negotiables for any business
- Compliant signage and a written retention policy
- User roles: staff view, managers export, owner admin
- Export that produces a file the police accept
- Recorder locked away, network segregated
- A service plan — see maintenance
Beyond eight cameras this becomes a network design job — PoE budgets, VLANs, fibre between buildings, failover. We do that in-house. See commercial CCTV.
Your property decides. Not the logo.
Questions
Good to know.
Do I need a monitor on site?
Useful at a till or reception; not required.
How long must a business keep CCTV?
30 days is common; licensing or insurers may require more. Document it.
Can I see multiple branches in one app?
Yes — Hik-Connect handles multiple sites with per-site users.