Introducing Verkada Command Connector: An On-Ramp to the Cloud and the Future of Video Security

When we launched Verkada, we aimed to revolutionize the video security industry by simplifying management and speeding investigations. To do this, we built cameras with embedded storage and processing and directly connected them to our Command cloud-based management platform, eliminating the need for additional hardware, like NVRs. With this unique, fully-integrated architecture, organizations could manage their devices from anywhere, eliminate on-premise infrastructure, and take advantage of advanced computer vision analytics. Since then, over 25,000 customers have bought into our vision and, today, the market overwhelmingly favors cloud-based physical security solutions.  

Customers often express the desire to manage their entire video security operation within Command: it’s easy to use, has powerful analytics, and enables a single pane-of-glass view across sites. Some customers, however, don’t have the budget or the manpower to transition to Verkada all at once.  Today we’re giving those organizations an on-ramp to the cloud with the introduction of Command Connector–a device that seamlessly bridges non-Verkada cameras to our easy-to-use cloud-based system.      

With Command Connector, we’re now delivering many of the benefits of Command to those who want to migrate to our cloud-based solution over time. Some of these organizations may be operating with legacy cameras and a cloud-based VMS but want a more powerful, intuitive system. Others may be looking for a single platform to manage not only video security but also other critical systems such as access control or alarms. Regardless of the need, we’ve developed Command Connector to help customers adopt our unified, cloud-based video security–one where cameras and a broader platform work frictionlessly together–to protect their people and places in the most efficient and powerful way available.

How does Command Connector work?

A depiction of Command Connector network architecture

Which Verkada Command features do I receive with Command Connector?

When connecting non-Verkada cameras to our platform, Command Connector customers will experience constraints in areas of network reliability, camera maintenance, analytics and alerting. In the table on the Command Connector page here, we highlight exactly how the experience will look for customers using Command Connector-connected cameras versus those who have natively-integrated Verkada cameras.

Conclusion

While we believe our full-integrated, cloud-based approach to physical security is the future, we recognize that many organizations need time and additional resources to successfully migrate their systems. Command Connector serves as that on-ramp. It is also one piece of our drive to offer an open, integrated platform experience for our customers–one where they can bridge existing camera infrastructure to Command and use third-party APIs to integrate into their broader enterprise architecture. 

Command Connector will be available to customers beginning on August 15th, 2024.  You can find a list of supported non-Verkada cameras on our Hardware Compatibility List, which we will update as we regularly certify new cameras. You can read more about Command Connector, pricing, and technical specifications here.