Enterprise cloud cameras. Enterprise subscription costs.

Why Verkada Feels Expensive

If you've chosen Verkada cameras, you've selected excellent hardware—they're reliable, feature-rich, and built for professional environments. The issue isn't your cameras. The issue is the cloud subscription model that comes with them.

The True Cost of Verkada Cloud

Verkada's licensing structure is intentionally cloud-dependent:

• Base cloud storage: £199 per camera per year (30 days retention)
• Extended storage: Up to £1,199 per camera annually (365 days retention)
• A 10-camera system: £2,000-£12,000 per year in recurring cloud fees
• Scaling: Each additional camera adds another subscription fee
• No escape hatch: These fees are mandatory to use the platform

One client put it simply: "The hardware was worth the investment, but the yearly cloud bills felt like we were being charged for the privilege of using our own cameras."

The Cloud Dependency Problem

Verkada's entire platform—live viewing, recording, analytics, integration—depends on constant connection to their US-based cloud infrastructure. This creates several issues:

• Internet outage = no access: Lose connectivity and you lose visibility of your property in real-time
• Data sovereignty concerns: Your footage and metadata live on US servers
• Centralised security risk: All customers' data flowing through one platform (as demonstrated in the March 2021 incident when unauthorised parties accessed feeds from 150,000+ cameras)
• Ongoing service dependency: You can never own or control your own data

The 2021 Breach Context

In March 2021, Verkada's cloud platform experienced an incident where unauthorised parties gained access to customer data, including live camera feeds. The breach affected approximately 150,000 cameras across hospitals, schools, police departments, and prisons. While Verkada disclosed the incident and took corrective action, it highlighted a fundamental vulnerability: when everything relies on a centralised cloud service, security becomes a single point of failure.

This isn't unique to Verkada—it's inherent to the cloud-dependent model. scOS eliminates this risk entirely.

The scOS Alternative

Here's what we believe.

Your cameras should detect suspicious activity. Not just motion. Not just people. Suspicious activity. The kind of thing that makes you think, "that's not right."

Your cameras should alert you when it matters. Just like a person would. Not every time a cat walks past. Not every time headlights sweep across your drive. When something actually needs your attention.

Your cameras should be designed to be left alone. Set them up once. Forget about them. They work. No tweaking. No adjusting sensitivity. No managing storage. They just work.

Every feature should be included. No tiers. No add-ons. No "upgrade to unlock." You get everything. Period.

And your cameras should work with any wired camera brand. Including the Verkada hardware you've already invested in.

That's scOS. It connects to your existing Verkada cameras. UK-based cloud storage with local fallback. From £19/month per camera.

We didn't build another camera system. We built the intelligence layer that makes any camera system actually useful.

Making the Switch

Transitioning from Verkada's cloud model to scOS:

1. Keep your cameras - Your Verkada hardware works with scOS
2. Eliminate cloud subscriptions - No per-camera annual licensing
3. Gain control - Intelligence happens in the cloud with local fallback
4. Professional setup - It's simple. An engineer comes to your property, sets up your Intelligence Hub, and connects your cameras. That's it.
5. Immediate savings - Month one starts paying for itself

Your Verkada cameras are good hardware. scOS ensures you're not paying cloud subscription fees indefinitely just to use them.