Does Your Verkada System Seem to be Missing Features?
If you're transitioning from a traditional, on-premise Video Management System (VMS), you might find yourself looking for certain features within the Verkada Command platform that don't seem to exist. It can be a common feeling: "Where is the setting for X?" or "How do I do Y?".
This guide provides a professional and factual explanation of Verkada's design philosophy, how features are developed and rolled out, and why some functionalities you might be used to are approached differently in a modern, cloud-managed solution. Our aim is to provide clarity and help you understand the platform's strengths.
The Verkada Philosophy: Simplicity at Scale
The core principle behind the Verkada platform is to simplify enterprise video security. Traditional systems often have an overwhelming number of menus, settings, and configuration options. While powerful, this complexity can lead to a steep learning curve, require certified technicians for minor changes, and create potential security vulnerabilities if not configured correctly.
Verkada's approach is to automate and streamline many of these settings.
- Ease of Use: The primary goal is to create a system that is intuitive and can be managed without specialised training. This means abstracting away many of the highly technical camera settings.
- Security First: By controlling the ecosystem end-to-end (from camera hardware to cloud software), Verkada can ensure a higher level of security. This sometimes means limiting certain types of third-party integrations or direct user access to underlying systems.
- Cloud-Native Scalability: Every feature is designed to work seamlessly whether you have one camera or ten thousand. This requires a level of standardisation that may preclude some niche, one-off features.
Common "Missing" Features and the Verkada Approach
Let's look at some specific examples of functionalities that users from other platforms often look for.
1. Granular Camera Image Settings (Shutter Speed, Iris, WDR)
- Traditional VMS: Often provides dozens of sliders and toggles to manually fine-tune every aspect of the camera's image sensor.
- The Verkada Approach: Verkada cameras handle most of these settings automatically. The onboard processing analyses the scene in real-time and adjusts settings dynamically to produce the best possible image. This ensures optimal performance without requiring an administrator to be an expert in photography.
2. Multiple Video Export Formats (MP4, AVI)
- Traditional VMS: Allows users to export video clips in a variety of common video file formats directly to their local machine.
- The Verkada Approach: Verkada prioritises security and audit trails in its sharing features. Instead of exporting a file that can be easily duplicated and distributed without control, Verkada's primary sharing method is via a secure, time-limited web link. This allows you to see exactly who has viewed the footage and when. You can still save clips, but the emphasis is on controlled sharing.
3. Open Plugin and Third-Party Integration
- Traditional VMS: Some platforms have an open architecture allowing for a wide range of third-party plugins and hardware integrations.
- The Verkada Approach: Verkada has a robust API for developers but takes a more curated "walled garden" approach to integrations. They build and certify official integrations with other best-in-class providers (e.g., for access control, alarms). This ensures that any integration is secure, reliable, and won't compromise the stability of the platform.
How New Features Are Added
Verkada is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. This means the software is constantly evolving.
- Automatic Updates: New features and improvements are rolled out automatically to all customers through cloud updates. There are no manual patches or software versions to install.
- Customer-Driven Roadmap: Verkada's product development is heavily influenced by customer feedback. If you feel a critical feature is missing, the most effective thing you can do is communicate this to your Verkada representative or the support team. They maintain detailed records of feature requests, and this data directly informs what gets built next.
While it can be an adjustment, understanding that Verkada trades some of the granular complexity of older systems for simplicity, security, and ease of scale is key. The focus is on providing actionable intelligence and a seamless user experience, rather than an exhaustive list of technical toggles.