The trigger moments that start this conversation, what actually changes on site, and a four-phase plan that keeps coverage live throughout. Written for the IT and security teams who own the migration.
The cameras do not move, so switching changes what sits behind them. This is the path a frame takes on day one, and it is the reason the project is a software and network task rather than an installation.
Four moments when teams start this conversation. If none of them apply, staying put is a reasonable answer.
Renewal is the cheapest moment to compare, because a platform decision is on the table anyway. Ask both vendors to price the same site list over three years, including any bridging hardware and channel licenses.
If the path to full functionality runs through new cameras or connector hardware per site, that quote is really the price of the architecture. A camera-agnostic platform removes the hardware line and puts the money into software instead.
Every acquired site arrives with different cameras. If part of the fleet fails the stream or network conditions a platform documents, standardizing means replacing hardware you have only just inherited.
If the goal is to act during an event rather than review it afterwards, check what hardware automated deterrence requires. Adding staffed coverage instead is not cheap: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for security guards at $38,370 as of May 2024, with employment projected to show little or no change through 2034.
The structural differences that decide whether a switch is worth the project. Verkada's column was checked against its own documentation on August 6, 2026.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Verkada data comes from Verkada's own public documentation as checked on August 6, 2026. Gaps are marked as not publicly specified.
A rollout that keeps coverage live throughout. Most sites go live in days, and the length of the whole programme depends on site count rather than camera replacement.
Inventory the fleet: manufacturer, model, resolution, codec, and network path per site. Spot AI needs ONVIF or RTSP for IP cameras, and analog cameras connect through the Intelligent Video Recorder, so the output of this phase is a coverage map rather than a replacement list.
Stand up one site on its existing cameras and turn on the agents that match the actual problem: AI Security Guard for security and deterrence, AI Operations Assistant for throughput, AI Safety Manager for PPE and forklift-pedestrian risk. Judge the platform on what it catches on your floor, not on a demo reel.
Roll the remaining sites in waves, keeping the incumbent system live until each site is verified. Because the cameras do not move, cutover is a software and network task rather than an installation project, so coverage does not drop during the swap.
Refine detections, thresholds, and alert routing, then wire events into the systems the business already runs through open APIs, webhooks, and the MCP endpoint. This is the phase where a video platform becomes an operations tool rather than a second monitor.
The six that come up in every one of these conversations.
Most switches start before the contract ends, because the assess and pilot phases cost little and the comparison is more honest with both systems live. Run the pilot on one site during the overlap, then time the cutover to the renewal date rather than paying twice for long.
Six things, and they are the same six whichever way the decision goes. Your contract end date and notice period, so the cutover lands on it rather than after it. Whether licenses are co-terminated across sites or expire per device, because that decides whether a phased rollout saves anything. The export format and time limit for historical footage and cases. Which cameras carry a manufacturer warranty you would lose by re-pointing them, which is usually none. Who owns the camera network VLAN at each site, because that is the one dependency that delays a software cutover. And your own retention and data-residency policy in writing, since it is the fastest way to rule one architecture in or out.
No, because the cameras stay in place. The incumbent system keeps running until each site is verified on the new platform, and cutover is a software and network task. Staccato reports going from first conversation to a full 800-acre campus in seven weeks with no camera replacement.
It stays in the incumbent system for its retention period, and anything you need beyond that gets exported before the contract closes. Decide during the assess phase which cases and clips carry legal or insurance value, because that decision is much cheaper to make early.
The retraining is smaller than the last rollout, because the daily work moves from searching footage to responding to what the agents surface. Athens Area School District trained resource officers and administrative staff to find footage themselves, which took work off IT rather than adding to it.
It depends on your fleet, and neither vendor publishes a per-site price, so any honest answer comes from two quotes on the same site list. The structural difference is what the money buys: a per-camera subscription covering software and the IVR on cameras you already own, rather than connector hardware and channel licenses to bring those cameras in.
Bring a camera list and we will tell you what works as it is.
Customer-reported outcomes from named Spot AI customers.
Staccato went from first conversation to full deployment across an 800-acre campus in seven weeks, on the camera infrastructure it already had.
Bridge33 Capital standardized video across 25 plus properties, each acquisition arriving with a different camera system, and cut footage search from hours to minutes.
The YMCA of Greater Richmond deployed 17 locations in two weeks and standardized retention across the estate.
"Within four minutes of the alarm going off, Spot AI gave us video footage of the incident on the responding officers' phones. We had five recoveries within the hour."
It is more straightforward than a camera replacement, because the cameras stay. Spot AI is camera agnostic, so existing ONVIF or RTSP cameras keep working and analog cameras connect through the Intelligent Video Recorder. A phased rollout of assess, pilot, cut over, and tune keeps coverage live throughout.
No. Spot AI works with the IP cameras you already own regardless of manufacturer, as long as they support ONVIF or RTSP, and it brings legacy analog cameras in through the IVR. You can move platforms without buying a new fleet.
No. Spot AI uses a hybrid edge-to-cloud architecture: full-resolution video stays on site on the Intelligent Video Recorder and only event metadata crosses the network, so bandwidth stays low and footage stays in the building while search and multi-site management run in the cloud.
Both platforms offer active deterrence, and the practical difference is hardware. Verkada's documentation names the BZ11 horn speaker and all Verkada Intercom models as the supported speakers. Spot AI's AI Security Guard detects in context and deters in seconds using standard speakers already on site.
Neither vendor publishes a per-site price, so the answer comes from two quotes on the same site list. Verkada does publish per-device MSRPs, which makes its side easier to model, including Command Connector hardware from $4,499 with additional channel licenses. Spot AI prices as a per-camera subscription covering the software and the IVR on cameras you already own.
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