Surveillance & Security Cameras · Michigan · Since 2015

Cameras That Catch What Matters

From a 4-camera storefront to a 60-camera resort, from a Petoskey law office to a marina in Charlevoix — we design, install, and manage NDAA-compliant surveillance systems across Michigan.

200+
Cameras deployed
10+ yrs
In Michigan
NDAA
Compliant gear only
24/7
Emergency line

The Daily Reality

When Something Happens, Can You Actually Find It?

Cameras only matter on the day you need the footage. If the system isn’t designed right, the day you need it is the day you discover what’s wrong with it.

Can’t Find the Footage

Something happened around 3 PM — or maybe 4? Now you’re scrubbing 14 hours of footage trying to find it, with no search tools and no AI motion filtering. The clip you need is somewhere on a hard drive nobody knows how to navigate.

Dead Camera, No Alert

You only discovered the back-door camera was offline when you tried to pull footage of an incident. It’s been dead for three weeks. Nobody was monitoring it, because nobody’s job was to monitor it.

Blind Spots Where It Matters

The camera covers the wrong angle, missed the doorway, or fish-eye distorted the area you actually wanted to see. The original installer put cameras where the cabling was easy — not where the coverage mattered.

DVR Died, Footage Gone

The 2018 DVR finally failed. Years of footage with it. So is the warranty. You’re looking at a full system replacement on an emergency timeline because nobody was monitoring drive health.

Winter Killed the Camera

The big-box-store outdoor camera lasted one Michigan winter. The housing condensed, the lens fogged, the IR LEDs burned out, and a $200 part needed an $800 replacement install. Cheap outdoor cameras are not actually outdoor cameras.

Insecure Remote Viewing

Exposed RTSP stream on a non-standard port. Default password. A consumer-grade DVR with the manufacturer’s mobile app talking to a server in another country. Cyber insurance underwriters now ask about this specifically.

What We Actually Do

Design · Install · Manage

  • Site walkthrough. Sight-line analysis, lighting conditions, glare, field-of-view planning before any quote.

  • Coverage design. Camera placement drawn on your floor plan so you can see exactly what each camera will see — before you spend a dollar.

  • NVR / recorder sizing. Storage matched to your real retention needs — 30, 60, 90 days, or longer for regulated industries.

  • Structured cabling. PoE, weatherproof outdoor runs, conduit where required, fiber for long backbones.

  • Professional install. Mounted right the first time. Weather-sealed. Focused, leveled, lens-clean.

  • Network integration. Cameras on an isolated VLAN, no exposed RTSP, no traffic mixing with your business network.

  • Privacy zone masking. Restrooms, break areas, neighbor properties — blocked at the camera level, not just in the viewer.

  • Secure remote viewing. Mobile and web access with MFA. Audit logging on every export. No exposed ports to the open internet.

Built for Michigan Conditions

Cameras That Survive Michigan

Heat, cold, snow loading, UV exposure, lake-effect humidity. Big-box outdoor cameras quit within 18 months in Northern Michigan. We spec for a 7-year horizon and the warranties to back it.

Marinas & Lakefront

Weatherproof bullet cameras, slip-line coverage, fish-eye lobby views, salt-air-rated housings. License plate cameras at the gate for after-hours incident review.

Hotels & Resorts

Lobby, hallways, parking, pool deck, back-of-house. Privacy-zone masking on every guest-facing camera. Long retention windows for incident liability windows.

Restaurants & Retail

Register-area cameras for refund-dispute and shrink evidence, back-of-house, drive-through, parking. Synced timestamps so footage matches POS transaction logs.

Manufacturing & Shops

Workplace safety, OSHA incident evidence, theft prevention, perimeter and dock coverage. Industrial-rated housings for dust, vibration, and temperature extremes.

Self-Storage & Facilities

Perimeter, gates, unit aisles, after-hours access. License plate recognition at entry points so you can answer “who was on the property at 2 AM” in five minutes.

Professional Offices

Entry, parking, reception. Privacy-aware deployments for law firms, medical practices, financial offices — with retention and access controls that survive an attorney subpoena.

Platforms We Deploy

Two Platforms. Different Jobs.

We deploy UniFi Protect for tight network-integrated systems, and Speco Technologies when the job calls for traditional commercial-grade surveillance hardware. Both are NDAA-compliant. We pick the right one for the building, the budget, and the operational reality.

UniFi Protect

Tightly integrated with UniFi networks. One controller, one mobile app, AI motion detection, no monthly cloud fees. Default for small to mid-size deployments.

Speco Technologies

US-based, commercial surveillance pedigree. Hybrid analog/IP retrofits, license plate recognition, larger deployments where industry-grade hardware and warranty matter.

Privacy & Retention Baseline

Surveillance Done Responsibly

Cameras that fail an HR review or an attorney subpoena are worse than no cameras at all. We configure every system with retention, access, and chain-of-custody from day one.

  • NDAA-compliant gear only. No Hikvision, no Dahua, no rebranded variants of either. Every camera and recorder we deploy is NDAA Section 889 compliant.

  • Retention windows sized to legal and operational needs. Standard 30 days, scaled to 90+ days for regulated industries or long dispute windows.

  • Role-based access. Who can review footage, who can export it, who can administer the system — defined and logged from day one.

  • Privacy-zone masking. Restrooms, break areas, neighbor properties — blocked at the camera level so the footage never exists, not just hidden in the viewer.

  • Audit log of every footage export and view. When opposing counsel asks about chain of custody, you can answer in five minutes, not five days.

  • Secure remote viewing. MFA, no exposed RTSP, no default passwords, encrypted in transit. Configured to pass cyber-insurance underwriter scrutiny.

By the Numbers

A Decade of Watching Michigan

200+
Cameras deployed
10+ yrs
In Michigan
100%
Under site management
NDAA
Compliant gear only

How an Engagement Works

Walkthrough · Design · Install · Manage

1
Site Walkthrough

Free, about an hour. We see the spaces, talk through sight lines, lighting, and what you need to capture.

2
Coverage Map + Quote

Camera placements drawn on your floor plan, hardware list, fixed-bid number, monthly site management included.

3
Install + Commission

Cabling, mounting, sealing, focusing. Retention configured. Privacy zones set. Mobile access provisioned.

4
Ongoing Site Management

Included on every quote. Monitoring, firmware, footage assist, quick config changes — one number to call.

Questions We Hear All the Time

Surveillance & Security Cameras — FAQs

Always. Camera placement is 80% of whether the footage is useful when you need it — and that only gets answered in person. We walk the spaces, look at sight lines and lighting, ask what you’re trying to capture, and propose a coverage plan on your floor plan before any number changes hands. The walkthrough is free, takes about an hour.

Yes. We spec outdoor cameras rated to -40°F operating temperature with sealed IP67 (or better) housings, conduit-protected cabling, and properly-sized weather-resistant housings. We do not deploy big-box-store outdoor cameras — they fail within 18 months and the replacement cost dwarfs the original savings.

Yes. Every camera and recorder we deploy is NDAA Section 889 compliant. We do not install Hikvision, Dahua, or any of the rebranded variants of those manufacturers (Honeywell Performance, EZVIZ, Annke, etc.). If your business takes federal contracts, federal grants, or operates in education or healthcare, NDAA compliance isn’t optional — and it’s increasingly being asked about by cyber-insurance underwriters too.

Standard retention is 30 days, scaled to NVR storage capacity. We can size for 60, 90, or longer for businesses with extended dispute windows, regulatory requirements, or specific operational needs. Retention is a design decision, not an accident — we’ll talk through it during the walkthrough.

Yes. Both UniFi Protect and Speco offer secure mobile apps with MFA, encrypted streams, and no exposed ports to the open internet. You can grant role-based access so your manager sees the cameras they need without seeing the ones they don’t. Footage exports are audit-logged.

Depends on what you have. If your existing cameras are NDAA-compliant, current-generation, and architecturally compatible with the system we’d design, we’ll integrate them. If they’re Hikvision/Dahua, end-of-life, or fundamentally limiting the design, we’ll propose replacement and explain why. No bias toward replacing things we’d rather sell you.

Controller/NVR monitoring, firmware updates, retention configuration, motion-detection tuning, occasional footage-export assistance, and one number to call when something needs attention. It’s a small monthly fee built into every project quote so the cameras we install keep working and the footage is there the day you need it.

Project pricing depends on the number of cameras, the cabling required (indoor versus outdoor, conduit, fiber runs), the NVR storage size, and the platform selected. After a free site walkthrough we put a fixed-bid quote in writing — one number for the install, plus the small monthly site-management fee. No surprises, no hourly add-ons.

Ready When You Are

Stop Hoping the Camera Caught It.

Know It Did.

Schedule a free site walkthrough. We’ll see the spaces, talk through what you actually need to see, and quote a system designed for it — with ongoing site management that keeps it working long-term.

Real Humans, Real Conversations

844-959-5040

Northern Technology Services · Petoskey, MI · Serving Michigan since 2015