Surveillance systems with IP cameras offer plenty of network flexibility. Systems can be designed with a high degree of freedom, with minimal design limitations in terms of camera location and number and location of recorders and monitors on the monitoring side.
With IP cameras, as usage environments and needs change after installation, one can change camera numbers and locations as desired with relative ease.

Some recently available IP cameras are built with PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology that lets them run on the electric power they receive over LAN cables. As such products become more common, users will have more latitude in building systems as they will not need to lay so many power cables.

Gigabit-class network wiring is now a standard feature of new office buildings and other construction. IP cameras are especially recommended for such situations. Since the basic infrastructure can be used as is, no special signal wiring is needed at all, so the construction cost advantages are obvious.

Data is exchanged via a network protocol. Users can take advantage of this fact to link and integrate with external systems and move beyond ordinary video surveillance to using images in new applications.