Remote Access

Cloud Storage & AI Analytics for IDIS Cameras with SEiNG

written on 27 October 2026 by Megan Armstrong

TL;DR: SEiNG connects the IDIS cameras you already have to managed UK cloud storage and AI analytics. No more "All sessions being used", no ports to open, and every site in one platform.

If you look after IDIS cameras across more than one site, the routine may sound familiar. A manager needs footage, someone opens IDIS Center, and the recorder replies “All sessions being used” because colleagues are already logged in. Or the remote connection that worked last month stops working after a change to the site’s network. The cameras are rarely the problem: IDIS makes dependable hardware. The friction is in getting to the footage. This guide explains how to get IDIS cloud storage and AI analytics with SEiNG, while keeping the IDIS cameras you already have.

How IDIS cameras are usually set up

IDIS systems typically record to an on-site NVR, with footage viewed locally or through remote viewing software, such as IDIS Center on a PC or the IDIS Mobile app. Each recorder has fixed storage, and each site is usually managed separately.

To view a site remotely, each recorder has to be reachable over the internet. That's done either through IDIS's FEN relay service or by opening ports on the site's router (port forwarding), which IDIS recommends for faster connections. Each open port is a potential way in for attackers, and every PC running viewing software has to be kept patched. In November 2025, for example, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published an advisory for a high-severity flaw (CVE-2025-12556) in IDIS's Cloud Manager Viewer, which IDIS has since addressed with an update. None of this is unique to IDIS, but it means remote access to on-site recorders needs ongoing IT attention at every site.

Common frustrations with on-site IDIS recording

  • "All sessions being used." IDIS recorders allow up to 10 remote sessions, and one person watching live and playing back footage can use four. On a busy morning, the person who needs the footage gets locked out.
  • Remote access that quietly breaks. If the site's router doesn't suit IDIS's FEN service, it's back to port forwarding. Change the router or broadband provider and remote viewing can stop, and every open port is another way in.
  • Tied to IDIS's own tools. IDIS Center is Windows-first (recent Mac App Store reviews say it struggles to find cameras and show live video), and some recorders, like the DR-1000 series, only accept IDIS cameras. Run more than one brand and you're juggling systems.
  • Footage you can't count on. Recorders overwrite old footage when they fill up, and a stolen or damaged recorder takes the evidence with it. By the time a complaint, claim or police request arrives, the clip may be gone.
  • Investigations eat into the day. Finding one event means scrubbing through hours of video, site by site, so managers lose time and smaller incidents never get looked at.

What is SEiNG?

SEiNG is a cloud CCTV platform delivered as a fully managed service (video surveillance as a service, or VSaaS). It connects to the cameras you already have, stores footage securely in UK data centres, and adds AI search, alerts and analytics in one platform you can use from any device. SEiNG is built by Alert Data, is approved on the UK Government's G-Cloud 15 framework, and starts from £5 per camera per month, with a 30-day free proof of concept. For IDIS users, it means keeping the cameras and losing the session limits, port forwarding and site-by-site logins.

SEiNG takes these away. The Cloud Gateway sends video out to the cloud, so there are no router ports to open, no relay settings to maintain and no VPNs to manage. Your team watches footage from the cloud rather than logging into the recorder, so recorder session limits stop being a bottleneck. You view it in a browser or app that SEiNG keeps updated automatically, on any device. And because SEiNG works with any ONVIF or RTSP camera, IDIS cameras sit alongside every other brand you run in one platform.

SEiNG - Cloud CCTV (VSaaS) for UK business, any camera and AI analytics

Why take IDIS CCTV cameras to the cloud?

  1. Remote viewing anytime, anywhere. Live and recorded footage from every site on any internet-connected device.
  2. Secure, off-site UK storage. Evidence stays protected if on-site kit is lost, with data kept in the UK for GDPR.
  3. AI-powered search and alerts. Smart filters and custom alerts cut review time from hours to minutes.
  4. Scalable across sites. Add cameras and locations without buying more recorders.
  5. Secure by design. Two-factor authentication, single sign-on and user roles.
  6. Lower total cost of ownership (TCO). One subscription from £5 per camera per month, with unlimited storage and AI included, and no upfront costs or licence fees.
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Which IDIS cameras are compatible with SEiNG?

SEiNG works with any ONVIF or RTSP camera, and IDIS is no exception. It has been tested with the IDIS DC-D1223R. If your IDIS cameras are a different model, they're very likely to be compatible, and you can confirm it with a 30-day free proof of concept.

How to connect IDIS cameras to the cloud

IDIS cameras connect through the SEiNG Cloud Gateway, a compact plug-and-play device that acts as a secure bridge to SEiNG's cloud.

  1. Connect your IDIS cameras to the same network as the Gateway (or the SEiNG team can do it).
  2. Configure the streams via ONVIF or RTSP.
  3. The Gateway securely transmits the video to the cloud.
  4. Your cameras gain off-site storage, AI analytics and remote viewing straight away.

It's the same approach as getting cloud CCTV without replacing your security cameras: no rip-and-replace, and no on-site servers to manage.

A retail example

Imagine a retailer with IDIS cameras in twelve stores. A customer reports a slip at one branch two weeks later. With on-site recorders, someone has to visit, hope the footage hasn't been overwritten, and export it. With IDIS cloud storage through SEiNG, the claims team filters by store, date and area, adds the clip to a Case, and shares the Case with the insurer the same morning, with all the footage and documents in one place. See how SEiNG supports retail.

FAQs about IDIS cameras and the cloud

Connect them to SEiNG through the Cloud Gateway using ONVIF or RTSP. SEiNG manages the setup for you.

Yes. SEiNG gives you live and recorded footage from every site on any internet-connected device.

IDIS recorders allow up to 10 remote sessions, and each client can use several: live view, playback and event monitoring each take one. When they run out, the next person can't connect. With SEiNG, your team views footage from the cloud instead of connecting to the recorder.

Any IDIS camera that supports ONVIF or RTSP. SEiNG has been tested with the IDIS DC-D1223R.

SEiNG stores footage in the UK and gives you access controls and roles to manage who sees it. Compliance also depends on how your organisation configures and uses the system.

With SEiNG, from £5 per camera per month, including unlimited UK cloud storage and AI search, with no upfront costs, licence fees or add-ons.

Get IDIS cloud storage and AI analytics across every site

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