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March Networks Launches AWS-Based Cloud Video Storage to Cut Enterprise Retention Costs
For decades, enterprise video has lived in silos of on‑premise hardware, forcing firms to juggle fragmented storage, frequent upgrades, and uneven retention policies. March Networks has broken that pattern with a cloud‑native storage platform built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), offering a scalable, cost‑effective alternative for the largest surveillance deployments.
The new solution targets high‑volume environments—retail chains, banks, quick‑service restaurants, convenience stores, and transportation networks—that run thousands of cameras and generate petabytes of footage. By connecting on‑premise network video recorders (NVRs) and cameras to AWS through encrypted channels, the platform moves data into Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets, where it can be retained, monitored, and retrieved according to user‑defined policies.
Local storage has long been the norm because it gives site‑level control, but it also leads to fragmented storage ecosystems that drive up maintenance and hardware costs. As regulatory and operational demands push retention periods to several years, expanding on‑premise capacity can become prohibitively expensive.
A case study featured on March Networks’ blog illustrates the financial upside. A retailer operating 580 cameras and holding 5,600 terabytes of archived footage projected annual costs of roughly $1.7 million for on‑premise storage. After moving older video to the cloud while keeping recent footage on‑site, the retailer’s total storage cost fell to about $347,000 per year—a reduction of more than 80%.
The platform’s architecture relies on several AWS services. Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) ensures reliable messaging between ingestion, processing, and storage components; Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) delivers operational alerts; Amazon CloudWatch provides performance monitoring; and AWS Security Token Service (STS) issues secure, temporary credentials. PostgreSQL and Amazon ElastiCache for Redis store metadata and cache system state, guaranteeing quick access to video information.
Beyond storage, March Networks integrates AI‑powered analytics. Using Amazon S3 Vectors and Amazon Bedrock, the platform enables semantic search across petabyte‑scale archives. Users can locate relevant footage with natural‑language queries through the AI Smart Search feature, speeding investigations and uncovering operational insights.
At Intersec 2026 in Dubai, March Networks announced a tiered cloud storage model that further trims costs. Released on January 12, 2026, the updated architecture promises up to an 80% reduction in video storage expenses compared with legacy on‑premise solutions.
Key benefits of the AWS‑based platform include:
Cost efficiency – Tiered storage and automated lifecycle management lower long‑term expenses. Elastic scalability – Storage capacity expands automatically as new cameras or sites are added. Centralized governance – A single cloud repository allows consistent retention policies, audit trails and cross‑site investigations. AI‑driven insights – Integrated analytics tools provide faster access to actionable video data.
The solution offers multiple deployment models, letting organizations adopt cloud storage gradually. Hybrid configurations keep recent footage on‑site for low‑latency access while archiving older video to the cloud. Full‑cloud deployments move the majority of storage to AWS, simplifying long‑term retention.
March Networks’ shift to AWS reflects a broader industry trend toward cloud‑based video surveillance. By leveraging AWS’s mature storage, messaging, monitoring and AI services, the company delivers enterprises a durable, secure and cost‑effective foundation for future video analytics and operational intelligence.
The new solution targets high‑volume environments—retail chains, banks, quick‑service restaurants, convenience stores, and transportation networks—that run thousands of cameras and generate petabytes of footage. By connecting on‑premise network video recorders (NVRs) and cameras to AWS through encrypted channels, the platform moves data into Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) buckets, where it can be retained, monitored, and retrieved according to user‑defined policies.
Local storage has long been the norm because it gives site‑level control, but it also leads to fragmented storage ecosystems that drive up maintenance and hardware costs. As regulatory and operational demands push retention periods to several years, expanding on‑premise capacity can become prohibitively expensive.
A case study featured on March Networks’ blog illustrates the financial upside. A retailer operating 580 cameras and holding 5,600 terabytes of archived footage projected annual costs of roughly $1.7 million for on‑premise storage. After moving older video to the cloud while keeping recent footage on‑site, the retailer’s total storage cost fell to about $347,000 per year—a reduction of more than 80%.
The platform’s architecture relies on several AWS services. Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) ensures reliable messaging between ingestion, processing, and storage components; Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) delivers operational alerts; Amazon CloudWatch provides performance monitoring; and AWS Security Token Service (STS) issues secure, temporary credentials. PostgreSQL and Amazon ElastiCache for Redis store metadata and cache system state, guaranteeing quick access to video information.
Beyond storage, March Networks integrates AI‑powered analytics. Using Amazon S3 Vectors and Amazon Bedrock, the platform enables semantic search across petabyte‑scale archives. Users can locate relevant footage with natural‑language queries through the AI Smart Search feature, speeding investigations and uncovering operational insights.
At Intersec 2026 in Dubai, March Networks announced a tiered cloud storage model that further trims costs. Released on January 12, 2026, the updated architecture promises up to an 80% reduction in video storage expenses compared with legacy on‑premise solutions.
Key benefits of the AWS‑based platform include:
Cost efficiency – Tiered storage and automated lifecycle management lower long‑term expenses. Elastic scalability – Storage capacity expands automatically as new cameras or sites are added. Centralized governance – A single cloud repository allows consistent retention policies, audit trails and cross‑site investigations. AI‑driven insights – Integrated analytics tools provide faster access to actionable video data.
The solution offers multiple deployment models, letting organizations adopt cloud storage gradually. Hybrid configurations keep recent footage on‑site for low‑latency access while archiving older video to the cloud. Full‑cloud deployments move the majority of storage to AWS, simplifying long‑term retention.
March Networks’ shift to AWS reflects a broader industry trend toward cloud‑based video surveillance. By leveraging AWS’s mature storage, messaging, monitoring and AI services, the company delivers enterprises a durable, secure and cost‑effective foundation for future video analytics and operational intelligence.
