DW MSP — FAQ Master Library

Your request is reviewed by DW Cloud Services. If your email domain was recognized in the CRM and your CPP membership was verified, provisioning typically occurs within one business day. If you used a personal email address (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), you may receive a follow-up email asking to verify your business identity before provisioning proceeds. Check your spam folder if you haven't heard within 24 hours, then contact Cloud Services directly by replying to your original confirmation email.

Your CP Organization Number (CP-XXXXX) is your unique account identifier on the platform. It is used when contacting support, when identifying your account during a service case, and internally by DW to track your subscription activity. You do not enter it manually to log in — login is via email and password. However, have it available whenever you contact DW support or Cloud Services.

Check your spam or junk folder first — platform invitation emails occasionally trigger spam filters. If not there, confirm with DW Cloud Services that the correct email address was used during provisioning. The invitation can be resent. Contact DW Technical Support at support.digital-watchdog.com if the issue persists after confirming the correct address.

Yes. Your CP organization supports multiple users with different permission levels. You can add, remove, or modify users from the Users section of your CP portal. Adding a user does not create an additional billing event — user management is included in your CP org at no additional cost. Assign the minimum permissions necessary for each user's role to maintain security best practices.

Yes — each platform is provisioned separately and requires its own CP Organization Number. If you are already live on myDW and want to add Spectrum Enterprise, resubmit the MSP contact form and select Spectrum Enterprise. Your existing myDW org is not affected. Cloud Services will provision the new platform and update your CRM record accordingly.

Contact DW Cloud Services directly with your CP Organization Number and the updated company name. Do not create a new organization — this would generate a duplicate which is not permitted. Cloud Services will update the platform record and ensure the CRM is aligned. Allow 2–3 business days for the change to propagate across all systems.

No. A single CP organization can manage multiple end-customer sub-organizations regardless of your branch structure. Your branches can share the same CP portal access with individual user accounts. If your branches operate as separate legal entities with separate distributor accounts, contact Cloud Services to discuss the appropriate account structure for your situation.

The Primary Contact receives the platform access invitation and is the main operational contact for the CP organization — this should be the person who will actively use and manage the portal. The Billing Contact receives subscription-related communications and invoices — this can be an accounts payable or administrative contact who does not need platform access. They can be the same person if appropriate for your organization.

Yes. DW Managed Service Platforms are available exclusively to active Channel Partner Program (CPP) members. CPP membership is required before an MSP organization can be provisioned. If you are not yet a CPP member, visit digital-watchdog.com/page/chptnr to apply. Once CPP membership is confirmed, you can submit the MSP contact form immediately.

Subscription keys are purchased through your normal DW distribution channel — the same distributor relationship you use for hardware orders. Contact your DW sales representative for distributor pricing. Keys are not purchased directly from DW Cloud Services or through the portal itself.

myDW is priced at $3.00 per camera, per month MSRP. This is the suggested end-customer retail price. Your distributor cost will be lower — contact your DW sales rep for dealer pricing. You set your own margin between your cost and what you charge the customer.

Subscriptions are available in 12-month and 36-month terms. The per-camera monthly rate is the same for both terms — the difference is the commitment period and billing structure. The 36-month term is recommended for established customer sites as it locks in the rate, eliminates annual renewal friction, and represents a longer revenue relationship for the dealer from a single transaction.

Yes — channel counts are fully flexible and can be combined to match any camera count exactly. Keys are available in six channel sizes: 1-channel, 4-channel, 8-channel, 16-channel, 24-channel, and 48-channel. Mix any combination to hit the exact count at your site. A 67-camera site, for example, can be covered with one 48-channel key, one 16-channel key, and three 1-channel keys — exact coverage, no waste. Contact your distributor or sales rep for the full key size catalog.

The subscription term begins when the key is assigned to a customer organization in the portal, not when it is purchased from the distributor. This means you can purchase keys in advance and hold them at distribution without the clock starting. Do not assign a key to a customer org until the installation is complete and devices are ready to connect — assigning before the site is live wastes subscription time.

Contact DW Cloud Services to discuss transfer scenarios. In general, active subscriptions are tied to the organization they are assigned to and cannot be self-transferred through the portal. There may be options available depending on the circumstances — for example, if a customer closes a location or transfers ownership of a site. Handle these on a case-by-case basis with Cloud Services support.

When a subscription key expires, the associated services for that organization will lapse. Proactive renewal before the expiry date prevents any service interruption. Your CP portal dashboard shows renewal windows as keys approach expiry — monitor this regularly and reach out to customers 45–60 days before the expiry date to initiate renewal. Waiting until the expiry date to act puts service continuity at risk.

Yes. Additional channels can be added to an existing site by assigning additional keys to the customer organization. The new keys can be assigned at any time and will run on their own term independent of the existing key. At renewal, it is recommended to consolidate to a single matching key structure for simplicity. Contact your distributor for additional key orders.

Subscription keys are sold in 12-month and 36-month terms, which are the billing units for the key itself. How you invoice your customer — monthly, annually, or otherwise — is entirely between you and the customer and is not controlled by DW. Many dealers bill customers monthly while purchasing annual keys from distribution. Your margin and billing structure are your business decisions.

Yes. myDW offers a 60-day free trial for end users, accessible at mydw.cloud/login/free-trial. The trial is end-user facing — the customer signs up directly. For dealers who want to show a customer the platform before the customer signs up for a trial on their own, a demo key is available on request through your DW sales rep. Demo keys are the recommended path for dealer-led demonstrations.

No. myDW must be deployed site-wide — covering all cameras at the location. A partial deployment is not a valid configuration. This is because the hardware is critical to the service: leaving cameras unmonitored defeats the purpose of health monitoring and creates a false picture of system health. A customer who thinks their system is being watched when it isn't is worse off than one with no monitoring at all.

When sizing keys for a site, cover the full camera count. Use the flexible key combinations (1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48-channel) to hit the exact total — there is no need to round up to a higher tier, but there is also no acceptable reason to cover fewer cameras than are installed. If a customer raises cost as a concern, address it through the 36-month term or discuss the dealer's margin structure — never by reducing the scope of coverage.

There are two separate actions — creating the organization and activating a key — each with their own path. To create a new end-user organization: from your CP portal navigate to Login → Organization List → EU Org. Enter the customer's business name, address, and primary contact email. Save — the customer receives an invitation email to set up their login. To activate a subscription key for an existing customer org: from within your CP organization, navigate to the Subscription tab at the top level. Your end-user organizations are listed. Click the blue "Activate Key" button to the right of the customer's org name, enter the key code, and confirm. The subscription clock starts from this moment.

No. The platform uses a secure multi-tenant architecture with complete data isolation between organizations. Each end-customer sub-organization can only access their own data. You, as the dealer, can see all your customer organizations from your CP dashboard — but no customer can see any other customer's information. This architecture is SOC 2 attested.

Navigate to the customer organization in your portal and open their device or health dashboard. Each camera displays a current status indicator: online (healthy), offline (connectivity lost), or degraded (image quality or recording issue detected). The dashboard updates continuously. You can also set up custom alerts to be notified immediately when any device status changes — configurable under the Alerts section.

CVV monitors changes in what each camera is seeing over time — scene changes, obstructions, significant lighting shifts, or physical camera movement. It alerts system owners when a camera's view has changed unexpectedly, helping to identify tampering, accidental obstruction, or environmental changes that would affect the quality of recorded video. CVV provides at-a-glance thumbnail comparisons of current vs. baseline camera views.

To share a video clip: select the clip in the platform, choose Video Share, and generate a secure cloud link. The link is encrypted and can be set to expire after a specified time. The recipient does not need a platform account to view the clip — they open the link in any browser on any device. Video Share links are stored in cyber-secure data centers across the US with redundant backups. This eliminates the security risks associated with USB drives or email attachments containing video files.

myDW connects to DW recorders (NVRs and DVRs), not directly to cameras. A camera's compatibility with myDW is therefore determined by whether it is connected to a supported DW recorder — not by the camera brand itself. If a camera (DW or otherwise) is connected to a supported DW recorder and that recorder has an active myDW subscription, the camera will appear in the myDW health dashboard. For a list of supported DW recorder models, refer to the DW product compatibility documentation or contact DW Technical Support.

No. myDW is entirely browser-based and requires no software installation, plugins, or special network configuration by the customer. Access is via any responsive web browser on any operating system using the same single sign-on. There is no client software to deploy and no network infrastructure changes required at the customer site beyond standard internet connectivity.

No. myDW does not integrate with third-party sensors, access control systems, or alarm panels. myDW is a health monitoring service for DW recorders and cameras — it monitors connectivity, recording status, HDD health, and camera view integrity. For customers who require video management with integrated access control or third-party sensor correlation, DW Spectrum Enterprise is the appropriate platform. Contact your DW sales representative for questions about specific integration compatibility.

myDW provides system health reports that include: hardware inventory reports showing recorder and camera status at a glance, HDD and storage health reports, recording status reports, connectivity event history, and alert history. Reports provide actionable data for identifying systems that need attention, reducing downtime, and supporting compliance documentation requirements. Reports can be run on-demand or scheduled for regular delivery.

Contact your DW sales representative and request a demo key. Demo keys are provided on request and are the recommended path for dealer-led customer demonstrations. They allow you to connect a device and walk a customer through the live platform before any subscription is purchased. There is no set limit on demo key requests — your sales rep can discuss availability and timing.

The highest-fit customer profiles are: multi-location retail (multiple sites, no dedicated IT), property management (multiple buildings, compliance obligations), schools and government (NDAA/TAA compliance needs, video evidence requirements), warehouses and distribution (24/7 operations, high camera counts), restaurants and hospitality (franchise compliance, cash handling), and healthcare (chain of custody requirements, encrypted sharing). Any customer with more than one site or more than 16 cameras is worth a conversation.

Lead with the problem, not the product. The most effective opener is a question: "When's the last time you checked whether all your cameras were actually recording?" Most customers will admit they don't have a reliable answer. That gap — the silent failure they didn't know about — is the value proposition. myDW answers the question they can't currently answer. Once the customer has named the problem themselves, the product explanation is just the solution to something they've already acknowledged.

"Not interested" is usually "not right now" in disguise. Leave the end-user one-pager regardless and note a follow-up date 60–90 days out. The most common reason for a later reversal is a real incident — a camera that failed silently, footage that wasn't there, a compliance issue. You want to be the person they call when that happens. A brief check-in at the 90-day mark ("just wanted to see how the system's been running") keeps the door open without pressure.

Yes — always. Include managed services as a line item on every new installation quote from this point forward. A subscription that appears on a quote as part of the system is rarely questioned. A subscription brought up after the install price has been agreed is almost always pushed back on. The sample line item language is in Chapter 5 of the Dealer Field Guide — copy it directly into your quote template once and it's done.

Before processing a cancellation, find out why. The three most common reasons are: they haven't been using the platform (onboarding gap — offer a walkthrough), budget pressure (discuss the 36-month term, which locks in the rate and spreads the cost), or a technical issue that was never resolved (contact DW Technical Support at support.digital-watchdog.com). A customer who cancels due to non-use was never properly onboarded. A customer who cancels due to an unresolved technical issue is a preventable loss. Address the root cause before accepting the cancellation.

Yes — this is the most effective demo path available. Request a demo key from your DW sales rep, create a demo organization in your CP portal for the customer's site, and assign the demo key. Connect the customer's actual cameras or recorder to the demo org. The customer then sees their own live system in the myDW dashboard — their own cameras, their own health data, their own site. This approach has the highest close rate of any demo method.

Start with the customer you already have the strongest relationship with who fits a high-fit profile — not the "best" vertical in the abstract. Relationship and trust matter more than vertical fit at the first sale. If you have a multi-location retail customer you've worked with for three years and a warehouse customer you installed for once, start with the retail customer. The conversation is easier when the relationship is strong. Once you have one sale and a reference story, vertical targeting becomes more strategic.

Yes. Digital Watchdog has received SOC 2 Type 2 attestation. This is a third-party verified security certification that confirms DW's systems and controls meet rigorous standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. This attestation is particularly relevant for customers in regulated industries, government procurement, and organizations subject to cybersecurity audits. The SOC 2 attestation documentation is available on the DW website.

DW cameras, recorders, and network devices are designed and developed in the USA and Korea, with manufacturing in Korea. Most DW products qualify for GSA Schedule Contracts and government opportunities because they are TAA and NDAA compliant. myDW is purpose-built to support DW's NDAA/TAA compliant hardware. For specific procurement requirements, refer to the DW Compliance page at digital-watchdog.com/page/compliance or contact your sales rep.

myDW requires multi-factor authentication (2FA) on all accounts. This is enforced at the platform level — it is not optional. 2FA protects against unauthorized access from compromised credentials and eliminates the risk of orphaned accounts on uncontrolled systems. This is a significant security selling point for customers in regulated industries, healthcare, government, and any organization subject to cybersecurity insurance requirements.

Video recorded by DW systems is stored on local recorders (NVRs/DVRs) at the customer site unless COVA (Cloud-Optimized Video Archiving) is in use. myDW provides remote management, health monitoring, and cloud-based Video Share — it does not store continuous video footage in the cloud. Video Share links are backed to the cloud with encryption and redundant backups across US data centers, but only for clips explicitly shared by the user. Access to a customer's data is restricted to that customer's users and their authorized dealer (you).

The myDW SLA commits to ≥99.5% availability for Authorization & Cloud Connection (P1), Cloud Portal (P2), Channel Partners (P2), and Emails from Cloud Portal (P2), and ≥99.9% availability for Licensing (P2). Incident response times are: P1 ≤2 hours, P2 ≤4 hours, P3 ≤12 hours. Service Credits are available for missed commitments. Full SLA details are available on the MSP contact form and should be reviewed and accepted at onboarding.

Yes. myDW Video Share links are encrypted and include flexible sharing options including duration settings and password protection. This makes Video Share appropriate for sharing evidence with law enforcement, HR, legal teams, or insurance adjusters — the link can be set to expire and access can be restricted to ensure chain-of-custody integrity.

myDW's security features — SOC 2 Type 2 attestation, mandatory 2FA, encrypted communications, and no local software installation — align well with common cybersecurity insurance requirements for video surveillance systems. However, specific insurance policy requirements vary by provider and policy. Customers should share the myDW security documentation with their insurance provider to confirm compliance with their specific policy terms. DW Technical Support can provide documentation upon request.

No. DW's privacy policy governs how customer data is handled. DW does not sell or share customer data with third parties for advertising or marketing purposes. For the full privacy policy, visit digital-watchdog.com/page/statement-of-privacy. For questions about specific data handling practices relevant to a customer's compliance or legal requirements, contact DW directly.

First verify the network connection between the camera and the recorder, and between the recorder and the internet. myDW monitors devices through the recorder's cloud connection — if the recorder loses internet connectivity, all cameras on that recorder will show as offline in the dashboard even if they are physically functional and recording locally. Check the recorder's network status first. If the recorder shows as online but individual cameras show as offline, check the camera connections and the recorder's device list. If the issue persists, contact DW Technical Support at support.digital-watchdog.com with the CP Org Number and device details.

Confirm the following in order: (1) the key was assigned to the correct customer organization — not to a test org or a different customer; (2) the recorder is connected to the internet and has an active cloud connection; (3) the recorder's firmware is on a supported version for myDW integration (check the DW compatibility documentation); (4) enough time has passed since key assignment — initial device discovery can take 10–15 minutes. If devices still do not appear after 30 minutes, contact DW Technical Support with the CP Org Number and key details.

Submit technical support requests at support.digital-watchdog.com. For SLA credit requests, include "SLA Credit Request" in the subject header along with documentation of the missed commitment and any corroborating logs. For general platform issues, include your CP Organization Number, the affected customer org name, a description of the issue, and the time it was first observed. Having this information ready reduces resolution time significantly.

A HDD health alert indicates that one or more hard drives in a recorder are showing signs of degradation, nearing capacity, or experiencing errors. This is exactly the kind of proactive alert myDW is designed to surface — the drive has not failed yet, but action should be taken before it does. Contact the customer to schedule a site visit to inspect and replace the affected drive(s) before failure occurs and footage is lost. This is a strong proof-of-value moment for the customer — myDW caught a problem before it became a crisis.

myDW alerts are customizable with filters and schedules. Navigate to the Alerts section for the affected organization and review the alert configuration. You can set alert thresholds, time windows, and notification preferences to reduce noise while preserving meaningful notifications. If alerts are firing for expected environmental changes (known lighting shifts, scheduled maintenance periods), adjust the alert schedule to suppress during those windows. DW Technical Support can assist with alert configuration if needed.

As the managing dealer on the account, you can add a new user to the customer organization and remove the former user's access directly from your CP portal. Navigate to the customer org → Users → Add New User, enter the new contact's email and assign the appropriate permissions. This is one of the key advantages of the dealer-managed model — you retain administrative control over your customers' organizations and can make access changes without requiring the customer to contact DW directly.

The DW Knowledgebase is a searchable library of technical articles, FAQs, setup guides, and troubleshooting documentation covering DW hardware and software products. It is accessible at digital-watchdog.zendesk.com/hc/en-us. For myDW-specific technical documentation, search for "myDW" within the Knowledgebase. DW University (digital-watchdog.com/dw-university) also contains training content and product documentation.

The DW Channel Partner Program (CPP) is DW's dealer and installer certification program, designed to support business coming through DW's distribution partnerships. CPP membership unlocks access to partner pricing, project registration, co-op programs, and — critically — eligibility to sell and provision DW Managed Service Platforms. To apply, visit digital-watchdog.com/page/chptnr. Once enrolled, you can immediately submit the MSP onboarding form to get set up on managed service platforms.

MSP provisioning and portal management is tied to the CPP member organization. Sub-dealers or installers operating under a CPP member's umbrella do not receive their own CP organizations — the CPP member is the single point of account management. If a sub-dealer wants to independently offer managed services and manage their own customer organizations, they should apply for their own CPP membership. Contact DW Cloud Services to discuss multi-tier arrangements.

Contact DW directly or visit digital-watchdog.com/page/chptnr for current CPP enrollment terms. Program terms and any associated costs or purchase minimums are subject to change and should be confirmed with your DW sales representative or via the partner portal at digital-watchdog.my.site.com/dw/s/login.

The MSP contact form and CP organization provisioning is designed for dealer/installer CPP members who manage end-customer relationships directly. Distributors play a different role in the channel model — they supply keys to dealers rather than managing end-customer organizations. If a distributor has a specific use case requiring direct MSP access, this should be escalated to the Senior Director of Strategy for a determination on the appropriate account structure.

Active subscriptions assigned to customer organizations under a lapsed CPP dealer's account are tied to those individual customer orgs — active keys will continue to function for the duration of their term. However, the dealer's ability to provision new organizations, assign new keys, or manage accounts may be suspended pending CPP renewal. Dealers who anticipate a lapse should contact their DW sales rep proactively to understand the impact. This scenario should be escalated to Cloud Services for handling on a case-by-case basis.

These are not competing products — they operate at different layers of a DW surveillance system. myDW is a health monitoring service — it watches over DW recorders and alerts dealers and customers when something breaks, regardless of which VMS the recorder is connected to. Spectrum Enterprise is the VMS itself — a cloud-managed video management system with on-premises Blackjack recording, AI analytics, and enterprise management capabilities. The subscription covers the software license to record plus cloud-delivered management and remote access. A customer doesn't choose between them — they ask two independent questions: "Do we need a VMS?" (Spectrum Enterprise) and "Do we need health monitoring?" (myDW). Most serious DW customers will benefit from both — a customer running Spectrum Enterprise should also be running myDW on top of it.

DW Spectrum Enterprise uses two separate portals, each serving a different purpose. DW Connect is the dealer-facing subscription management portal — you use it to manage subscription keys and create customer organizations. To provision a new customer, log into DW Connect, enter your Channel Partner organization, select Create Organization, enter the customer's details, and retrieve the Organization ID. DW Cloud at dwspectrum.digital-watchdog.com is the browser-based thin client — the access point for the Spectrum Enterprise VMS itself. Once you have the Organization ID from DW Connect, you take it to DW Cloud to promote the server to an Enterprise-based site. Both portals are separate from the myDW CP portal — if you are provisioned on both myDW and Spectrum Enterprise, you will have three distinct access points: the myDW CP portal, DW Connect, and DW Cloud.

DW Spectrum Enterprise is priced at $8.00 per camera, per month MSRP — the same key channel structure and subscription terms as myDW. The subscription covers the VMS software license to record, plus cloud-delivered management, AI analytics, and remote access. On-premises DW Blackjack servers are still required at each site for recording — the cloud component is management only. Keys are available in 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48-channel sizes, combinable to match any exact camera count. Subscriptions run on 12-month or 36-month terms. Keys are purchased through your normal DW distribution channel. Contact your DW sales representative for distributor pricing and margin guidance.

DW Spectrum Enterprise is designed to work with DW Blackjack servers and appliances as the on-site recording hardware. It uses an open architecture and is cross-platform compatible across a wide range of camera and device types — it is not locked to a single hardware ecosystem. This is particularly relevant for customers with mixed or legacy camera infrastructure. For the current list of compatible devices, refer to the DW Spectrum compatibility list at dwspectrum.digital-watchdog.com/ipvd. Contact your DW sales rep for specific deployment planning.

DW Spectrum Enterprise supports DW Ai analytics for detecting, classifying, and surfacing events faster than manual footage review. AI analytics require AI-capable DW hardware — specifically AI edge cameras, AI network appliances, or AI-based recorders. They are not available on standard cameras or non-AI recorders. When a deployment includes qualified AI hardware, Spectrum Enterprise surfaces those events through its management platform. For specific analytics feature details, supported hardware, and detection types, contact your DW sales representative or visit dwspectrum.com.

Spectrum Enterprise is best suited for multi-site enterprise organizations that need a cloud-managed VMS with on-premises recording — not just health monitoring layered on an existing system. The highest-fit customer profiles are: large commercial or enterprise organizations (5+ locations), government and municipal facilities with compliance requirements, healthcare networks with encryption and role-based access needs, manufacturing and industrial operations needing AI perimeter detection, higher education campuses managing multiple buildings with layered map requirements, and hospitality or gaming operations with complex multi-property surveillance needs. For single-site or small multi-site customers already running DW systems, myDW is typically the stronger first conversation.

The myDW sales process is dealer-led — you can qualify, demonstrate, and close a myDW subscription independently using a demo key from your sales rep. DW Spectrum Enterprise benefits from a formal demonstration before closing. Qualify the opportunity — site count, current VMS, compliance requirements, decision-maker — and schedule a demonstration at digital-watchdog.com/schedule-demo.

Yes. The two products are complementary, not competing. A customer running DW Spectrum Enterprise as their VMS platform can also run myDW for proactive system health monitoring — camera uptime, HDD health, recording status alerts, and secure Video Share. This is an additional recurring revenue layer on the same account. When you identify a Spectrum Enterprise customer, ask whether they also want myDW health monitoring on top. Both are provisioned and managed separately — Spectrum Enterprise uses DW Connect for subscription management and DW Cloud at dwspectrum.digital-watchdog.com for VMS access; myDW uses its own CP portal.

Yes. The myDW dashboard opens to the Map tab by default on every login. Registered recorders are automatically plotted on the map based on the location entered during setup. When registering a recorder, the Location field (available in the myDW Cloud settings of both VMAX and DW Spectrum recorders) accepts a physical address or geographic location — once saved, the recorder appears as a pinned site on the map. This gives dealers and end customers immediate visual oversight of all registered sites without any manual mapping. For multi-location customers, this means every property appears on a single map view the moment recorders are registered with their address. To auto-plot a site, ensure the Location field is completed during recorder registration — it is optional in the setup but essential for the map feature to work.