If you are opening a jewellery counter, an exchange office or a warehouse in Dubai, the word e-Guard will come up sooner or later, usually when your SIRA approval is being prepared. Most owners have never heard of it until then, and the explanations online are either sales pages or written for engineers. This guide sits in the middle: enough detail to ask the right questions, without the jargon.
What e-Guard actually is
Start with Video Guard. It is SIRA’s platform for connecting a site’s approved CCTV recorder to SIRA’s network. Once connected, the system reports its own health: if a camera stops sending video, a hard disk fails or the recorder loses power, an alert is raised so it can be fixed instead of being discovered after an incident. Where an intruder alarm is part of the approved design, its signals travel over the same link.
e-Guard is how SIRA describes the advanced version of Video Guard. The headline difference is resilience: alongside the normal wired internet connection it has an LTE (4G mobile data) link, and if the wired line fails, the LTE connection takes over automatically.
Why the backup connection matters
An alarm that can only call out over one cable has one obvious weak point. Fibre and telephone lines get damaged during roadworks, routers freeze, and a determined intruder may cut the line before forcing the shutter. Any of these leaves a single-path system silent at exactly the wrong moment.
With a second, independent path, the site can keep reporting while the main line is down. For a business holding gold, cash or high-value stock, that gap is the difference between an alarm someone acts on and one nobody hears.
Which businesses it applies to
SIRA’s e-Guard page lists these site types:
- Banks and ATMs
- Jewellery shops and precious metals traders
- Money exchange houses
- Watch retailers and other sites where an alarm is mandatory
- Warehouses
If your activity is on that list, plan for e-Guard as part of your security approval rather than as an optional extra. Requirements are set per activity and premises, so always confirm the exact scope for your site with SIRA or your licensed installer before you buy equipment.
What a compliant setup usually includes
The e-Guard device is only the messenger. What it reports on is the security system around it, and for alarm-mandatory sites that system is normally made up of:
- CCTV covering entrances, counters, the cash desk and the safe area, recorded on a SIRA-approved recorder for the required retention period.
- An intruder alarm with door contacts, motion detectors and, for retail counters, panic buttons that staff can reach discreetly.
- Protection for the safe, such as a vibration or seismic sensor on it.
- UPS backup for the recorder, alarm panel and network equipment, so a power cut does not take the whole system offline.
- A maintenance contract, because health alerts only help if someone is responsible for responding to them.
The detailed rules for each premises type are in SIRA’s Preventive System Manual (Administrative Resolution No. 13 of 2025). Our guide to CCTV rules in Dubai explains how that manual is organised.
How installation and approval normally run
- Site survey. The installer checks the layout, entry points, counters, safe location and where the 4G signal is strongest.
- Design. Camera positions, alarm zones and panic button locations are planned against the requirements for your activity.
- Approved equipment. Only recorders and devices on SIRA’s approved lists can be connected, so this is checked before anything is ordered.
- Installation and connection. The CCTV and alarm are installed by a SIRA-licensed company, and the Video Guard / e-Guard device is supplied and connected through SIRA’s authorised channels.
- Inspection. SIRA’s audit checks the system and its connection before approval is issued.
- Ongoing care. Health alerts, regular maintenance visits and prompt repairs keep the site compliant after opening day.
Mistakes we see that delay approval
- Buying a recorder online, then finding it is not on the approved list and cannot be connected.
- Fitting an alarm that works locally but was never wired into the monitoring link.
- Placing the e-Guard device in a basement or steel cabinet where the LTE signal is too weak to work as a backup.
- Putting panic buttons where staff would have to step away from the counter to press them.
- Leaving the network switch or router off the UPS, so the backup battery runs the recorder but nothing can leave the building.
- Ignoring health alerts until an inspection or an incident brings them up.
What about Sharjah?
e-Guard as described here is a SIRA service, and SIRA regulates the security industry in Dubai. Sharjah runs its own arrangements through Sharjah Police. In late 2020, for example, Sharjah Police announced that industrial companies in the emirate must install CCTV connected to the police operations room, and jewellery stores, exchange houses and banks there have long had alarms linked to that room. If your premises are in Sharjah, confirm the current requirements and approved providers with Sharjah Police directly rather than relying on Dubai rules.
Questions owners ask us
Is e-Guard the same thing as Video Guard?
They are closely related. SIRA describes e-Guard as the advanced version of Video Guard, with the difference that it carries an automatic LTE (mobile data) backup for when the main internet line fails. Video Guard is the wider SIRA platform that connects approved CCTV systems for remote and health monitoring.
My business is a normal shop or office. Do I need e-Guard?
Usually not. SIRA lists e-Guard for banks, jewellery, exchange houses, precious metals, ATMs, watches and other sites where an alarm is mandatory, plus warehouses. If your unit sits inside a mall or commercial building, that building’s own SIRA requirements still apply, so it is worth checking before you fit out.
What happens if the internet goes down at night?
That is the situation e-Guard is built for. When the wired connection drops, the LTE link takes over automatically so alarm and health signals can still get through. The backup is only as good as the mobile signal at the device, so the antenna position matters, especially in basements and inner units.
How much does e-Guard cost?
SIRA’s e-Guard page does not publish prices. The total depends on the device and subscription arranged through the authorised provider, plus the CCTV, alarm and UPS work at your premises. Ask for these items to be listed separately in your quote so you can compare like for like.