Speaking at VerkadaOne 2025, Oscar Popravka, Product, Integrations and API Lead at Verkada, shares exclusive insights with Eve Goode, Digital Content Editor, ISJ.
VerkadaOne – which took place 22-24 September 2025 in Chicago – is Verkada’s premier cloud physical security event, bringing together customers as well as partners and industry leaders to explore the future of physical security and building technology.
From product launches to executive insights and unique networking opportunities, VerkadaOne is designed to inspire, educate and connect.
In this exclusive interview with ISJ’s Digital Content Editor, Eve Goode, Oscar Popravka, Product, Integrations and API Lead at Verkada tells us more about his time at the company and what its customers expect from physical security systems.
What first drew you to Verkada and how has your role evolved since starting at the company?
I’ve been at Verkada for four years now. I actually started out of college as a Solutions Engineer.
This role taught me a lot about sales, the business and how our product works – but I wanted more of a technical challenge, so I moved to the Product team, and I’ve been building out the Verkada Integrations Program and also launching new Verkada products ever since.
I have had the opportunity to grow my career really quickly because of the fast-paced environment at Verkada, where we are launching both software and hardware products.
One of the first launches I led was our PTZ camera, which meant that I was really focused on providing the best user experience through both low latency streaming and high image quality.
I’ve since shifted my focus more towards our technology integrations and analytics within Command and also launched new features like Operator View, retail analytics and integrations with technology partners like Axon Fusus and Auror.
Looking back on where I started at Verkada just a few years ago, the company has grown so much and it is exciting to now see the products I have been working on make it to the stage at this year’s VerkadaOne!
Since starting at Verkada, how has your perspective on physical security changed?
Spending time with our customers has given me immense perspective on how important the platform that Verkada is building is.
For example, one customer shared a story about a mother who had given birth in a hospital and had let the hospital know about a restraining order she had against the child’s father.
Due to the hospital’s effective entrance security systems, the father was stopped at the entrance and denied entry, creating a safe environment for both the mother and the child.
Had it not been for the system the hospital had in place, the father could have entered the building and found the vulnerable mother.
In another instance, I spoke with a police department customer who shared that it was able to quickly find a child who had gone missing using our camera search capabilities – this ensured that the child was reunited with his family before anything tragic happened.
Stories like this reinforce how important the work that we are doing here at Verkada is.
The other thing I think about is how we can provide value beyond security.
For example, for retailers, they want to know how many people are coming into the store or what displays people are gravitating to, which then allows them to make more educated decisions.
I can’t forget to touch on AI, too.
This has definitely opened up a whole new world of possibilities for our customers.
People are now looking at video security cameras not just as security tools but as sources of visual intelligence that can keep people safe and also bring other layers of insight.
How do integrations with third-party platforms change what customers expect from physical security systems?
At the end of the day, customers want a platform that makes it easy as possible to protect their people and places – and to do that easily at scale.
Today, they’re managing so many different systems and technologies that being able to easily integrate those systems is essential.
That’s why we leverage open standards – like ONVIF’s rigorous standards and technical documentation – and also offer an expansive library of API endpoints and out-of-the-box (OOTB) integrations that support interoperability between Command and other applications.
Whether it is ingesting feeds from RTSP-compatible cameras into our platform through our Command Connector or sending real-time alerts and associated footage from Verkada via Slack or Microsoft Teams, customers want the flexibility to bring data into and out of Command.
To give you a sense of scale and how our customers leverage them, Verkada’s library of API endpoints is called an average of seven million times per day.
What kind of integrations do you think will be the most valuable for customers in the next few years?
One of the biggest ways I think about adding value is simplicity.
And one really important area where I think we’re able to continue building integrations and making things simpler for our customers is in user management integrations.
Just looking at some of the customers who joined us here in Chicago for VerkadaOne – they’re managing tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of users.
Organisations are dynamic and fast-changing, so it’s important to make sure that the right people have the right levels of access to the right facilities and sites and as employees or contractors come and go that access is automatically granted or revoked.
Oscar Popravka
Oscar Popravka is a Senior Product Specialist, currently leading the Verkada Integrations Program and spearheading new and exciting product initiatives set to debut at VerkadaOne.
During his time at Verkada, he has contributed to multiple hardware and software launches, including the CP52-E PTZ camera and the Command-based video search engine, Helix.
