For most organisations, building management systems and electronic security systems such as access control, CCTV cameras and fire detection systems are a grudge purchase.
However, by integrating these individual product sets into an integrated ecosystem using analytics and AI, organisations can not only turn their physical security systems into cost-saving tools, but they can also use them to reduce business risk and boost productivity.
Smart command centres
By having an integrated system — particularly when solutions are standardised across premises — organisations can measurably reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) over the lifetime of the various solutions.
TCO is not just about the upfront purchase — it includes the cost of maintenance, support and replacement, and of servicing and support.
By adding a layer of analytics, integrated systems can become proactive, meaning they can be trained to raise an alert when a set of parameters aren’t met, or when risk is detected
— iOCO SBT sales manager Robert Falkner
With standardised, integrated systems, organisations can leverage economies of scale and have a single service provider with a single point of contact and a national footprint. This means less downtime, faster support and overall cost savings.
By implementing an open platform command centre that offers control of all systems on a “single pane of glass”, organisations reduce the number of individual applications that facilities and security managers must monitor and manage — saving time and money.
Fully integrated systems also help to reduce overall running costs by automatically turning off devices such as air conditioners, lights, and geysers, when people have left the building entirely — potentially saving thousands of rands a month.
Reducing business risk
By adding a layer of analytics, integrated systems can become proactive, meaning they can be trained to raise an alert when a set of parameters aren’t met, or when risk is detected.
For example, an intelligent integrated system might automatically stop production when a fault is detected on the manufacturing floor or lock down a shopping mall when it detects people entering carrying firearms.
It is also possible to analyse queue lengths in retail stores or assess customer sentiment for early customer service interventions — thus improving customer experiences.
Data goldmines
While CCTV and surveillance cameras are widely deployed and generate massive amounts of potentially valuable data, over 90% of the data gathered by video feeds is never used.
Organisations can harness this data using business intelligence tools such as Qlik Sense and Power BI to provide simple and powerful dashboards for a whole host of applications.
For example, security, sales and marketing, can make use of data related to vehicle entry and exit times, bottlenecks, people movement, and high traffic areas. Health and safety and HR managers can use CCTV data to track where people loiter and where there are potential health and safety risks.
Customer data and facial recognition can be used to be more proactive — for example, alerting customer account managers when important customers arrive, so they can be waiting to receive them when they enter the building.
Traditionally this equipment has been in the portfolio of the facilities or securities manager. But when intelligent, integrated electronic security and building management systems offer benefits across the business, organisations can start allocating budget from sales, marketing or production for better investment.
Electronic security as part of cyber risk mitigation
As access control and CCTV cameras become more integrated into the IT environment, it is also important to consider their role in a cybersecurity strategy.
With the migration from older communications protocols to Normal IT IP addressing, IT managers now have additional cyber penetration and hacking threats to deal with.
Many facilities and physical security managers don’t fully consider the cybersecurity risks associated with CCTV cameras. And cheap CCTV systems are easily hacked.
Many CCTV cameras are mounted outside of buildings or on poles on perimeter fences and hackers can gain access by simply plugging into the network point of the camera.
This risk must be mitigated with quality devices that are properly secured and integrated into the cybersecurity ecosystem.
Globally, enterprises are increasingly moving to ensure that their physical security systems are compliant with data protection and cybersecurity standards such as General Data Protection Regulation, the Protection of Personal Information Act and the United States National Defense Authorization Act.
iOCO SBT, a specialist division of leading technology solutions provider iOCO, delivers end-to-end safety and security solutions. Its product sets and ecosystems are designed to align with this global best practice, because it has become relatively simple for malicious actors to access corporate networks through electronic security devices.
Custom smart command centres
By effectively implementing an integrated ecosystem of quality technologies, iOCO SBT helps companies reduce costs and achieve additional business benefits from their existing investments.
They may reduce business risk, improve customer service, prevent or reduce health and safety incidents, simplify users’ and management’s task list, and provide valuable insights into how assets and people move around.
Using an advanced access control solution command centre, iOCO SBT’s certified technical experts integrate tier one manufacturers’ security and building management systems into a unified system, while the company’s developers and AI experts build AI engines to optimise automation and analytics.
About the author: Robert Falkner is a sales manager at iOCO SBT.
This article was sponsored by iOCO SBT.
