How Can Security Technology Support and Augment Physical Staff?

Security technology is a force multiplier that will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your security strategy

Hiring experienced and professional security staff is an essential part of an effective security strategy. However, as potential threats grow and organizations increase in size, it can become prohibitively expensive to keep hiring new personnel. Luckily, advances in technology often allow schools, businesses, and other facilities to greatly increase the efficiency of each staff member – saving time and money while making an organization significantly more secure. Let’s take a look at some of the technologies that can augment your staff:

Integrated motion sensor technologies

When unknown movement occurs on a property, you and your security staff should be informed as quickly as possible. With integrated motion-sensor technology, on-site and remote security staff as well as other stakeholders, such as business owners or managers, can be immediately informed of potential trespassing, vandalism, break-ins, theft, or other unauthorized activities. Additionally, this technology can act as a serious deterrent when combined with alarms, lights, and loudspeakers; when a threat is detected, a security guard (on-site or off) can directly order an intruder to leave the property or issue other commands.

Access control technology

In order to ensure that your facility is fully secure, it’s essential to know who’s coming and who’s going at all times. A good access control system balances the need for authorized parties to enter a building or area with ease, while making it difficult or essentially impossible for unauthorized individuals to get inside.

While physical security guards are often ideal for those who can afford them, new access card technology is also making a big difference in improving the security level of many organizations. Instead of using older magnetic strips, newer cards use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, making them much more difficult to copy.

Electronic locks, some of which can be opened and closed remotely by offsite managed services personnel, or with mobile devices utilizing Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections, are also components of modern access control systems. Remotely managed services provide an efficient access control solution when it’s not feasible for staff to be present. Mobile access control enhances convenience, tracking, and control for individuals entering a building, though it’s important to remember that it requires a thoroughly secure network, making information security a crucial component of the system. A full-service security integrator will analyze all of these factors when designing effective access control.

Intelligent video monitoring

It can be expensive and inefficient to hire an entire security team to watch a large number of surveillance video feeds 24/7. And even when personnel are available to monitor many feeds at once, it can be difficult for even experienced security staff to pick up signs of suspicious activity. Intelligent video monitoring software can help direct your staff’s attention to where it’s needed the most, by detecting potential threats and alerting your personnel immediately. Using this technology, large amounts of space can be secured and monitored by as few staff members as possible – saving you time, money, and manpower while making your school or business significantly more secure in the process.

Remote video monitoring

It can be inefficient or prohibitively expensive to hire more on-site security staff to monitor the requisite number of video feeds, especially if your organization needs to secure a large physical area or has recently expanded in size. Even with the help of intelligent video technology, human eyes are still needed to review security footage, and it could be smarter (and more cost-efficient) to hire remote security workers to keep eyes on some of your video feeds, at any hour of the day or night.

Heartbeat monitoring

When securing a building or property with a high-tech security system, it’s essential to ensure that all parts are working properly. No matter how advanced and integrated a system, the failure of one or two components can seriously compromise its effectiveness and make a building vulnerable. That’s why “heartbeat monitoring” – the ability to remotely monitor the status of each piece of a security system – is so important. With heartbeat monitoring, even the smallest of equipment failures can be detected immediately, so repairs are conducted as soon as possible and reduce the period in which your system is less than fully operational.

From making sure all your building’s security tech is consistently functioning to closely monitoring a multitude of surveillance cameras for suspicious activity, new security technology is helping increase the efficiency and effectiveness of security systems everywhere. New tech can help reduce the need for additional manpower, while multiplying the reach of current security staff members. And while humans are likely to always be involved in the security process, we are quickly reaching a point where technological solutions will be center of any modern security system.

To learn more about emerging security technologies and how they could enhance your organization’s security strategy, contact POM Technologies today at 212.688.2767 or through our online form for a free consultation.