Leveraging Security to Maximize Revenue
“Innovative alarm companies are making significant investments to integrate their field systems with their monitoring software,” says Tony Byerly, COO of Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Inc. “The investment in open architecture technology and a common IT platform allows a leading edge company to offer their customer online, realtime alarm data and video that helps a customer improve their security and improve their business operations.”
The benefits of audio and video verification are undeniable. Verification reduces false alarm costs, provides critical information to responding agencies, documents events for evidence and improves apprehension results.
These technologies can also be applied to make onsite security personnel more efficient. Most agree that having a security guard stare at a bank of monitors for an extended period of time is an ineffective way to detect crime or suspicious activity. The result is “surveillance information overload.” They cannot humanly process that much information fast enough to prevent or even be effective at minimizing theft or vandalism. Smart organizations are making their security personnel more efficient by integrating video with security control so that video is pushed directly to security guard’s monitor, PDA or cell phone.
Managed Access Control Services
Many companies provide customer-managed access platforms but few offer the ability to provide central station managed access control. Managed access control provides 100 percent of the management and administration of the customer’s local access control system. This includes providing new employee access cards, photo ID badges, changing of door lock schedules, deleting or modifying access levels, generating activity reports and more for the customer.
This level or service eliminates the customer having to purchase, administer or manage access control software on their computer. Customers can pick up the phone or request all changes via an online, realtime Web portal. In addition, the customer has access to realtime reports and other system and activity information without an IT infrastructure investment. T
his frees employees to focus on their jobs, leaving the security duties to the professionals.
A Balanced Approach to Security
New and exciting technologies and service offerings aside, security providers should never lose sight of their primary objective of catching criminals and keeping people and property safe. However, the technology gains of the past several years have created new opportunities that security contractors and end users alike would be foolish to ignore.
In the long term, the most successful security companies will be the ones that can complement their security message with tangible business benefits — a true partnership between an alarm company, the customer and technology.
Steve Walker is Vice President of customer service centers for Naperville, Ill.-based Stanley Convergent Security Solutions.
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