Balanced Security: Part 1

Balancing Access Controls, Visitor Management, and Security Operations Centers

Ever been so focused on completing one task or activity that you forgot another, potentially more essential, task or activity? Or how about this: you give all your time, energy, and effort to something only find you have no time, energy, or effort to give to something else that’s equally deserving?

For any leader, the two above scenarios should be, regrettably, familiar. We are constantly trying to find the proper way to allocate resources and energy, both personally and professionally. Of course, what we’re really talking about is finding that age-old discipline we call…

Balance.

When it comes to security, balance can be a tricky thing to achieve. Most business owners, facility managers, and CSOs look at their existing system, resources, and needs and do their very best to find what feels like a balance between them all.

The resulting security system and strategies are usually heavy on the front end (external access control and surveillance) and light in other areas (visitor management, biometrics, checkpoint creation and management, and so on).

But the tendency to invest in the obvious and visible usually creates an unbalanced security system – strong on the outside, but vulnerable on the inside. Still, others try to create the strongest perimeter possible, hoping that the meager precautions they’ve taken internally will be sufficient should the unthinkable happen.

In our experience, facility managers and CSOs are doing their very best with the resources at their disposal. But when we have the opportunity to spend time with them, analyzing their systems and suggesting a path forward, we do so with an eye toward establishing a greater balance.

Better security starts with balance.

So for this piece, we wanted to take a quick look at 3 important elements for creating a more balanced security system. Maybe you’ve already invested in each of these elements, or maybe you’ll see one that is underdeveloped in your current system. We’re not advocating that all elements of your security be given the same priority.

But we are declaring that each part of your security system is important, and deserves to be thought of and integrated with the whole of your security system, and not exist on its own, separate from the rest of the system.

Access Control

We’re starting with access control because of all the elements we see in our client’s security, Access Controls are far and away the most developed. Almost every security system we evaluate or are tasked with upgrading contains some type of access control – even if it’s severely outdated.  

Access Controls can cover everything from physical locks on doors, to maglocks unlocked by keycard, to remote access controls dictated by a phone or other kind of mobile device.

Despite the growing sophistication that dictates access controls, they are the most basic kind of security: keeping unwanted people outside and keeping visitors and staff safe on the inside. For that reason, they’re often the most tested and immediate concern for anyone creating or updating a security system.

Access control, as we mentioned, continues to be one of the places where we see constant innovation within our industry. During the continuing COVID crisis, remote and touchless access controls skyrocketed as the need for refined measures continued to grow.

So which ones are right for you? The answer can vary depending on the type of facility you manage as well as the needs of your current staff\visitors. In general, we at SAGE are encouraging mobile access controls and credentials.

Not only do they support more efficient R&R protocols, but they’re highly customizable and often more secure. What do we mean by more secure? The answer is two-fold: first, the credential or access control itself can be encrypted and individually assigned.

This customization and encryption make mobile access controls immensely secure. Added to this, is the fact that most mobile access controls can be multi-factor authenticated – the user’s biometrics act as the secondary authentication in the form of the thumbprint or facial recognition scan needed to open the mobile device in the first place.

Our recommendation for creating balance with Access Controls: High priority is paid to access controls and with good reason. But the very best access controls can be integrated into the larger system\software that manages your security. If you’re going to implement access controls or update current ones, are recommendation is to use remote access controls, which can be overseen by the security team, and which are updated frequently. 

Visitor Management

When someone enters your building, you of course want to know. But that’s not the only reason for having a clear visitor management system. A really good visitor management system won’t just keep track of who has entered your building but can keep an eye on everything from the parking lot to whether your visitor is on track to their appointment or has gotten lost or deviated from their assigned instructions.

Paired with access controls, Visitor Management systems show off their true capabilities. Here are two examples of what we mean:

Unbalanced system: Visitor is surveilled while entering the building, checks in at the front desk, and is sent to the elevator. Visitor arrives on the 10th floor for an appointment at Conference Room X with staff.

Balanced System: Visitor vehicle is surveilled entering the parking lot – vehicle plate number is logged and checked for outstanding security risks. The visitor is scanned for weapons before entrance, as well as scanned for temperature. They arrive at the front desk, clear of weapons and illnesses, and are given a unique mobile access ID. They use this at the elevator, which directs them to the correct floor. Surveillance tracks their movements automatically to ensure that they exit on the correct floor. Upon arriving on the 10th floor, they are guided – via their mobile access control – to the conference room, where their mobile device allows them access to the room.

In the balanced system, the visitor’s identity is confirmed, and they arrive more efficiently at their location, reducing the chance that they will get lost or go off course. This not only keeps the visitor safe but keeps the staff safe as well.  

Our recommendation for creating balance with Visitor Management: More management is better than less. Most visitor management systems we encounter are either too light or non-existent in the management aspect of their job. Allowing a visitor unfettered access to your facility is not visitor management. Great visitor management should grant safety to your team in the form of increased surveillance of your guest, as well as helping them stay on track and only giving access to the places and people you’ve dictated.

Security Operations Centers

Regardless of the access controls or visitor management systems you choose, having a centralized location where these (and many other security elements) can be monitored and controlled is essential.

Despite this, many of the potential clients we speak to don’t have a Security Operations Center or they have one that is severely limited or underutilized. We find this is true even in facilities that clearly have the size and demand to necessitate a SOC. 

It’s our belief that in order to create balance in your security system, there must be a centralized place where all the data arrives and all the decisions originate from. The combination of data management and decision-making is critical to a security system. So much so, that every aspect of a facility’s security could be working to perfection, but without the proper oversight or the ability to actionize all the data from these properly functioning elements, a security system may still be underperforming.  

Many building owners or facility managers feel that a SOC has to be elaborate in order to be functional – but such is not the case. The goal of a great SOC is not simply sophistication – in fact, a sophisticated set-up does little to help if the staff manning the SOC is untrained or incapable of managing the technology at work.  

The goal is to create a SOC that can properly handle the surveillance data coming in, and be equipped to handle (in terms of both communication and technology) any concerning or emergency situation that may arise. This could mean dispatching physical units to a location, shutting down the building’s entrances and exits, or remotely sectioning off certain doors or elevators in the need arises.

For this to be possible, it’s not necessary to have each element of the data be available to the SOC team, as well as the capability to actionize the data should the need arise. This is simpler than it sounds and can be accomplished with a streamlined and integrated security system.

Our Recommendation for Creating Balance with a Security Operations Center: The very best way to achieve balance, is of course to have an integrator who can connect the various pieces of a security system and simplify their observation and implementation in the SOC. The right software\hardware is important, and properly trained personnel are also incredibly essential.

Better Security Through Balance  

Balance is not always easy to strike when it comes to a facility’s security. It takes a deeply personalized level of service, and an understanding of the client’s unique challenges and needs to create a system that provides security at each level of a visitor, customer, or staff’s engagement with the facility itself.

 That’s where an integrator like SAGE comes in. We get to know you and your needs, your existing technologies, and build a plan that gets you to a balanced future.

Consider this piece you’re reading as the beginning of the conversation.

If you’re ready to keep it going, then we’d love to hear from you.