Business owners tend to have one or two simple goals in mind when investing in a security system for their business. Typically you are looking to protect your assets, and you are establishing a level of accountability. While a security system is a great solution for these two goals, modern physical security can go a big step forward when combined with smart technology, and it’s proving to be a huge benefit for Maryland small businesses.

First of all, you might wonder why Dresner Group, an IT company, is talking about security cameras. We actually cover why IT and physical security go hand-in-hand on our blog, but in short, it’s because modern security systems are essentially just specialized devices on your network. They need to be managed and maintained and kept updated like any PC, server, or network appliance. They often have software that needs to be dished out, and they tend to need the same level of support and cybersecurity as any other piece of technology.

We’ve integrated with Visual Security Consulting to bolster what we can provide for Maryland businesses too, and the synergy between physical security and IT is extremely powerful.

How Does Physical Security (Surveillance) Align with IT and Access Control?

Collect and Gather Real-Time Insights Across a Number of Fronts

Let’s dive into a practical example. Let’s say that your security system is constantly monitoring the status of your business’ doors. Typically the goal of this would be for accountability—in case there is a break-in, you’ll want evidence to hand over to the authorities and insurance companies. However, what if you could gather more data than simply video?

If you have an access control system set up on your door, you could allow authorized staff members to access the door with a pin or key card. The system will track who enters and when. When combined with an integrated security system, you can easily pull up the footage of any particular instance where an employee gains access to the building. You could see if the door was left ajar, or if a guest came in with them. These two data sets, when combined, can be very valuable. 

The more data that your security system collects over time, the more effective and reliable your collected data will be. Going off of that, this more reliable data can then be used to extrapolate improvements to your business and its protections.

This process is just one example of how an integrated security system can generate useful data for your business to benefit from—there are plenty of other ways that combining your disparate solutions into a single, unified, and interconnected tool can serve your business well. From facility management to event logging and auditing, integrated security brings many benefits to the organization that implements it.

Modern security cameras can integrate with more than just access control systems too—a camera system tied in with a point-of-sale system can display transactions on the footage of the camera, even if the camera can’t read the register. Users can be tagged throughout footage so you don’t need to spend hours scanning through security footage to find particular events. Access logs will even show who has had access to footage. With all of this digital information, you can drastically shorten incident response times, improve workflows, and gain valuable insights on how to improve your business.

We’re Happy to Strategize Your Security With You

We’re firmly of the belief that a more secure business is a more successful business, so we are committed to helping our clients ensure that their operations are protected with the most reliable and effective measures available. To learn more about our security solutions, or to start planning out a strategy for your business to put in place, give us a call at (410) 531-6727 today.