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Using Technology to Guard Your Business
Advances in technology have seen
the modern workplace become more and more streamlined, mainly thanks to
desktop computers and the Internet now taking the place of bulky filing
cabinets, shelves of reference books and even some of the old-fashioned
telephone systems popular in the 1970’s.
As a consequence, many small business owners may find themselves with
every contact, every financial account and almost every other detail of
their company stored on one or two hard drives.
But if you combine the importance of this type of equipment to your
company, the information stored on it, and its dollar value with the
ease of which it can be stolen, you get a very volatile mix indeed.
The reasons for keeping the burglars out and your assets safe have never
been so extreme, and one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of
doing so is to protect your technology with technology.
According to Terry Vincent, a product manager at Alarmcom Security, many
small businesses will find that the latest products are not beyond their
reach.
“Technology changes have significantly decreased the purchase price of
security systems, as well as providing products which are easier to
install and can provide stable operation with the minimum of training,”
he says.
For example, while improvements in video camera equipment over the last
decade have spawned the birth of many a would-be filmmaker, several
recent innovations have also seen cheap and reliable surveillance
systems released onto the market.
Tas Papas, an electronic security provider, explains, “Digital video
recorders have become very cost effective. They give much better quality
and allow you to store your camera pictures on a hard drive rather than
a tape.”
“More affordable CCTV products, coupled with developments such as CCD
camera technology and digital video recordings, have provided the market
with user friendly devices with a long, maintenance-free life,” Vincent
adds.
“Developments in alarm control panel technology have also enabled the
installation of more flexible systems that cater for individual security
requirements.”
And if you’re not too impressed by the alarms and video cameras that are
available today, some of the products just around the corner are truly
amazing.
“In the future I believe that most businesses that need to keep control
of employees and visitors will have some kind of biometric reader in
place,” Tas Papas says.
“This might be a physical scan of finger or facial features, voice
recognition or a combination of both. Many companies seem to be throwing
a lot of money at developing these products at the moment.”
On the other hand, Vincent says the next great leap forward in the
security industry will be the development of ‘intelligent’ intruder
sensors.
“The sensors will incorporate self-learning capabilities that will
adjust detection parameters to provide more stable operation, coupled
with improved detection capabilities.”
“Security systems will also provide automation functions that will
operate the premises’ lighting and power control functions, as well as
providing integrated intercom, telephone, and access control.”
A common myth that the security industry is faced with today is that
burglars have been able to improve their ‘techniques’ to keep up with
increasingly impregnable business premises.
But Terry Vincent believes that the greater majority of intruders are
not sophisticated enough to defeat or compromise a decent alarm system.
“Today’s alarms, if installed to [national] recommendations, would need
quite an in-depth knowledge of system operation in order to overcome
them.”
Tas Papas agrees that while burglars haven’t necessarily become more
sophisticated, they have become quicker at getting in and getting out of
a building.
“This is why it is important to try and pick them up as soon as they get
in, and make the end product harder for them to get by the use of safes,
locks and doors,” he comments.
It is important to consider that while you can spend thousands on the
latest in high-end security technology, most experts say that you should
take a broad-based, integrated approach.
“Target hardening is the name of the game. Excellent outer-building
security such as dead locks and lighting during after hours are still
important,” Papas advises.
“[Employees] should also know what the security protocols are during any
shift, from open to lock-up.”
Vincent says that small businesses should start with a complete risk
assessment of their premises to find methods that can be implemented to
reduce the risks.
“They should also arrange inventory into areas, cages and containers to
maximize the degree of difficulty for an intruder to remove them from
the premises,” he says.
While small businesses should keep in mind the fact that it is almost
impossible to make their premises totally impregnable, it is only common
sense that strong doors and good locks - combined with video cameras
placed in strategic locations - will probably deter the majority of
would-be thieves.
A reasonable investment in some of the more sophisticated security
products available will obviously further reduce the chances of your
business being burgled.
Useful Web resources include:
Small Business Information – Security
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