Buildings come in all shapes and sizes – just like the businesses they house. This is just one of the reasons why one-size-fits-all safety and security solutions simply don’t work. Think, for example, of large corporations, hospitals or universities. How much data and equipment do they contain? How many people? This all needs to be kept safe, and the systems used to do so must integrate seamlessly with your existing technologies – while still being completely scalable to keep up with changing technologies.

When it comes to properly securing your business, its people and other assets, there’s no such thing as being too secure. How protected is your organisation? What are you doing to protect your valuable assets – including your sensitive data?

There are many areas to look at when auditing your company’s safety and security needs, but here are some of the most important:

Access Control

Access control systems are usually an organisation’s first line of defense when it comes to the physical security of staff and other assets. Modern access control is completely customisable, allowing you to allocate access privileges per individual, depending on their seniority or job description. It can also be fully integrated with video surveillance technology, allowing your central security staff to monitor the activities of certain staff in sensitive areas.

Access control is much more complex than its name implies. Rather than simply controlling how people move through the various departments in your building, it is also a way in which you can protect your sensitive data from unauthorised access. If an unexpected breach does occur, the system alerts you immediately.

CCTV

Close circuit television (CCTV) is a great way for you to monitor your employees’ movements, and to record evidence of any criminal activity. CCTV cameras can be used for both interior and exterior applications to provide comprehensive electronic monitoring of your building’s exits and entrances.

Sprinklers And Other Fire Suppression Systems

Over 70 million sprinklers and other automatic fire suppression systems (AFSS) are installed in homes, offices and other buildings worldwide every year. Here are just two compelling reasons why:

• They reduce property damage by up to 90 percent.
• They reduce fire-related injuries by 80 percent or more

AFS systems save both lives and property by suppressing or even extinguishing a fire. They also prevent fires from spreading, allowing firefighters to extinguish them more easily, and they cause far less water damage than powerful fire hoses.

In addition, AFSS allows for more innovative and flexible building design. Architects can include such features as:

• Reduced exit door widths
• More open, spatial design
• Reduced space between buildings
• Larger compartment sizes.

Data

Computers and servers are full of sensitive data. If you don’t take adequate measures to protect this data – which is surely your most valuable asset – you leave yourself vulnerable to hacking, as well as to other internal and external threats. When it comes to protecting data, you need a system that not only prevents unauthorised employees from gaining access to classified information, but which also guards against potential breaches.

Unfortunately, hacks are becoming more frequent and, worryingly, more sophisticated. Data may not show up as cash in your books, but hackers definitely see it that way. The more money there is in the data economy, the greater our responsibility is to treat data as an asset and protect it as such.

SAMS Can Help

To reduce the cost of your security solutions, building and security managers need to focus on four key things:

Efficiency

Solutions should be easy for the end user to manage and maintain. Security staff should be able to detect threats quickly in order to respond timeously.

Scalability

Any solutions must be able to grow with the changing demands of your business. Flexibility is key.

Efficacy

Look for products with a strong track record, that have been repeatedly tested across similar organisations. Are you confident that the solution you’ve chosen can consistently hold threats at bay?

Adaptability

Despite changing conditions, it’s imperative that your security technology stays relevant. It needs to be flexible enough to integrate seamlessly with other solutions.

Strategic Asset Management Solutions (SAMS) specialises in helping businesses protect their strategic assets, people and business data, so contact us today for a range of future-proof value-added security and safety services and solutions that grow as you do.