BLOG
What decision-makers need to know about the gains from security integration
2022-07-04
4 min read
In a recent survey of security professionals from IFSEC Global, over 90% noted the critical importance of integration across building management functions. But what exactly are the benefits — and how can organizations deploy effective strategies to realise them, even with a limited budget?
“Interoperability makes valuable access control information available to the next level of management system and creates even more value for customers,” says David Moser, Senior Vice President & Head of Digital Access Solutions at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA. “Efficiency gains, reduced cost, and productivity increase for smart building solutions will follow.”
A new 18-page white paper — “Boosting efficiency and streamlining security with an integrated access control solution” — written by access control experts at IFSEC Global and ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions, provides the detailed background that key decision-makers need.
The report examines the growing role of integration within and beyond building security. It highlights the benefits — in cost control, employee and energy efficiency, security and more — for businesses with integrated security systems and process. Expert insights from systems integrator Securitas and analyst data are also included.
“Access control systems are often viewed as the starting point for a building to shift from operating in siloes, towards a more functional, connected and ‘integrated’ building management system,” according to the report.
Integration enables efficient building management
Integrated solutions boost businesses in both the short and the long term. In the short run, integrated security can make employee workflows more efficient, as shows by a few real-world cases considered below. When facilities staff only consult a single interface, rather than multiple systems, they save time and reduce manual errors. These efficiency gains from single-seat control can be significant.
Looking further ahead, integration helps refocus an organization’s building management for the challenges of the 2020s. The smart building is integrated, automated and future-proofed.
Connected systems where data is exchanged between functions can also help businesses to identify cost savings or to safely implement new employment patterns such as hybrid working. In one recent survey for McKinsey & Company, 63% of employees said they would prefer a hybrid or fully remote work schedule.
“Whereas security has mostly been a reactive profession prior to now, integrated solutions allow data to be transformed into knowledge,” explains Danny Laurier at Securitas in the white paper. “And, when you have knowledge, you can move from a reactive to predictive risk management approach.”
The critical importance of standards
What information do company decision-makers need to assess their case for greater security integration? What are the best solutions? The white paper examines different types of integration and the technologies required to make each work. It explains how deployments can be made even on tight budgets and where concrete returns on investment are essential.
Ensuring an organization buys and plans for interoperability in both hardware and software is critical. “As well as being more flexible, solutions developed to compatible, shared standards are better future-proofed,” adds Russell Wagstaff, EMEIA Platform Director at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions.
“Standards ensure investments can be made today with confidence that hardware and firmware can be built on seamlessly in the future. Compatible solutions, ready to integrate with multiple different systems, offer greater peace of mind than proprietary technologies which ‘lock you in’ for the long term.”
Real-time control for new London offices
Modern offices need access control which is powerful and flexible. At London’s Plexal, a new £15 million flexible workspace housing up to 800 entrepreneurs, integration with Aperio locks achieves it, wire-free. Plexal offices are fitted with battery-powered locks integrated with DoorFlow, NetNodes’ online platform for managing and auditing building access. These wireless locks provide Plexal with the highest levels of physical protection and transmit door status to DoorFlow in real time.
“Plexal required an adaptable locking solution for a range of different doors and, with no wiring required, it was quick and easy to install Aperio with minimal disruption,” says Stewart Johnson, Director at NetNodes.
Because Aperio technology is built on a platform designed for integration with almost any building management system, Plexal’s access control technology is fully future-proofed.
“Should any additional doors need to be added to the system in the future, this can be done easily, without modifying or changing the aesthetics of the environment,” confirms Johnson. “This also minimizes future installation costs, offering a cost-effective and straightforward access control upgrade.”
Integration in the healthcare sector
Wireless, integrated security already boosts the access management capability of many European hospitals. For example, in Belgium, Hospital Maria Middelares is a vital part of Ghent’s health infrastructure. In partnership with Nedap, around 700 doors in a new hospital building have been fitted with Aperio locks connected to a Nedap AEOS access control system. The deployment is 100 percent wireless, maintaining design aesthetics in the new build.
Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, England, sought an upgrade to its access control system. The trust needed flexible access control to streamline day-to-day security operations, extending public access while also maintaining restrictions to sensitive areas. ASSA ABLOY partnered with Grantfen and Inner Range to deliver a unified platform, which extended the Integriti access control system with Aperio wireless escutcheons.
At France’s Centre Hospitalier Métropole Savoie (CHMS), they supplemented standard wired locking with wireless escutcheons, wireless handles and wall readers. A network of over 225 communications hubs connects every lock wirelessly to their central system.
Devices integrate natively with the access system, so wired and wireless access points at CHMS are managed together, with real-time management logs, remote door opening and free time-slot management. “Having just a single badge — and not having to carry around heavy keys — has been a major advantage for us,” says Béatrice Dequidt, Health Executive at CHMS.
“We have implemented internal HR management procedures, creating badges that are automatically integrated into ARD's operating software,” adds Alain Gestin, CHMS’s IT Systems Architect. The integration also maintains compatibility of credentials with the French government’s electronic Health Professional Card (CPS), further enhancing staff and administrator convenience.
With successful integration, the possibilities to create smarter, more efficient workflows are almost unlimited.