For a long time, businesses focused on security in isolation; one system at a time. Each compartmentalized system worked independently of the others. Then one day, someone wondered: if you have a camera that monitors who enters a building and you have an access control system on the doors, why can’t those two work in synergy?

It’s no longer necessary to monitor disparate systems. Instead, you can streamline your monitoring and security operations. There are numerous benefits and efficiencies to be realized by integrating security and monitoring systems. Managing risk with a single, comprehensive security system provides advanced recognition functionality and coordinated response.

What Integrating Your Security Systems Together Can Do

The Internet of Things has opened our eyes, not only to the opportunities of connected, smart devices and machinery but also, unfortunately, to the risks. 5G technology will accelerate the volume and rate of data transfer within the IoT exponentially. As the rate and volume of data increase from megabytes per second to gigabits per second, cybercrime can occur in less than a blink of an eye. Your security system must be ready to monitor, detect and alert your teams to not only physical intrusions, but virtual ones like malware, phishing, malicious insider attacks, DoS attacks, ransomware, and more.

No one is immune to the risk of intrusion. Cybercriminals will have more than 74 billion vulnerabilities in a security chain by 2025. That means that critical infrastructure, energy grids, and home IoT devices are all at risk. HIPPA information, a concern for hospitals and medical offices, will be even more vulnerable than ever. What does that mean for your clients’ personally identifiable information and your corporate assets?

While organizations are ready to embrace new technology, most organizations are still stuck with legacy systems. The cost to update and switch these systems can prove to be extensive, time-consuming, and overly complicated.

Most organizations currently manage and monitor multiple security systems individually. Legacy and physical systems may be managed separately, in different locations, or even by different departments. Connecting your legacy, physical, life safety, and cybersecurity systems together could drive efficiencies and eliminate extensive upgrading costs.

When global business is moving at light speed, how does the communication between your security systems and operators measure up? Do you have the time for each alarm monitoring team to assess whether an alarm is a nuisance alarm? Once they determine that it is a legitimate threat, do you have additional time for them to communicate with others to investigate whether there are more alarms? Probably not — that’s why you need a system that can integrate all your systems together.

Why You Need a Security Systems Integrator

The reasons for integrating security systems should not be simply a vague concept of protection, but how to find the optimal solution to safeguard your business’s physical and virtual assets. It takes an experienced and technically proficient integrator to help a company understand where their threats lie, what vulnerabilities can still be mitigated and how their individual systems can work in an interconnected manner to provide more comprehensive alert monitoring, intrusion detection, and threat defense.

What does effective integration mean? It should provide coordination, redundant communication, proper maintenance, and effective testing and auditing. The components of a successful, comprehensive security system integration may include any of the following and more:

• Countermeasures — A defense strategy should include people, hardware, and software.
• Electronic security — Video surveillance should be coordinated with intrusion detection.
• External resources — There should be quick notification and access to emergency services like police, EMS, and fire.
• In-depth testing and audit capabilities — Test and audit the efficacy of the system and look for opportunities for improvement.
• Physical barriers — Fences, gates, bollards, security doors, and biometric controls to prevent or limit entry are all examples of physical obstacles.
• Policies and procedures — This could include visible badges or identification, incident reporting, or entry and exit procedures.
• Security personnel — Security employees should enforce policies and follow security procedures without exception.
• Vulnerabilities assessments — Assessments should include comprehensive, continual reviews to determine the gaps in security coverage.

When you are looking for the right solution to integrate your alarms, you should make sure you are satisfied with the answers to these questions:

• Do they understand your priorities?
• Can they provide the services you need now and as you grow?
• Do they have the expertise to recommend solutions for current and emerging threats?
• Do they understand how to synergize your systems so that they provide cost-saving measures?
• Is the business certified? By what entity?
• Are the employees certified? By what entity?
• What partnerships do they have?
• Are their data centers secure?
• What type of client support do they have?

If you cannot get straight answers, if you don’t feel satisfied with the answers, or if your research doesn’t make you feel 100% confident, keep looking.

Security Systems Integration Customized for Your Business

Integrating your security systems can provide faster and more effective threat detection, assessment, and response. SIS can give your security personnel more tools in their arsenal and free up resources by allowing them to determine real vs. nuisance alarms quickly. Our security systems integration will enable you to leverage the strengths of each system to create a synergistic effect, resulting in a more robust protective and defensive strategy. Users can simultaneously and instantaneously interpret, monitor, record, and respond to alarm data generated from multiple systems, including fire, burglary, panic, medical, environmental, access control, and more. The software can facilitate selective or automatic responses to alarm signals, permitting a single system the ability to manage millions of data points. Contact us today to get started.