How does integration affect our daily lives?
Let’s first talk about integration. To integrate something is the process of combining one thing with another to become a whole. We take for granted how much we, in today’s tech world, rely on integration in our day-to-day lives. Do you have a smart TV that you can control with an app on your smartphone? Can you manage your home’s temperature from the comfort of your couch instead of taking the ten steps to the thermostat on the wall? Do you even know where to locate the thermostat? Can you cast music to wireless speakers in your house? If so, then welcome to the integrated life!
The purpose of these integrations is two-fold, giving you the ability to conveniently control your surroundings so that you can save on time, money, and effort. As problem-solvers, we are always searching for faster, easier, and more cost-effective ways of doing something.
So how does this apply to business? If integrations can be that beneficial, then where do you start? That is what we want to talk through in this article. We believe that technology should be customized to fit your business initiatives and not the other way around. Integration is a great way to accomplish this. Below is a list of our top 5 Integrations for the Gallagher Security System that we believe can bring the most beneficial impact on your business.
Integrated systems have a “hub” of sorts that controls everything and simultaneously give visibility into what is going on within the system. The Gallagher Command Centre is what we will be referencing as our “hub.” The solutions listed below by themselves are not inherently integrations but instead functions or systems that have historically worked as stand-alone security measures. With the advancement of technology, these systems can now integrate and give real-time feedback like never before. As we speak to these solutions, it will be from the perspective of completely integrating them into the Gallagher Command Centre system for complete visibility and control.
1. Access Control
Access control is not a new idea. At its purest form, you are controlling who has access to a specific area of a building with a set of keys. Some companies still use this method today. The challenge is and always has been ensuring the integrity of the key set. What happens if an unauthorized individual gains access to areas of your building by copying the key set? Key Fobs are another method that companies use, but unfortunately, anyone can purchase a $20 gadget from Amazon and can easily copy the Key Fob frequency. Employee Badges are probably the most popular method used today. What happens if someone steals the badge card and uses it to gain access to an area of the building? How can you prevent this from happening
What if you could grant and revoke access remotely on demand? You can use Smart HID cards and mobile credentials to integrate with the Gallagher Security System. Not only does this give you more control over who has access to the building, but it also provides visibility when access is requested. This visibility is the difference between guessing and knowing what is taking place within the facility.
2. Active Directory
Every company has an onboarding process, and if you have a unique phone number and email for each employee, then chances are you are using Active Directory to accomplish this.
A server that runs Active Directory Domain Service (AD DS) authenticates and authorizes all users and computers in a Windows domain type network. Active Directory will check passwords from users who log into a computer that is hosted on the domain and will determine if the user is a system administrator or a regular user.
In short, Active Directory gives and withholds access to users and devices based on predetermined credentials. From an organizational perspective, the first thing to be updated when an employee is either onboarding or terminated is the Active Directory. It’s the gateway to gain access to information throughout the company, whether by email, the file server, or other programs. Because of this, it has the highest priority to ensure it is up to date for security reasons.
Active Directory can integrate into the Gallagher Security System and leverage the power of your Access Control. When updating the Active Directory, the Gallagher Security System can automatically grant access or revoke access to a user. Security integrations like this not only gives complete control over who accesses the building but also determines when access takes place. Furthermore, it leverages a system that is already in place that authenticates and authorizes users with different levels of access based on merit and does so while giving complete visibility.
3. Video Surveillance
Video Surveillance is a great way to capture acts of vandalism or theft. Moreover, it can help validate an at-fault party during a work accident and even help with insurance claims. But what happens if an incident takes place after work hours and the camera angle is not conducive to make out a clear picture? Or maybe there was an incident that took place a month ago, and you are just now checking the footage? Now you have to comb through hours of video footage that may or may not show a clear picture of the incident.
Video surveillance integrated into the Gallagher Security System can record and stop on demand based on motion detection. So not only can it cut down on hours of footage and wasted storage for recorded video, but it also gives timestamps for all motion captured footage. This integration lets you see what is happening in real-time.
4. Intrusion Alarms
Intrusion alarms have been around for a long time, and rightfully so. It is a great way to detour anyone from entering your property that shouldn’t be there. Intrusion alarms are very versatile and can equip doors, gates, fences, and windows with
However, if your intrusion alarms integrate with the Gallagher Security System, not only can there be an alarm that trips, but also a trigger that sends real-time notifications to local authorities and select staff members to inform them of the situation.
5. Visitor Management
When it comes to visitor management, nothing can be more challenging than coordinating the drop off of a set of keys or a visitor’s badge to an individual or group and then making sure it gets returned to the primary office. It is especially tricky if there is a group meeting after hours. How do you manage the flow of guests in your building without having a staff member handle the event?
With the Gallagher system, you can activate and send mobile credentials to a select number of guests who can then have access to the building. Once the meeting is over, all you have to do is remotely disable the mobile credentials. Furthermore, you can also manage specific areas of the building, so your guests only have access to particular rooms.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Our top 5 favorite security integrations for the Gallagher System. These are not new to security, but the difference is the integration into a system that provides you the visibility to see what is going on through a single pane of glass.
Upcoming Security Integrations Seminar
Join us for a lunch and learn how you can create visibility across your organization – from video surveillance to door access to alarms to building automation – all through a single pane view.
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