Security Sales & Integration October 2022 - 24

SMARTS & PARTS
Integrated Intelligence by John Nemerofsky
Smartly Securing
Multisite Campuses
For corporate
campuses
with multisite
locations, the
integrator
may want to
recommend
a Cloudbased
hosted
system for
campuses to
share real-time
and recorded
video, access
control and
other security
data.
▶ IT'S NOT UNUSUAL for larger corporations
to operate multiple campuses - ranging
from a headquarters facility to satellite locations
and even highly remote substations. Employees
at each site deserve the same consistent level of
security across the corporate footprint. Providing
that is a challenge faced by security directors
that their integrator can help them navigate.
To reduce redundancy (and added costs), integrators
can help their end users forgo the idea
of separate, full-blown security operations centers
(SOC) at each facility. Instead, create a central
SOC with input from all sites' video, access
control, intrusion and other security systems
and recommend they assign security personnel
at all locations to handle routine duties and assist
during emergencies.
Communication
Close integration of corporate security and IT
teams creates cross-functional alliances to improve
operational effi ciencies. Th e more information
these groups share, the better prepared
they will be when faced with physical and logical
criminals. Likewise, security integrators may
recommend security directors to establish backup
communication channels across the corporate
footprint to ensure communications during
any emergency.
As organizations acquire other operations,
there's often an assortment of security systems
and procedures added to the mix, hindering
communication with the SOC. Integrators are
uniquely qualifi ed to bring systems into compliance
or achieve reliable workarounds considering
budgets and other constraints.
John Nemerofsky is COO
of Sage Integration.
24
Hosted Systems
For corporate campuses with multisite locations,
the integrator may want to recommend
a Cloud-based hosted system for campuses to
share real-time and recorded video, access control
and other security data. Another benefi t
of this system is the ease of sharing data in the
Cloud with local law enforcement and fi re deSecurity
Sales & Integration OCTOBER 2022
Regular upgrades and maintenance by a qualifi
ed integrator ensure hosted systems are safe,
if not safer, from cyberattacks than on-premises
servers. As a result, hosted systems are gaining
in popularity among multisite security operations.
According to many veteran security professionals,
on-premises servers will become virtually
extinct - like VCRs and DVRs - within
the next fi ve to ten years.
Hosted servers are open to many other security
software packages, such as artifi cial intelligence-based
analytics that detect movement by
humans and vehicles and provide other important
data about real-time events. Th is software
reduces non-threatening alarms, such as those
caused by wind-blown foliage, that take time
from a SOC's security team. Also, teams have
more pertinent information to share with fi rst
responders.
Access Control Options
Access control often poses problems for multicampus
organizations receiving offsite emsecuritysales.com
partments,
which is vital during an emergency.
Other benefi ts a hosted system includes:
▶ Reducing or eliminating on-premises servers
to minimize space and upfront costs
(powerful servers cost up to $30,000 each)
at each campus.
▶ Router confi guration and automatic installation
of software and fi rmware updates as
they become available, eliminating the need
for the SOC team to handle those tasks.
▶ Hosted services are typically sold through
a subscription model that allows multisite
campuses to budget their annual costs
accurately.
▶ Scalability makes it simple for an organization
to add or delete equipment at any
networked location.
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Security Sales & Integration October 2022

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