As long as we live in a world with inequality, there will be those with less seeking to take from those with much. If you have much, you have much to lose. There are many kinds of security for the many kinds of things that you have. There are measures for securing your physical safety. There are technologies for securing your data. We are going to explore security technology as it applies to homes and businesses. These are security innovations designed to keep you, your family, your employees, your customers, and your property safe.
Before you can protect anything, you must first understand the threat. As a homeowner, you may be concerned about burglary. Nefarious individuals may case your residence prior to breaking in. When considering the application of security technology, you may want to consider having both covert and very obvious countermeasures to burglary. As a business owner, you may be concerned about shrinkage, theft from shoplifters and employees. You may want to consider security technology that is very visible to burglars and very invisible to employees. Whether you are a homeowner or business owner, you are concerned about personal safety. You want to keep the bad people out. There are technologies that can be paired with physical countermeasures to keep you safe.
There are three broad categories of security technologies that we in the trade deploy to keep you safe and provide peace of mind. The first is burglary alarm systems. Burglary alarm systems are the backbone of any application of security technology. An alarm panel is a brain for intelligent security. The alarm panel communicates with all of security sensors and detectors and communicates back to you, to a central monitoring center, and in turn, if necessary with the local law enforcement. There are motion detectors for detecting motion in areas where no one should be, door and window contacts for detecting unauthorized entry, glass break detectors for detecting forcible entry, and even water sensors to detect flooding. There are too many sensors to be named, but each communicates with the alarm panel, so the alarm panel can make the decision about what to do if there is an event. For example, if your laundry room floods while you are on vacation, the system may send you a text message, so you can call your house manager to resolve the issue before you return from holiday. The system will call the central station if an intrusion is detected and police will be dispatched in minutes to reduce risk to you and your property. The system can even be expanded with automation features to make the building seem occupied even when you are away. Criminals fear discovery and will avoid engaging in criminal activity if there is a high risk of being detected. A burglary alarm system is most important as a deterrent.
Equally important as a deterrent are surveillance systems. Surveillance cameras represent some of the most innovative security technology. While cameras can be made covert so that babysitters and employees are unaware they are being watched, most cameras tend to be very obvious to any criminal assessing their own risk. With security cameras in place, criminals are assured there will be a record of their activity on the surveillance network video recorder (NVR). Furthermore, the NVR can be tied into the central monitoring center to more reliably prevent false alarms and to assist law enforcement or emergency medical personnel in case of an event. Security cameras can assist in detecting motion through a change in the observed scene, which can help the system assess the risk. The system, too, can send you video feeds to your smartphone so that you are aware of what’s happening at home even if there is no specific threat, which helps provide greater peace of mind.
The last main category of security technology is access control. Access control includes entry keypads, access cards or tags, access readers, and electronic door locks and strikes. Access control represents an elegant synthesis of physical and technological security. Think of access control as smart door locks. With access control, only those authorized and given a code or key card or tag will have access. Like burglary alarm systems, these access control systems can be monitored and recorded. So if your employee accessed the building when they were not supposed to, or if your son came home after midnight on a school night, you will know about it and can take action.
Security is about peace of mind and safety. Security technology is about preventing problems before they disrupt your life. It is the most important technology you could incorporate into your life. Let Fulkra help you balance this technology with your lifestyle.
Call 877.738.5572 today for more information about Security Technology. Fulkra is America’s favorite technology integration company!