If you run a business, you likely have employees, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders entering and exiting the premises at any given time, though some areas of your building may be off-limits to certain parties. For example, if you are a supermarket owner, you may reserve your backroom storage space solely for employees. If you do not have measures for barring unauthorized visitors from your facilities, you will be more susceptible to theft and computer hacking. Now, you may ask, “How can I control who can and cannot access restricted areas within my business?”
Meet electronic access control, or EAC, systems. While traditional access control revolves around your business’s physical doors, locks, and keys, EAC is a multi-dimensional digital ecosystem designed to address all your organizational needs¹. In this article, we will learn more about EAC and the benefits it has for your business.
One advantage of EAC is that it facilitates employee access to specific areas within your business. With an access control system, you can quickly “set and forget” who has access to designated locations, such as IT (information technology) rooms². Once you have given this authorization, your employees can access all the necessary areas to perform their jobs by scanning a key or entering a PIN (Personal Identification Number)². EAC systems protect your business by preventing unauthorized individuals from entering the facilities, giving you confidence that everyone in your building is supposed to be there.
EAC systems eliminate the need for traditional metal keys². While managing multiple keys for different areas of your business can be cumbersome, especially for janitors and others using bulky key rings, access control systems do not require physical keys². Not only do you save time not fumbling with different keys for different locks, but you also save yourself visits from the locksmith to replace lost or stolen keys².
Another benefit is control over energy utilization, saving money while also maintaining security. For example, emerging technologies let you integrate access control with energy utilization, thus reducing your heating, cooling, and electricity costs¹. These functions turn on the lights when users swipe their credentials or turn off HVAC systems to minimize energy consumption when no one is using your facilities¹. EAC systems also eliminate the need to hire security personnel and purchase locks, since they can easily verify identities without a guard’s assistance². This demonstrates that EAC is well worth the investment.
While EAC systems prevent physical intrusions into your building(s), they also keep hackers from infiltrating your business’s computer systems². Chances are you have proprietary on-premises servers for storing sensitive data such as financial information or electronic medical records (EMRs)². EAC systems thwart hackers by restricting their access, while also granting exclusive access to credentialed individuals². These workers can then continue into the company’s IT rooms or wherever they need to perform their jobs². Considering that the average data breach worldwide costs $4.35 million, and the average one in the U.S. a staggering $9.44 million according to IBM, EAC systems prevent malicious actors from entering your systems³. This not only prevents breaches, but also averts catastrophe for your business.
Yet another advantage of EAC systems is that they improve users’ experiences. EACs equipped with innovative features like mobile and biometric credentials can help your business meet changing expectations of how employees, customers, and other personnel interact with your facilities¹. For example, intelligent access control systems can sense users’ credentials from up to 20 feet away, automatically opening doors or access points for easier user ingress¹. Since users do not need to swipe a card or remove their phone from their pocket, they can proceed more quickly toward their respective destinations¹.
While all organizations can benefit from EACs for enhancing the overall user experience, this is especially true in higher education. College and university athletics departments, for instance, can implement biometric credentials such as fingerprints or facial recognition, providing student athletes with a seamless experience as they move between training facilities and locker rooms without having their phone or access card on hand¹.
If you are seeking an EAC solution for your business, navitend can help. We offer a variety of managed IT support – including Sophos electronic access control systems – for clients in New Jersey, New York, and eastern Pennsylvania. We have the solutions you need to keep your data secure and unauthorized visitors at bay, 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Navitend can help you. Call 973.448.0070 or setup an appointment today.
Sources:
¹SecurityInfoWatch.com. “3 Surprising Benefits of Access Control” by Angelo Faenza. Retrieved from https://www.securityinfowatch.com/access-identity/article/21086072/3-surprising-benefits-of-access-control.
²Morefield Communications. “Benefits of an Access Control System.” Retrieved from https://www.morefield.com/blog/benefits-of-an-access-control-system/.
³IBM Security. “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022.” Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/3R8N1DZJ.
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