Introduction 

Work culture has seen a tectonic shift in the last couple of years. Pre-Covid the trend had already started with employees from specific sectors and roles embracing hybrid or remote working models, with COVID this was extended to almost all employees of an organisation, who could work remotely.

What would have been years in the making, was in full effect within a matter of months, with such a fast-paced transition to remote and hybrid working, companies have had to adjust very quickly to accommodate the ‘new norm’ of working and facilitate this in a very short space of time. And with this came a plethora of challenges specifically from a security standpoint that organisations had to address.

What are some of the physical security challenges that companies are facing? 

 1. More people are coming in and out of offices with less predictability than ever before.

The shift in trends from full-time office based to remote and hybrid working, these have brought up new challenges with unpredictable footfall into company offices. Challenges such as staggered scheduling, hybrid work models, and coworking spaces are making it challenging to keep track, predict and have visibility about who should be on site and who shouldn’t.

 2. Siloed Access Control Systems 

This is something, we at Technimove are seeing more and more of. Companies downsizing their offices, taking over different workspaces, and acquiring new companies and their real estate mean an increase in siloed access control systems, which do not integrate, meaning employees’ door access passes will work on one system but not the other.

 3. Inconsistent on-site staff is making package management and receiving deliveries more difficult 

In a traditional office environment, there usually is a front desk staff such as a receptionist to greet staff and guests whilst intercepting any kind of office delivery. With staggered scheduling and remote and hybrid work, there is no guarantee that anyone will be in the office to receive those deliveries. This is becoming a challenge for facilities management and companies who must make trips directly to the carrier to pick up the package, or even worse face parcel theft.

What is the Future of Physical Security in the Office? 

As the modern office evolves and faces new challenges, the workplace environment will adopt new trends, systems and processes to ensure it achieves optimal access control and physical security, here is a list of a few of those trends:

• Adopting Cloud-Based Security 

Cloud-based security solutions are growing in popularity at a rapid pace. Remote management is one of the primary reasons companies are adopting this operating practice, but there are other advantages as well.

Cloud-based systems allow admins to run access event reports for auditing purposes, they also can access and oversee all worksites under a single platform which gives them greater insight into office activity.
Today, connected devices provide enterprise organisations with meaningful insights into the health and safety of their environments.

 In the future, solution providers will use techniques such as machine learning to continue to develop technology that protects people, places, and privacy at scale. This helps companies establish security patterns and makes it easier to identify anomalies in the future. 

• Integrated Video Intercom and Remote Unlock 

A visitor management strategy is important for offices that need to grant access to clients, contractors, delivery personnel, maintenance, and cleaning staff – not just employees. Currently, visitor management practices include Sign-in sheets which are not an accurate indication of people coming in and out of the building, plus they cannot be accessed in real-time.

Visitor management software can only be effective if it integrates with the access control system. Even then, the system does not have any physical access capabilities and only creates a partial.

Modern offices are upgrading their visitor management strategy by incorporating video intercom into their access control system. Video intercom allows the intercom call recipient to verify the visitor ID visually and then remotely unlock the door for them, And such systems when hosted on the cloud allow intercom call recipients to receive video calls remotely via mobile or smart device thus negating the need to have a wired intercom and a resource managing it.

With delivery rates ever-increasing, and with offices more frequently empty, this feature proves invaluable in managing the secure delivery and tracking of on-site deliveries or providing access to contractors or facilities providers.

• Using Identity for Physical Access Credentialing  

An important change to office physical security, which is the theory behind mobile access control, is the transition to using identity as an authorizer for secure physical access. Simply put, this means that authorized access is tied to the person’s identity as opposed to a parameter not tied to identity, such as a key card, which cannot be traced back to any one individual effectively. 

As mentioned above, companies are doing this to tighten their physical security strategy. Mobile access control is a popular, modern way to do this. Another physical access method using identity to authorize access is facial recognition access control or biometrics.

Face recognition for employee access is an undeniable link to someone’s identity, which creates an airtight physical security strategy. To use face recognition, users self-enrol their biometric ID which is stored in a secure, encrypted system that will recognize the user’s face upon being shown to a facial recognition reader. 

Technimove Physical Security powered by Verkada 

At Technimove we understand physical security issues and concerns very well, this is part of our day-to-day conversation with our clients. Since as a business our core services are physical and virtual migrations, security services, professional services and managed services we understand the challenges clients face from a secure data centre environment to multi-site locations that need call-out engineers to support IT projects.

Technimove and Verkada formed a partnership to bring the latest in cutting-edge technology in physical security to our clients that can improve and harden their physical security or protect and monitor valuable assets.
Verkada offers a suite of connected security and monitoring devices that provide users with a comprehensive picture of the health and safety of their environments. Designed with simplicity in mind, Verkada’s ecosystem of best–in–class solutions provide a scalable way to easily configure, monitor and respond to events from anywhere whilst providing a hybrid-cloud physical security solution which covers the following:

• Video Security
• Access Control
• Alarms
• Environmental Sensors
• Workplace Solutions