By Tormod Ree, CEO, Ava Security 

Investing in security, both cyber and physical, is crucial for every company. It’s easy, though, for business leaders to assume that this investment is a sunk cost, with only one purpose. But if implemented correctly, the technology used to provide a company with peace of mind about the safety of its property, people, and private information can also deliver insights that can improve productivity, boost performance, and ensure employee wellbeing. 

Added benefits

Globally, the number of cyber-attacks increased by 50 percent in 2021 over 2020. By the end of the year, every company faced an average of 925 attacks a week. Physical security breaches are on the rise as well, experienced by 28 percent of businesses in 2021 compared to 20 percent in 2020. So it’s unsurprising that the global physical security market is set to grow 18 percent over the next five years. 

Aside from their obvious purpose, the tools and technology used to defend against these threats offer a range of other benefits to businesses. Integrated with an intelligent video management system, for example, a company’s existing surveillance cameras can help optimise its energy efficiency. If a camera determines that a room is empty, the integrated systems can be equipped to pause heating, cooling, or HVAC in that area until a person enters. Thereby removing unnecessary energy expenditures on empty spaces – offices, meeting rooms, or entire floors – even during office hours. 

Using security cameras with an AI-backed video management system in this way is a step toward a smarter, more adaptive office. Integrating those video cameras with sensors’ technology and/or physical access controls expands this concept further. Not only can the data they provide be used to track the whereabouts of an unwanted visitor, for added security, but it can also help improve the workplace. 

Using anonymized data not only protects employee privacy, but being able to see where people are in  a space can help a business understand how said space can be better utilised. Making easy changes like optimising the physical environment and safety of the office can make it a more enjoyable place to work, which, in turn, should go some way to improving employee wellbeing and boost productivity – something that should be a priority for every company.

Protecting employees’ health 

A company is only as effective as its employees. Dedicating time and care to the physical working environment and eliminating potential safety and health hazards is vital to maintaining a healthy workforce and, by extension, a successful business. Fortunately, a company’s existing technology can help to play a role in the company’s overall health. 

The pandemic highlighted the importance of sanitising everything. But in certain cases, this can lead to a false sense of security. After all, disinfected desks and bottles of hand sanitiser will only stop so many threats to employee health.

For instance, many offices sat empty during the height of lockdown, a situation which presents the risk of bacterial growth in their pipes and plumbing. However, by tagging pipes and other water lines with temperature-reading sensors, a company can now be alerted when areas are too warm and take steps to mitigate the risk of bacterial outbreaks. Likewise, by tracking warmth and humidity, such sensors can alert a company before harmful mould or mildew can take hold, or notify facilities to a broken freezer or refrigerator before the food inside it spoils. 

Sensors can monitor changes in air quality, too. Particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds all contribute to the quality of the air in an indoor workspace – and can have detrimental effects on the health of employees. New technology allows for the integration of these smart sensors with intelligent video management system; together rules can be set up based on predetermined thresholds, and can even notify an organisation of any immediate or gradual changes to the air in an office environment, and catch minute shifts in air quality before they can impact workers’ health. 

Going above and beyond

A growing threat landscape means all businesses today must be equipped with the tools and technologies needed to detect, identify and mitigate attacks to property, people, and assets. 

Integrating sensors and access controls with an intelligent management system can bring that security to life – seeing, hearing, sensing and even smelling threats. But those threats aren’t only limited to a company’s security. Potential hazards can lie hidden in an office’s pipes, its walls, even the quality of its air. 

By monitoring and alerting facilities teams of such hidden hazards, a company’s security can go above and beyond its initial purpose. In fact, its benefits are hugely valuable to a business. By ensuring a happy, healthy workforce, it’s clear that this investment is no longer a sunk cost.