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Implementing and maintaining reliable, efficient solutions to deal with access control has been a task that businesses have likely been dealing with for thousands of years. Controlling and tracking who has access to different spaces, from store rooms to business bank accounts, can be surprisingly tricky, and it’s important to leverage the best, most advanced solutions you have available to you. In this article, we provide a broad perspective on how to approach upgrading access control systems: from assessing where you’re currently at to integrating your systems, these are some important factors to keep in mind.
Assess your existing controls
Before making any kind of security system upgrade, it’s important to conduct a thorough assessment of your existing controls. Without such an assessment, it’s very difficult to know whether the systems you’re investing in are actually an upgrade or not, and it’s very easy to miss critical security gaps. Look everywhere, from physical key control systems to cloud security. It’s also worth seriously considering the benefits of having an external provider carry out the audit.
Physical access control systems
Physical access control systems are the most likely to still be relatively antiquated in most businesses. Most of us have a relatively fixed idea about what keys and locks should look like, and often end up failing to realise just how far these technologies have come.
There are now all sorts of physical control systems besides a metal key and lock, from biometric controls to locks that can be unlocked using mobile devices. It’s worth taking the time to check which of these new systems could potentially benefit your business.
Digital access control systems
It’s also important to check whether your digital access control systems are up to date. There are all sorts of ways to improve digital security, from integrating zero-trust architectures to adding multi-factor authentication solutions.
Whether these are necessary or not will often depend on the kind of data stored in that digital space. If it’s particularly vulnerable, or if you have a regulatory duty under frameworks such as GDPR to keep it safe, then it’s vital that you implement a secure control system that ensures a high level of accountability.
Centralised integration
In many contexts, it can be beneficial to have some kind of centralised access portal where you can see access history and security reports, all contained in a single space. To make this integration as seamless as possible, it’s worth investing in physical key control solutions from providers like Traka, which automatically update digital logbooks.
Upgrading access controls in your organisation can have a massive impact on improving security overall, but benefits often extend far beyond that. You’ll also likely make life easier for your employees, cut some of the costs associated with inefficient systems, and reduce the number of lost or ineffective keys.
It’s important to take these updates seriously and to get help where necessary. Engaging a security consultant is often well worth the investment, and can result in insights that help inform your business security for years to come.