Guards, Dogs and Technology

I am still surprised how the discussion of balancing a guard force and technology-based security systems is seldom discussed. It seems as though the discussions of how to deploy each of these is done in isolation of the other. Here are some of my thoughts. Now that security devices, such as cameras and access control readers are peripherals on the network, they are much more intelligent than just a couple of years ago. They are especially intelligent if the network is engineered to take advantage of communication between the devices and with the data available on the network. It is this communication that enables Eye on Cash, GPS Logon, Virtual Perimeters, Virtual Mantrap, CRM Secure and other solutions developed by Ollivier Corporation to be available at low cost in today's market.

As intelligent as these solutions are, they still require the judgment provided by a competent guard force. These solutions sort through hundreds of events to create alerts and alarms that are rendered important or meaningless by the guard force. The guard force is the comprised of first responders. What this means is that the guard force's value and contribution is significantly increased by relegating monitoring and surveillance to devices. I have been told by guard service organizations that they make more money deploying intelligent guards to monitor and assess the output of computer-based security systems than they do selling low-paid guards.