Introduction
The past ten years have seen companies moving online for services like email, payroll, accounting and more. The trend has continued to now include cloud-based physical security such as access control and video management (CCTV ).
As we become more familiar and comfortable with cloud technology and services, the benefits of deploying cloud solutions for physical security have become more apparent. The data security concerns customers previously had have now been eliminated through the realisation that our everyday activities such as verifying a bank balance, booking a flight or checking our emails are all cloud-based.
We trust the cloud with our money so it’s a logical step to trust the cloud with our physical security management.
ACT365 is a cloud-based integrated access control and video management solution that is set to make people rethink what to expect from their security system.
Integrated Security System – Protect Your Business, Employees and Assets
Integration has become a sort of marketing buzzword however, when practically used in the right situation, an integrated security system will help protect your people, premises and assets.
For example, ACT365 integrates access control and video surveillance into one unified interface. If there is somebody at your site entrance, you can verify the person and open the door with a click of a button – all from your smart phone.
When incidents occur at a door (as they often do) – for example, the cash office is broken into – you can simply click on the access control event “Door Forced” to locate and review recorded footage of the incident occurring.
The existing alternatives involve trying to match up times on disparate security systems and sifting through reams of footage in order to locate the incident.
ACT365 is particularly well suited to a club or gym where members are passing their access fobs to friends who are not members. With ACT365 you can quickly match up access control events with relevant camera footage and email the clips to those members who are allowing their fobs to be misused. This is an effective (and graphic) way of ensuring the practice does not continue.
Access control and CCTV are both powerful systems. Integrated with our customers in mind, they become tools that offer business owners more visibility and control of their premises than ever before.
365 Days a Year, Anytime, Anywhere – Stay Truly Connected to Your Business
A traditional security system can only be accessed from a PC in a security office or when a laptop is plugged into a controller or a monitor into an NVR to retrieve important data. This is at best a reactive approach to security management and usually culminates in important events being missed and the same security breaches happening time and time again.
With ACT365, a business owner or security manager can access the system 365 days a year from any device, smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. This allows stakeholders to stay truly connected to their business by accessing video footage on their tablet or receiving important push notifications to their smart phone.
Additionally, it allows managers to share best practices or ways to prevent fraud across the company. Take the example of a manager of a retail multiple in Dublin who spots an incident of till fraud. With ACT365, the methods used by the offending employee can easily be shared with the managers of the London, Paris and Belfast branches so as to assist in sharing of knowledge throughout the company.
IT Infrastructure – No Unnecessary IT Headaches or Costs
Many people still think of system costs in terms of one- time up-front server and software expenses. However, it has become a well-established fact that the largest part of IT ownership actually lies in ongoing operational expenses, support and licensing agreements as well as hardware replacement.
Failure to invest in ongoing support and maintenance of your IT infrastructure will result in loss of back-ups, corrupted files and databases lacking any meaningful data exactly when you need them.
With ACT365 you outsource the hosting of your access control and video management solution. This ensures that the IT headaches of creating backups, VPN’s and port forwarding are things of the past.
Additionally, for companies with multiple sites, using ACT365 eliminates the need to invest in an expensive server or a local PC at each site. Also, using the ACT365 multi-site architecture you will be much better able to manage all of your locations from one single unified interface.
Security Installer Service – Allow the Installer to give you their best level of service
A cloud solution allows you to decide what level of service you require from your security installer.
The main three types of service are:
Fully Managed Security: Give your trusted and certified ACT365 installer full access to your security system. Send them an email/SMS anytime you need a system change, fob added or report analysed. The security installer can log into your system securely and make the necessary changes and let you know when those changes have been made successfully.
System Health Access: Allow your installer to see that your access controllers and cameras are online, there are no mains or voltage issues and no issues with break glass units. They will not be able to view cameras or see access control events but they will get notifications if there is a technical fault with your system to ensure your system is always at optimum performance.
On Demand Access: ACT365 is hosted in secure Microsoft Azure Data Centres. However, only allow your installer to have system access by invitation only, otherwise, you look after and manage your own system.
This gives a much clearer understanding of the level of support – remote or otherwise – that you can expect from your security installer. ACT365 has provided the installer with the tools to provide timely, efficient and cost-effective remote support to you (their customer).
Health & Safety – Real Time Fire Muster Reporting
A powerful ACT365 tool for the Health & Safety Officers and Fire Wardens is the Muster Report. The Muster Report is a report that identifies all employees who are in the building at the time of a fire or an emergency.
In traditional access control systems a muster report can be scheduled to be emailed to a number of people or print off automatically to designated printers. While useful, it only tells you who is in the building at the exact time the fire alarm goes off. In order to get an updated report, the muster report will have to be re-run and printed which is not always possible in the event of a fire.
The ACT365 muster report provides the fire officer with a real time App for muster reporting. As people swipe at the exit reader on their way out they will be automatically removed from the dynamic muster report. If they forget to swipe, a secondary reader can be setup at a muster point and if they forget their fob the fire officer can manually tick them off so marking them as being safe. If a person cannot be located they can be contacted directly by the fire warden using the App.
HR Functionality – Automate Time & Attendance and Track Absenteeism
“HR is the driving force behind what makes a winning team. In any sphere, the team that fields the best players wins. It’s no different when it comes to business.” – Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric
Clearly Jack Welch doesn’t believe the HR department should spend their time performing administrative tasks and neither do we.
ACT365 brings more to your company than security and peace of mind. With ACT365’s time & attendance and absenteeism report we will help you cut costs, reduce administrative tasks and track absenteeism. With ACT365, employees clock in automatically as they enter the building by swiping their card/fob on access control readers.
The HR team, managers and business owners can run reports on absenteeism and time & attendance, calculating individual or group employee hours spent at work yesterday, last week or last month. Reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel for easy manipulation and importing into your payroll system.
Cloud Video Surveillance – Ease of Use, Management and Updates
Ease of Use: At present, a manager who needs to access recorded or live video needs to be in the office at the security PC/NVR to review the footage. In addition, they will have had to get client software installed or some sort of plugin. This complexity causes needless frustration for the manager.
With ACT365, managers can access their video footage from all common browsers (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox), in addition, they can access their video footage from iOS or Android devices alike.
ACT365, combines this accessibility with a simple to use, friendly interface and a sleek smart phone App ensuring the highest level of usability and accessibility.
Management:
Cloud technology has enabled us to bring access control and video management to many locations, located hundreds of miles away, some with no network infrastructure. These locations can all be viewed through ACT365’s web platform and smart phone on a unified interface.
This makes management of these locations centrally not only possible but simple and intuitive. Managers can use ACT365 to administer cards and fobs, view live and recorded camera footage, receive instant notifications of security breaches and run attendance and absentee reports – all across multiple locations in real time.
Updates:
Your ACT365 will always have the latest version with the most up to date feature set. You will not have to pay for hidden costs such as updates and patches as you will receive system updates, new features and bug fixes overnight with no disruption to the service.
By David Moran
Business Development Manager, Vanderbilt
For more information on ACT365 contact:
Vanderbilt International Ltd.
Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park
Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, Ireland
+353 (01) 437 2560
