Feature Evolution of Security Systems Read more online at www.securitymattersmagazine.com
The Shape of
Things to Come
So far, 2020 has been a challenging year to say the very
least, with nations the world over having to skilfully and
carefully navigate their way through often tough, but
necessary lockdown regimes imposed due to COVID-19.
With many projects having been delayed or awaiting
completion, the security industry is keen to pick up the
pace of doing business. There’s plenty to be done in the
short-term, then, but what about further ahead? John
Davies airs his views on the long-term prognosis for the
security industry
Undoubtedly, the post-
COVID landscape is going to look
somewhat different for everyone and
every industry when reviewing what has
gone before. That’s true for the
constituent practitioners resident in the
security business sector and the industry
they inhabit. Social distancing is still a
vital necessity mandated by central
Government – in a determined bid to
avoid repeated large-scale lockdowns –
and this situation is likely to continue
for the foreseeable future, meaning that
security solution providers of all shapes
and sizes will have to adapt to ever-evolving
safety regulations.
Social distancing is also changing
market demands. Contactless access
control and security systems are, quite
rightly, now very much the order of the
day. For their part, end users need
contactless credentials (ie fobs/cards or
biometrics such as facial recognition
technology), but also other contactless
hardware. A good case in point here is
contactless exit switches. Indeed, we’re
employing such technology at our own
headquarters in Poole as we cautiously
and safely return to the office after an
enforced period of remote working.
There are also likely to be even bigger
changes in our industry moving
forwards. The pandemic has taken us all
by surprise to some degree, so it follows
on from this that, going forward, end
users are likely to be looking for sensible
and flexible security provisions in the
shape of Security-as-a-Service and
Access Control-as-a-Service solutions.
On a broader scale, the COVID-19
pandemic is going to exert a significant
influence on the design and
implementation of Smart Cities, which
themselves will need to proactively
anticipate and counter any number of
evolving threats or issues (including
pandemics, but also civil unrest, acts of
terrorism and climate emergencies, in
addition to rapidly increasing
population numbers, etc).
Adapting to new requirements
The best security systems always mirror
the needs of the real world that they
serve on a daily basis, and that truism is
certainly apt in the age of social
distancing. Workplace and retail sites
have been the first locations to preside
over their security and safety systems
evolving, but anywhere that’s open to the
public or visitors, and where people
congregate or interact in significant
numbers, will demand due
consideration from this point on.
Currently, many countries (including
the UK) are enforcing social distancing
measures and the use of face masks, but
increasingly building occupancy will be
under scrutiny, too, and people-counting
technology will be a crucial
ingredient in managing this.
For example, we’re already seeing
Shopping Centres and specific retail
outlets in South East Asia deploying
automated systems purpose-designed to
restrict the number of customers
entering a given facility, thereby helping
to ensure social distancing measures.
The pandemic has taken us all by surprise to
some degree, so it follows on from this that,
going forward, end users are likely to be looking
for sensible and flexible security provisions in the
shape of Security-as-a-Service and Access
Control-as-a-Service solutions
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