Upgrading Your Access Control System

When it comes to protecting your property, an access control system is critical for mitigating unwanted visitors from gaining access to your facility. Additionally, these systems are helpful for recording staff and guest traffic, which is particularly important if your facility utilizes different security clearances.

If you already have an access control system and are considering an upgrade, we encourage you to take a moment to review our best practices on upgrading your system.

1. Separate Network

Today’s Access Control Systems are placed on a network similar to an office’s security system. As a precautionary measure, we recommend that you place an Access Control System on its own network. This will help protect your system from cyber attacks. When setting up a dedicated network, any of the following options will work:

• Set up a network that is physically separate and independent of your other network.
• Set up a virtual environment.
• Segment off a portion of your current network to essentially have what amounts to a separate network within an existing network.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that most power-over-Ethernet switches are required to operate Internet protocol-based access control systems. Depending on which switches you currently have, you may have to go with option “a”.

2. Consider a Cloud Based Solution

Hosted access control is a service where all of your card access control system’s data is hosted off-site, such as in FMC’s secure data cloud. With a secure internet connection, all the card access control data from your site is hosted in the cloud, ensuring that your system never loses its data and remains accessible at all times. All information from your system is updated in real-time.

3. Integration Matters

Integrated access control systems are now the norm within the security industry. It is not uncommon for access control systems to integrate with security camera systems, building management, and more. For example, it’s now possible to click on an access control notification and view the corresponding video of the event.

4. Get The Latest Features

There are many tools and features available in today’s access control systems that improve the usability of your system. Functions such as remote access, smartphone credentials, and biometrics are just a few of the options available.

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to upgrading. Take stock of what you have in place and better protect your business interests by exploring your options for access control systems and choosing the best one.

Learn More

Fire Monitoring of Canada has been a leader in the fire monitoring and security monitoring industry for over 30 years. Trust the experts and give your property the protection it deserves.  Call us at 1 888 789 FIRE (3473), email fminfo@fire-monitoring.com, or fill out the contact form below for more information.