Most of today’s enterprise security solutions are combinations of hardware and software that are now consolidating from disparate, stand alone systems into a more holistic approach based on centralised intelligence and policy-based controls, according to Maria Claassen from Avery Office Products.
Without engendering a sense of alarm there is no doubt that the security risk to organisations and companies is on the rise. This is not simply about the potential of a terrorist attack. Quite the contrary, health and safety legislation has placed the onus on workplace security firmly on the desk of the facilities manager. Furthermore, incidents of workplace theft have moved the issue further up the agenda within many organisations. When asked about their major concerns relating to office security, many enterprise will express discomfort. But what is true is that security is a rapidly evolving set of jigsaw pieces in an increasingly complex puzzle. Whereas most enterprises have focused on point solutions there is a growing need and understanding that a complete security architecture to support front offices needs to be developed.
Technology threat
Many of us are aware of the increasing threat to the enterprise posed by IT terrorists. It is without doubt the highest profile, and most sophisticated, threat posed to companies today. Attacks are increasingly daring and malicious, rippling even faster through the Internet. They often occur at night at a time when IT staff are at their minimum. The consequences are dire if a virus hits. It is therefore no surprise that security is a top priority for IT buyers. A recent Forrester survey showed that 69pc of European enterprises bought security solutions by the end of 2004.
Virus attacks
Virus attacks of this nature are highly damaging to the organisation. Lost productivity due to PC downtime can be highly detrimental to any organisation. But there is also another more mundane threat to the organisation and this is the area confronted by facilities managers on a day to day basis. The raft of recent health and safety legislation is changing the face of corporate Britain. Visitors to companies the length and breadth of the country must now comply with new rules and regulations governing the way that organisation interfaces with them and vice versa. We all know the process – signing in, receiving a badge and details on health and safety. It is a picture repeated every minute, every working day, in UK companies. But it is not just the Health and Safety Executive driving this trend in workplace security. Theft, intimidation and violence are daily threats in today’s working environment.
The US experience
Indeed we only need to look over the pond to the United States to see trends that will dominate our daily working life in the not too distant future. In a survey conducted by Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations, an expert on workplace security, workplace violence is a major concern for employees. In 2004 it reported that for the fourth year in a row, workplace violence, which in the USA resulted in three deaths a day and thousands of injuries per year, is the number one security concern facing US business. The study, ‘Top Security Threats and management Issues Facing Corporate America’ was conducted across corporate security professionals in Fortune 1000 companies. It identified the following top 10 security threats in rank order:
1. Workplace violence
2. Business interruption/disaster recovery
3. Terrorism
4. Internet/Intranet security
5. Employee selection/screening processes
6. White collar crime
7. Unethical business practices
8. General employee theft
9. Property crime
10. Drug and alcohol abuse
If the experience of our American cousins is anything to go by the trends will be replicated here in the UK. In fact in the US alone, the costs to employers alone in 2004 was over $36 billion. For facilities managers in the UK the message is clear: workplace security is as real here as it is in the USA. Organisations continually face new security threats. Whenever an economy slows, crime becomes a growth industry. Commercial crime is an age old problem, but as computers, printers and copiers improve new threats are generated and businesses must find new deterrents to protect themselves.
Be proactive
The best security system is not reactive, it is proactive. Companies and facilities managers must ensure that by integrating security into existing processes and technology, organisations can make themselves unattractive targets for opportunistic criminals. One of the most effective deterrents are automatic identification technology and identification printing systems which can effectively limit the damages from these crimes and frauds. Identification and tracking systems can be used to protect people, facilities, fixed assets, products and information. One such solution is the Photo ID Visitor Management System from Avery. Not only does it enhance security within the workplace as it photographs, logs and tracks visitors as they register at reception, but it also projects a highly professional image. Systems such as this enable front desk staff to quickly and easily register and photograph visitors as they arrive. Once the visitors details are logged into the Photo ID Visitor Management System, it then prints a neat, attractive identification badge complete with colour photo of the person concerned. Using the latest technology at the front desk also generates a valuable database for future use as well as building us a database comprising of visitor information and image, as well as details on the length of visit, destination within the facility, frequency of visits and other such information.
Visitor ID
Security concerns are also addressed through this technology as employees can easily identify visitors from the photographic pass as they move around the organisation’s offices. But it is not just visitors that can be identified. All too often temporary workers, service and delivery personnel and contractors are ignored, all of which pose a possible security threat. Automating visitor badge printing in this manner is an efficient way to manage operations and reception tracking. Compact, quiet label printers can be easily installed at reception desks, receiving docks or guard stations to print professional visitor passes. Low cost does not necessarily mean low security because any inkjet printer and the software that underpins this solution can incorporate graphics, security marks, bar codes and digitised photographs on low cost adhesive labels.
What’s in store
So for facilities managers what will the future hold. In a recent survey from Hitachi Data Systems announced in late 2004, a clear picture emerges. UK companies are already anticipating the introduction of biometric technology to increase workplace security. The survey itself found that 65pc of UK firms expect to see iris scanning and fingerprint recognition systems in the office, with 44pc expecting them within the next two years. The survey, conducted across 800 IT and FM directors found that 54pc believed that the use of biometrics was a justified security measure, even though they felt that there would be employee resistance, at least in the short term. Biometrics may be for the future. But for today the security challenge confronted by facilities managers is clear: identification printing systems offer an easy and inexpensive way for organisations to raise the level of protection for their people and property.
