What will be the impact of 'hot desking' on the security marketplace?

‘Hot desking’ is a great way to counteract underused office space, which has resulted from many people now preferring hybrid – or even completely remote – working. However, many businesses are struggling to find the happy medium when it comes to ’hot desking.’ The key lies in accessing existing data in a way that prioritises collaboration, inclusivity, and most importantly, employee safety. Intelligent systems like cloud video security and workplace sensors can increase situational awareness: Occupancy counting monitors the number of people who are in and out of designated spaces; sensors detect of the presence of people at specific desk locations. The system is directed by desk-booking software. Office managers can use this to have a better picture of the busiest days, with insights like whether employees are using their booked spaces properly, and which high traffic areas will need more frequent cleaning. There is always a balancing act of privacy and security. Therefore, these solutions can provide awareness of when doors in certain areas open, but still maintain the anonymity of the person entering or leaving the room. Such innovation removes guesswork and consequently makes the security marketplace, by way of the office, smarter and more adaptive.

The move to ‘hot desking’ and hybrid working in general will see a lot more movement of people, which has obvious implications for security. For example, the use of lockers and cabinets to store valuables and confidential materials will become even more important, which is an ideal application for wireless locks. Occupancy management is another security facet that is essential for this hybrid working environment. With the numbers of people fluctuating, it is important to ensure facilities are not overcrowded, and also to manage the use of utilities (lighting, heating, air conditioning etc.) as appropriate to requirements. More broadly, this data enables an organisation to assess whether it has too much or too little workspace, which is vital when it comes to renting requirements (a hefty bill for business!) It will also be essential that security and access control be fully integrated with the IT infrastructure (such as Active Directory) to ensure sign-on access to these systems as well as physical access to a facility. This is also where the use of smartphone credentials will be invaluable, as facilities become increasingly automated, and tokens/cards become less practical to deploy and use.

Salient’s CompleteView solution lends itself to ‘hot desking’ in that users can efficiently monitor their systems from our web and mobile clients anywhere and most importantly, perform all system tasks from a lightweight, moderately appointed laptop. This is because we perform Dynamic Resolution Scaling at the server and only send the necessary pixels to the client, reducing the hardware requirements and network utilisation. Other VMS solutions utilise multi-streaming to alleviate the burden on the client, but that can increase bandwidth on the network. For systems with active monitoring and dispatch operations, ‘hot desking’ is not a viable option – many of these are run from command centres or security offices that are typically equipped with large video walls and multiple operators sitting at positions that are defined by the task and not the person occupying the chair.