Transforming physical security with real-time situational awareness

There is little doubt that security concerns have heightened in the near two years since the pandemic first swept across the globe. A report from Pro-Vigil reveals that nearly one in five companies experienced more physical security incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one in three of the 124 respondents surveyed anticipate further increases in 2021.

The tragic terrorist attacks experienced during this period in the UK have caused many organisations to make changes to their physical security arrangements, including the installation of new video cameras. Despite these enhanced physical security measures, two key security challenges remain for companies of today - communication and coordination.

Effective security operation

In a recent Ontic report on protective intelligence, 84 percent of respondents agreed that their company would be better placed to avoid a crisis if all members of the physical security team could view threat data in a single system-of-record platform.

Without an accurate shared situational awareness solution, information can be missed

To successfully achieve and sustain an effective security operation that minimises the chances for security incidents from occurring, ensures incidents can be reacted to at speed and recovery is quicker, security personnel needs a clear understanding of key information. For many, this is where the difficulty lies. Without an accurate shared situational awareness solution, information can be missed, it can be interpreted differently by others or ineffective effort can result from confusing and contradictory messages.

Situational awareness software

Such issues are inherent in traditional approaches to security that are typically input-focused. Many firms will opt to deploy a specific number of security officers and/or other resources such as cameras, without truly understanding their operating environment.

In the modern-day, firms need to move away from these assumption-built security protocols and take a more information-driven stance – something that can be achieved with real-time situational awareness software.

Communicating critical information

Real-time situational awareness technologies are at the forefront of next-generation security solutions.

Often, incidents will be unnoticed, or misunderstood, as a result of either flawed assumptions or difficulties in handling and communicating critical information. In such instances, the following might occur:

• Misunderstanding the threat: The nature, scale, and location of a threat.
• Misinterpreting the response: The nature, scale, and timing of the response needed.
• Mismanaging the actions taken: At all levels of management and across stakeholders.

Track security resources

The success of security is reliant on getting the right information to the right people at the right time

The success of security is reliant on getting the right information to the right people at the right time so that a coordinated, timely, and seamless response to potential threats and incidents can be delivered. This is the critical challenge that real-time response solutions look to address.

They can provide a comprehensive, informed, action-ready understanding of operations in their entirety, allowing organisations to track security resources, flag incidents across all locations, and record key decisions in real-time, which can then be communicated quickly and easily to all stakeholders. In this sense, they transform visibility, allowing appropriate and informed responses to be implemented at speed when required.

Situational awareness tools

Six benefits of real-time situational awareness tools:

The improvements that can be derived from this approach are palpable. Here are six security benefits that organisations tapping into real-time situational awareness tools stand to gain:

• Improved communication: The thirst for information during an incident is massive, but the information flow never typically catches up until later on, and even then, it takes time to separate the accurate from the misinformed. A cohesive multi-agency/multi-tenant situational awareness helps to bridge that gap.
• Improved decision making: By better defining situations, more informed, timely and effective decisions can be made.
• Customer/staff satisfaction: Well-managed environments where problems are identified at the earliest opportunity enable resolutions to be delivered with minimal fuss.
• Reduced costs: Knowledge of where people are at all times can help with conducting a security audit that minimises duplicated, unnecessary and ineffective activity, ensuring there is a more effective use of resources.
• Improved Preparedness: Real-time situational awareness provides the basis for plans to be tested and validated more comprehensively so that the allocation of resources and processes are improved in the event of real instances.
• Reduced corporate risk: These technologies can also create a record of activity that may be used to support action reviews, investigations, and inquiries as evidence in the aftermath of incidents. This can also demonstrate that a sound security policy has been reviewed, practiced, and implemented.

Avoiding potential disruptions

These technologies have extensive application potential across a variety of sectors as well

The potential benefits to be realised from real-time situational awareness solutions are not just limited to security, however. Rather, they can add value in a multitude of other ways. Businesses can optimise efficiencies in day-to-day operations - for example, moving resources from A to B while avoiding any potential disruptions. Meanwhile, such technologies can be used to quickly identify issues such as burst water mains or blocked roads that could cause chaos in city-centre environments, ensuring action can be taken more swiftly and effectively.

These technologies have extensive application potential across a variety of sectors as well. At Amulet, we are deploying our specific Project Blueprint solution within a range of different environments, from retail and leisure locations to events facilities and stadiums to corporate offices and transport networks.

Better allocation of resources

Indeed, wherever and however real-time situational awareness solutions are applied, the critical message remains the same: The quicker you know about something, the sooner you can do something about it.

For security, real-time and accurate information is critical in preparing for and mitigating the impact of incidents. Through using these technologies, organisations are better placed to reduce harm and recover quicker, all with reduced strain thanks to a better allocation of resources which helps to optimise costs. Such tools will play a key role in 2022 and beyond.