We’ve written several posts up until now that describe how smart technology relates to the security industry. In particular, our 7 Important Security System Add-Ons for Your Smart Home examined several security-related smart home upgrades that we can install for homeowners. Here, we turn our focus from home security to commercial security. In this post, we examine specific smart technology security solutions for your business.
We will begin with a look at adding interactive monitoring services to your alarm system. Interactive cellular monitoring offers a few distinct benefits worth discussing. From there, we’ll also look at installing smart locks as part of your business security plan. These locks provide both security and activity-tracking benefits. They also add a measure of convenience. After this, we will discuss controlling and tracking your office’s environment remotely. Smart thermostat technology helps keep your office comfortable when you need it most, while also helping you cut down on energy bills. Finally, we’ll discuss environmental sensors that can monitor your office for emergency conditions. Let’s begin with a look at how interactive monitoring can help improve security at your own business.
Interactive Monitoring to Maximize Security
We recommend interactive cellular security monitoring for both our residential and commercial customers. You may remember our post on Unique Security Monitoring Options. In that post, we discussed a couple benefits offered by this unique monitoring service. For starters, if your phone lines go down, a cellular dialer will allow your alarm to continue communication with our central station. Additionally, our cellular dialer powered by Alarm.com gives users an amazing amount of control over their security system. We’ll begin this section with an overall look at cellular monitoring and its benefits. From there, we’ll dive into some of the more advanced security features offered through interactive cellular monitoring.
Cellular Security Monitoring and Remote Alarm Control
Most of our customers opt for interactive cellular monitoring for a couple different reasons. For starters, this monitoring provides the most security. As we mentioned, cellular dialers communicate with our central station regardless of whether or not your phone lines are active. Since many burglars cut the phone lines of properties they break into, this is important. Furthermore, many businesses these days primarily use Internet Protocol (or “IP”) or Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) technology for their phone service. Traditional alarm monitoring, however, requires a physical phone line. Cellular monitoring allows business owners to cancel their traditional landline services that they often only pay in order to monitor their security system.
Furthermore, interactive cellular monitoring provides users with remote access to their alarm system. This allows business owners or managers to arm and disarm their security system remotely. Did you leave the office and now worry that you failed to set the alarm? No worries! Now, you can simply pick up your phone and check in on your alarm’s status. If you did forget to arm your security system, you can do so with the push of a button. Additionally, interactive cellular monitoring services create instant alerts to notify you to any alarm activity. Let’s take a look at how this concept can add security to your business.
Alarm.com notifications can alert you to activity at your business, such as employees arming and disarming the security system.
Alerts to Keep You Informed of Activity in Your Business
Alarm.com alerts can help you stay connected to important activity at your business. For example, most of our Alarm.com customers create a notification to alert them if someone arms or disarms their security system. That way, employees coming back to work at unexpected hours cannot do so without you knowing. You’ll receive an alert telling you who disarmed the security system as soon as it happens.
Furthermore, you can create notifications to alert you if expected activity does not take place. For example, if your business opens at 9am, you can create a notification if nobody arrives and disarms the alarm system by that time. Conversely, you can receive a text if the alarm isn’t armed by a certain time in the evening. Business owners love this level of connection to the security activity at their businesses. Now, let’s look at adding smart locks to your business for additional smart technology security.
Smart Locks to Create Keyless Entry Points
Adding smart locks to your business can add security in a couple different ways. For one, installing smart locks makes it easier to keep track of keys. Businesses often struggle collecting keys from past employees. Furthermore, these employees may have made copies of their keys to your business. Smart locks allow for keyless entry that removes this risk entirely. As employees come and go, simply delete the codes of former workers who should no longer access the building.
Additionally, Alarm.com customers gain even more security by adding Alarm.com-compatible smart locks. Many smart locks work with the Alarm.com app to allowforremote locking and unlocking capability. This allows business owners to grant contractors one-time access to the building without giving out a key or a code. Alarm.com-compatible smart locks even allow for lock-related alerts, letting essential business personnel know when people lock or unlock doors equipped with smart locks. The added security and ability to track use of smart locks make them a great piece of smart technology for businesses. Now, let’s look at a smart device that can make your business more comfortable and efficient.
Smart thermostats can alert you to dangerously high or low temperatures in your business.
Thermostats That Provide Remote Control and Notifications
Smart thermostats allow unprecedented control over your office’s environment at all times. Installing these devices allows you to control your office temperature remotely. This can be done on a real-time basis, as well as through pre-determined temperature schedules. For example, you may set a schedule to keep your business 70 degrees during working hours, and 55 degrees overnight and on weekends. Smart thermostats allow you to do this, without you having to wait for the office to warm up after changing the temperature in the morning the way you would now. At any time, you can still use your phone or the thermostat itself to manually change the temperature in case of a break from the usual schedule. This amount of control and flexibility keeps your office consistently comfortable while also saving money.
As with most smart technology products, Alarm.com has their own version of the smart thermostat compatible with their app! The Alarm.com thermostat can create a notification if the temperature at your business creeps outside of a range that you create. For example, temperatures of less than 45 or more than 80 degrees could indicate an issue. You can receive an alert as soon as this happens, allowing you to check on the office for any potential issues. Let’s stick with the concept of environmental alerts for our last smart technology device for your business.
Environmental Sensors and Alerts
This wireless freeze flood sensor by Interlogix can alert you to both frozen pipes or water in your basement.
In addition to smart thermostats, we also offer environmental sensors that detect specific environmental emergency events. For example, we offer sensors that detect extreme cold temperatures. These “freeze sensors” can be installed in the basement of your business to detect potentially frozen water pipes as quickly as possible. We also offer “flood sensors” that detect the presence of water on the floor. Furthermore, if you have a wireless alarm system, we can install one sensor that alerts you to both freezing temperatures and the presence of water! A wireless freeze/flood sensor, such as the one pictured, represents the most efficient way to monitor your business for one of these conditions. Adding this technology to your alarm system allows you to check on these conditions as early as possible, and potentially save you from a major environmental disaster in your business.
Creating a Complete Smart Technology Plan for Your Business
We hope that this post has given you some ideas for adding smart technology to your business security plan. If you have any questions about the material in this post, we encourage you to contact us. We offer free commercial site surveys for both new and existing customers. While on site, we can help find smart technology security solutions for your unique security needs. Additionally, we can help address any security concerns you may have. Together, we can create a complete plan to allow modern security technology to keep your office as safe and secure as possible.