When we work with customers to secure their businesses, we have a few goals in mind. First, we want to make sure we keep the wrong people out of your building. Additionally, we also want to create a simple, user-friendly experience. The easier it is to use your security equipment, the more you will use it and, in turn, the more effective it will be. Finally, we also want to add security equipment that interacts with any security you already have in place. This type of integration creates a streamlined experience that adds both security and convenience. Today, we’ll introduce a security measure that checks off all of these boxes, and then some! In this post, we’ll show you the benefits of adding Alarm.com access control security to your business.
First, we’ll explain the basics of access control installation. This knowledge will provide a great base for the rest of the information shared in this post. From there, we’ll introduce the you to Alarm.com. This venerable security provider has long offered some of the most effective and powerful security devices on the market. This introduction will also include an overview of some access control features unique to Alarm.com access control products. Finally, we’ll show you some security integration options that allow your new access control system to interact with other Alarm.com security products. These features add security and convenience to your security experience! Now, let’s dive in with a look at what installing access control entails.
Access control systems utilize electronic locking hardware, such as this electric strike by HES, to grant access to a door after an employee swipes their credential.
Understanding Access Control
Access control systems represent one of the most effective means of controlling and tracking access to your property. Installing this security measure involves using advanced lock equipment to control access to your property. Access control systems utilize electronic locking hardware to operate specific doors within a business. Rather than using a key at these doors, users approach a keypad or a credential reader and present either a code or a physical credential such as a card, a fob, or even their cellphone. Users who present an approved credential will then be able to open the door after the reader interacts with the door’s electronics to unlock it. Business owners can allow each credential to open only certain doors at specific times. This proves especially useful when securing larger businesses!
In addition to controlling access to certain doors, access control systems include software that tracks access as well. Every time an employee approaches an access door, it creates a time-stamped event that you can view on a computer by logging in to your access control system. This allows you to easily track employee activity within your business. Furthermore, it allows you to see if anyone tries to enter doors in your business that they should not attempt to enter.
For example, if employees without the necessary permission attempt to use their credentials to enter your business during a time that you do not want them to do so, the system will both deny access and “flag” this event. At that point, you will know which employee attempted this breach. The security and flexibility offered by these systems make them an extremely effective means of limiting access to your business. Now, let’s see how the Alarm.com platform comes into this equation.
Your Alarm.com Primer
At this point, we’ll explain how we use Alarm.com’s platform to power up your access control experience. Founded in 2000, Alarm.com revolutionized alarm monitoring through their cellular dialer. This piece of equipment allows for remote control over an alarm system using a web browser or through the Alarm.com mobile app. Through this service, customers could now arm and disarm their security systems remotely. Additionally, they can even receive security alerts on their phones in real time. System arming and disarming events, alarm activation events, and even notifications for events such as low sensor batteries can create instant notifications sent straight to your phone. These types of features have made interactive monitoring through Alarm.com our most popular monitoring service overall.
Over the last decade or so, Alarm.com has been introducing more and more types of security offerings to their customers. These new options offer the same remote accessibility as Alarm.com alarm monitoring. In turn, this gives you previously unheard-of control over your security products, utilizing the same Alarm.com platform. When it comes to access control, this entails remote features that traditional access control equipment does not offer.
For example, you can now lock and unlock your business’s doors remotely. This allows you to provide quick access to your property from anywhere, at any time. Moreover, you can add and delete user codes or credentials to control access to your building remotely as well. This means that if an employee leaves your company, you can change their access permission without going on site to do so! Finally, adding Alarm.com access control lets you integrate your access control system with other Alarm.com security devices. In the next section, we’ll discuss this in more detail.
Alarm.com access control equipment allows you to integrate different types of security equipment for maximum ease of use.
Complete Security Integration
As we mentioned, Alarm.com has widened their portfolio to include a wide variety of products. In addition to offering many types of security under one platform, this allows for a completely integrated experience. For starters, this means that you can use one app for all of your security needs, creating organization and ease of use. Additionally, Alarm.com’s access control equipment can also work together with all of your other Alarm.com security equipment. This creates a streamlined, convenient security experience for you.
For example, we pointed out that Alarm.com’s earliest security offerings focus on burglar alarms. If you have Alarm.com’s interactive burglar monitoring, you can tie in alarm commands to your access control system. For example, swiping your access credential at your business can also disarm your security system. When leaving, the last employee out can also “double-tap” their credential to arm the security system as well.
Of course, other Alarm.com devices also interact with their access control equipment. In particular, Alarm.com’s smart doorbells work seamlessly to provide an easy way to interact with visitors. Upon approaching your business, visitors can ring the doorbell to create cellphone-based contact with anyone at your business you deem fit. At this point, you can use your phone to converse with them and, if desired, unlock the door and let them in! As you can see, this level of interaction between equipment types adds quite a bit of value to your overall security investment.
Putting Alarm.com Access Control to Work for You
We hope that this post helps you see how you can use Alarm.com access control to help secure your own business. Additionally, we encourage you to contact us with any questions this post may raise for you. We will happily answer any and all of your security-related inquiries. Moreover, we also invite you to take advantage of our free site survey program. We’ve long offered complimentary security audits and equipment quotes to both new and existing customers alike. While on site, we can address any security concerns you may have and work to implement creative solution for you. Of course, many of these solutions will likely involve the Alarm.com-based security equipment options we’ve discussed in this post. Additionally, we can also offer own own suggestions based on observations of your property while on site.
Perhaps you have a security plan in place, and wish to bolster it using the information in this post. Or, maybe you’re starting your security plan from the ground up. Either way, we are here to help! Over our 37-plus years in business, we’ve helped over a thousand customers help secure their properties. In doing so, we create the security and user experience they need to create the peace of mind that they desire. Together, we can create a complete security plan to keep your property, and everyone on it, as safe and secure as possible!