In a world gone digital, there are many security systems out there. This is not new security cameras have been around for decades. And so if card readers and biometric devices what has changed in the past few years, is that engineers have been able to integrate all of these security systems into all in one software packages, which are becoming easier and easier to use. This means that while in the past, there were separate systems for security cameras, access card programming, alarm system monitoring, electronic key control, dispatch, software and incident report writing. Now there are single systems that can give users the ability to manage all of these making utilization and training much easier. But there are a lot of products out there and although manufacturers promise you the world, that world may not fit well with yours.

Often software that you're marketed is too large for your operations. And if you do buy it, you may be wasting money having a system used to 50% capacity or less. Sometimes your market IT systems brand new. Keep in mind that brand new systems are laden with glitches and bugs that the manufacturers will eventually iron out through releases of updates, fixes and new versions of the software. This will inevitably leave you and your staff frustrated. So, consider a system that has been out in the market for some time, but with a few more years of service and support by the manufacturers or by whoever is your security system integrator, the system integrator is your lifeline when it comes to servicing your security systems.

Be the alarms cameras access controller others it is important to develop a good relationship and a vested interest by the integrator to keep returning to site to fix issues, which will undoubtedly arise systems are not without their faults, cameras will go offline readers will get damaged as well door alarm contacts. If you have several integrators or if you have just one company servicing all of these systems. It is best if they report directly to you as opposed to having to go to your maintenance department. To get them to come in. Going back to the operational Management module that we have covered, you should budget for the annual monthly or per visit integrator fees in your security budget, thereby taking not only the operational, but also the financial responsibility over security systems maintenance. These are your systems after all, and you should be the one calling the shots and servicing and maintaining them.

Systems training can be difficult. Different people in your department possess a broad range of computer literacy and ability to quickly grasp software operation. It is best that you dedicate one of your senior staff members as a training officer in charge of delivering training and retraining of your department staff on security system functionality. You may want to equip this person with a checklist for things to train people on and establish a direct contact between this person and the system manufacturers and integrators in case of technical questions that may arise during training. This person can also be placed in charge of systems maintenance and troubleshooting and reporting system flaws faults and not an errors yourself and your systems training or maintenance person should undergo extensive train the trainer program.