Physical Security

Before deciding what type of security system will be ideal for you, you need to understand what and where you want to protect. Consider the risks and threats that are specific to your organization:

• Do you need to protect your entire property from intrusion, or are there certain areas that are more significant than others?
• Do you need always-on monitoring, or are there particular times of day (openings and closings, for example) that you need to focus on?

Answering these types of questions will help you narrow down your options.

Points to think about here include:

• Your Surrounding Environment: Are you in an area that gets a lot of rain or is susceptible to forest fires? If these types of occurrences might pose a hazard for you, you’ll need to make sure you choose more rugged and durable security solutions (especially if the components are going to be placed outside).
• Your Building Type: Each facility has its own unique security needs. A hospital, for example, will have vastly different requirements than a more traditional office.
• The Area You Need to Secure: Some properties will need to maximize protection around their borders, while others will only need to focus their attention on a few key spots within their buildings.

When it comes to physical security, the three broad levels you should know about are:

• Outer perimeter security, which extends to the edges of your property and often incorporates elements like fencing, gates, lighting, CCTV, and remote or in-person guarding. The aim of this type of security is simple: to control who has access to your land and prevent unwanted guests.
• Inner perimeter security is about shielding your buildings—walls, windows, and doors—to manage who and what can enter. Commonly used technologies include access control, alarms, and CCTV.
• Interior security addresses the spaces inside your facility (individual offices, data storage, etc.) with things like CCTV, motion detectors, intercom, and monitoring.

You’ll also find variation within the different types of services. Access control, for example, can be relatively simple (generic keycards for anyone who needs to come and go) or more complex, using biometric data to determine whether or not a person has the authority to enter a given area or access information.

In short, yes. Although individual components (like CCTV) can be used on a standalone basis, in the majority of cases they will be joined and connected to other technologies (like monitoring and access control) to create a strong, robust security system.