As a New England business owner, you may not think much about your various security and surveillance systems — until you need them. That means your existing solutions may have become outdated, suffer from gaps, or are just plainly obsolete and not fully functional.
It may be too late to address these security shortcomings by the time you realize them. This is most relevant in areas where the growth of new technology, such as the Internet of Things, is creating even more risk than before.
Is Your Security Ready?
With the arrival of COVID-19 and new safety and health regulations, businesses face a whole new set of challenges to protect their employees, customers and partners. As the Boston Herald notes, a failure in protection might lead to a crippling lawsuit that could financially ruin a small firm.
Members of your company, or your partners, may be working remotely in unfamiliar environments or conditions, as mentioned in a recent Boston Business Journal article. Your security procedures and solutions may be vulnerable, given they must function across geographically distributed locations, or at hours and in circumstances they weren’t designed for.
Protection Assessment and Evaluation
Given the current situation, here are five indicators to consider if you’re in doubt about how current and robust your current business security system is. You might want to consider an upgrade or revamp if:
- You can’t view/record activities in key areas for ongoing compliance and safety. This particularly applies to customer-facing businesses, such as restaurants or retail stores. Given the new rules around hygiene, you must be able to demonstrate you follow social distancing and similar guidelines.
- Your business has changed or expanded substantially since the last surveillance/alarm installation. Are you in the same location? Did you expand your existing one? Are new areas sufficiently protected? You have to regularly re-evaluate your existing infrastructure to match your growth.
- You can’t respond in real-time to disruptive or risky situations. Thieves or vandals can strike at your business at any time. Plus, given the various restrictions caused by COVID-19, members of the public have lately demonstrated disruptive behavior, as mentioned in this blog post. A high-resolution camera system feeding into a 24/7 control system can enable the fastest, safest responses.
- You lack communications and/or power redundancy. Thieves are shrewder than ever. They can take out your landline to prevent a burglar alarm reaching first responders. As we’ve previously noted, you should have backup communications in place, such as cellular connectivity. Likewise, if the power in your facility goes out, back up battery power will ensure the alarms stay live until electricity is restored.
- It’s been years since you upgraded your surveillance/security systems. High tech criminals never rest. They create new viruses and hacking schemes. You can help defeat that by making sure your network has all the latest software patches and security protocols in place. Can your cameras clearly record all activity on your premises? High resolution cameras improve regularly and enable ever better visibility into your facilities or shop floors. Cloud-based solutions can provide further security by allowing securely encrypted off-site video storage and streaming 24/7.
If any or all of these situations applies to you, it’s worth considering a security upgrade. New surveillance and sensing systems can protect you and your business in this ever changing and challenging commercial environment.
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Stay up to date on security topics such as home alarm systems, business security systems, video surveillance systems, IP video networks, remote video monitoring, fire alarm systems, and fire alarm inspection.
How Burglars Think: How to Outsmart Them
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamEvery New England home or business owner wants to protect their property from burglars. Such invaders are a real threat today. According to the FBI, in 2018, the most recent full year with available statistics, there were 1.2 million burglaries in the United States. This represents some 17 percent of all property crime.
Naturally, you can take basic steps to defend yourself, such as locking doors and windows when you are absent, alerting neighbors if you are going on vacation, and so on. To take it a step further, however, try to think a bit like a burglar and develop your defensive strategies accordingly.
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How to Secure Your Home Without Breaking the Bank
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamIf you want to ensure that you do not become part of that statistic, you’re not alone. Homeowners are looking for better ways to secure their property – that don’t come with a hefty price tag.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to achieve greater home security that don’t involve a lot of additional investment. Often, some creative thinking matched with wise decisions are all it takes to ensure that your home is safe from would-be intruders.
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Tough Commercial Security Questions to Consider
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAs a New England business owner or manager, you probably have questions about security that you weren’t sure how to ask. Here we have assembled a list of common, reasonable questions to help guide you in the future as you evaluate new (or existing) security solutions.
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Four Tips to Improve Productivity by Leveraging Commercial Security
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamOne of the best ways to do this is by implementing a stronger commercial security infrastructure. These added measures will fortify your business against wasted hours, employee distrust, and other productivity stealers. The following four tips show you how to use commercial security to increase productivity among your employees – across all areas of your business.
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5 Warning Signs You Need to Upgrade Your Business Security
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamIt may be too late to address these security shortcomings by the time you realize them. This is most relevant in areas where the growth of new technology, such as the Internet of Things, is creating even more risk than before.
Is Your Security Ready?
With the arrival of COVID-19 and new safety and health regulations, businesses face a whole new set of challenges to protect their employees, customers and partners. As the Boston Herald notes, a failure in protection might lead to a crippling lawsuit that could financially ruin a small firm.
Members of your company, or your partners, may be working remotely in unfamiliar environments or conditions, as mentioned in a recent Boston Business Journal article. Your security procedures and solutions may be vulnerable, given they must function across geographically distributed locations, or at hours and in circumstances they weren’t designed for.
Protection Assessment and Evaluation
Given the current situation, here are five indicators to consider if you’re in doubt about how current and robust your current business security system is. You might want to consider an upgrade or revamp if:
If any or all of these situations applies to you, it’s worth considering a security upgrade. New surveillance and sensing systems can protect you and your business in this ever changing and challenging commercial environment.
NEXT STEPS:
Stay up to date on security topics such as home alarm systems, business security systems, video surveillance systems, IP video networks, remote video monitoring, fire alarm systems, and fire alarm inspection.
5 Summer Fire Safety Tips
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamFire-related incidents are responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries each year, as well as millions of dollars in property damages. The best way to stop a fire is to prevent it from starting in the first place. Consider these five summer fire safety tips to greatly reduce your risk of a fire taking hold of your home. Using caution, campfires, cookout grills and more can be safely enjoyed all summer long.
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A Great Time for School Security System Upgrades
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAs a school administrator, are you wondering how to respond to new threats such as COVID-19 when you reopen your facilities? Besides the usual risks (vandals, thieves, intruders and potential shooters), administrators must now factor in hygiene and cleanliness protections (surveillance and monitoring may assist with these efforts).
The upside is that school buildings are less occupied and quieter than usual because of the pandemic. This provides the opportunity to get large projects done with less disruption, including bigger and more ambitious security infrastructure upgrades than would be possible during a normal summer season.
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Safety Tips for the 4th of July
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamThe Fourth of July brings the excitement of backyard barbeques during the day and awe-inspiring firework shows at night. However, as Pew Research describes, Fourth of July weekend is also considered the most dangerous and deadliest weekend of the year. Emergency rooms experience thousands of patients on normal weekends for a variety of causes, but Independence Day adds a high number of firework, alcohol and water-related injuries to the
list.
There’s no reason to let these statistics dampen your enthusiasm. Most – if not all – Independence Day accidents can be avoided by observing a few standard safety precautions. Implement the following tips to ensure that your Fourth of July remains a fun weekend of relaxation and entertainment.
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5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Home Security Before Selling
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamInvest in Home Peace of Mind
Planning to put your house on the market? Want to differentiate the property and build value for it in a practical, demonstrable way? Offer your buyers full security capabilities and extra peace of mind.
If you already have some sort of basic alarm system in place, consider upgrading it and implementing a cutting-edge, high tech and holistic surveillance/life safety solution. The safety of your property and loved ones is crucial. Anything you can do to enhance that protection will most likely appeal to future owners of your house.
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How Monitoring Your Kids’ Online Activity Mitigates Break-Ins
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamOnline “casing” has become a new favorite tool of burglars throughout the country. Statistics show that nearly 75% of home invaders used a resident’s online presence in some way to target and locate their home. While adults use social media and other online platforms to engage with the world, children are far more
invested in their virtual life, which makes them a vulnerable target for would-be burglars looking for easy access to a vacant home.
There are many ways you can monitor your child’s online presence to ensure that your entire family – and your home – are kept safe from intruders. First, it’s important to know exactly how potential robbers locate the information they need.
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