What are the benefits of integrating access control with other business systems?

When it comes to access control, security isn’t usually the only department involved. Decisions and processes related to access for employees, visitors and suppliers typically involve HR, facilities management and IT, as well as security. If each of these departments is operating their own system independently of access control management, the results can range from inefficiency to serious breaches of security.

Limit risk with automatic updates

When an employee leaves your organisation, for example, you want their access rights to be revoked as soon as their contract ends to maintain security levels. To ensure this happens automatically, physical identity and access management (PIAM) processes should be integrated into wider business processes.

In this case, you want your access management database to link with your HR database. So when the latter shows that someone’s left the business, or switched roles, their access rights instantly update in the access management database to reflect this.

Improve consistency and efficiency

The benefits of integrating access control with your organisation’s other systems and processes aren’t limited to automatic updates and increased security. It can also make procedures more consistent and processes more efficient.

Hospitality can be improved, for example, as receptionists know when a visitor is expected and who they’ve come to see. Catering staff can see how many people are in the building and so can adjust how much food they prepare. And facilities management can analyse how buildings are used and perhaps close underused areas for parts of the week, month or year to save on utilities costs. The options are wide and varied.

Increase productivity and happiness

By integrating access control with other business systems, you can use the opportunities and information it generates strategically. Not just to improve security and efficiency, but also to boost productivity, creativity and even happiness. This is particularly important for us because we believe security is as much about people as technology. For us, security is about helping people to make the most of their life and work.