Diane Ritchey, Marketing Director for Safety & Security at Zenitel Americas explains why a unified approach to critical communications leads to better situational awareness.
A strong security and communication system is critical for any business or facility to mitigate risks and to operate effectively.
Security and safety are necessary, due to the number of sophisticated risks that security teams face each day.
Every area of a facility, inside and out, including the fence-line at a perimeter, is necessary to successfully operate a business and keep employees, visitors and vendors safe and secure.
Technology to mitigate risks has advanced from analog devices to today’s IP-based solutions, networked cameras and access control solutions, in addition to analytics, cloud-based products, AI and more.
Even more, metal detectors, facial recognition and panic buttons can be utilized, while software to analyze key words in social media feeds is becoming more commonplace.
During an emergency, public safety communications help first responders save lives but also improve response time and enhance interagency coordination.
These types of communications are usually referred to as mission critical communications.
They may include mobile (5G), radio telecommunication and mass notification systems.
Another type of critical communication is called business critical communications, which are technologies essential for maintaining the daily operational efficiency of an organization as well as keeping employees, visitors and assets safe.
Technologies such as mass notification systems, professional mobile radio, voice evacuation systems, intercoms and help points play an important role in a business-critical communication solution.
Specifically, intercoms and IP speakers are critical communication solutions as they help to ensure the overall security of a building.
When integrated with other security solutions such as video surveillance, access control systems and perimeter detection systems, audio can enhance an enterprise’s overall security posture.
There are three areas within a facility where critical communication solutions play an important role:
Audio for safety: Audio coverage from a loudspeaker system can reach and alert an entire crowd with more efficiency than a video screen or a visual-exclusive announcement.
Crowd members must break their visual focus or create a hazardous cluster for line-of-sight over information on a screen; audio systems serve best the requirements for one-to-many announcements, whether they are for casual or critical purposes.
Audio for security: When integrated with systems such as video surveillance, access control and perimeter detection systems, audio enhances the overall security of a facility.
Audio provides one-to-one, one-to-many and one-to-all communications during a security incident.
Audio for daily operations: Communications with an “eye in the sky” is useful in many situations, as staff with limited sightlines over operations can be given instructions to save time or communicate issues.
With two-way audio in security systems doubling up as an intercom service, completing tasks becomes simple and efficient.
Today’s intercoms, public address, IP speakers, help points, phone systems, background music systems and more are critical for safety and security, but also for broader communications needs like operational and entertainment purposes.
However, if those multiple systems are disparate, that can lead to many challenges, such as a high total cost of ownership, multiple vendors and inventory, overlapping technologies and multiple systems to onboard staff. It can also mean slow response times due to siloed operations between security and life safety.
What if there was a way to connect all your disparate audio systems – safety and security, operational and background music communications?
If you could connect your audio solutions –intercoms, voice alarms, public address, IP speakers and more – with your video management system (VMS), access control and physical security information management (PSIM), think of the benefits that would provide.
For control room operators and system integrators, how could their operations improve?
Most security and communications platforms today will require the control room operators to use multiple systems because none offer all the required functionalities in one user interface.
By bringing all critical communication technologies under a single platform, unification provides everything a control room operator needs within a unified software suite and Graphical User Interface (GUI).
This helps them to monitor security breaches and run investigations from a single GUI.
Additional benefits include:
Improved communications: When multiple communication technologies are unified, it reduces the reliance on a single technology and therefore avoids service interruption due to a single technology failure.
Imagine a scenario where the radio system is out of service in an industrial plant.
Using fixed intercom panels, security can still communicate with the target audience and send emergency voice messages.
In school settings, security teams can deliver broadcast messages to intercoms inside the classroom, even if the bell system fails.
Reduced response times: With improved collaboration possibilities among security personnel, control room operators and staff, a unified critical communication platform helps to increase situation awareness, ensuring everyone has the latest updates on a critical incident.
By merging a multitude of communication technologies into a single platform, operators can reach a wider audience, effectively extending the boundaries of communication.
Unification also simplifies communication processes, allowing for quicker decision-making, smoother coordination and more efficient resource allocation.
Easy onboarding of operators: Since all information is united under a single user interface, operators no longer need to learn multiple systems, which reduces the on-boarding time.
Unifying all critical communication under a single user interface can empower operators by giving them the information they need to be more efficient, make better decisions and respond faster to incidents.
Better integration points: When critical communication solutions are unified as a single system, system integrators can reduce the overall number of integration points, which leads to more simple and manageable system architectures and reduces complexity and risk.
Fewer integration points means fewer chances for errors or failures and less to manage and support, which can improve system reliability and reduce downtime.
Overall, unification of critical communication transition translates to:
Unified critical communication solutions is not a new concept but rather a novel approach to integrations.
Now, diverse communication solutions can work together to present a consistent and unified experience for all users.
Overall, there are a multitude of benefits that can be unlocked by a unified approach, as it truly means moving from traditional, siloed communication to a more collaborative communication strategy.
A unified critical communication platform brings together many communication technologies and tools – intercoms, public address, voice evacuation and IP speakers – into a single platform and eliminates the reliance on a single technology.
It combines the strengths of many technologies and ultimately allows the user to better secure a facility.
Zenitel is a leading provider of unified critical communication solutions that allow people to hear, be heard and be understood, in every situation.
Zenitel solutions are designed to cater to a wide range of safety, security, operational and entertainment needs.
Because audio communication is critical in adding interactivity, Zenitel solutions easily integrate with other systems and solutions such as video and access control, in a seamless manner.
This article was originally published in the July edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.