Security has always been one of the primary concerns for any housing society or gated community. Back in the good old days, this security was taken care of by our local neighbours looking to earn an honest living. Slowly communities moved to outsourcing their gate security to security companies who provided them with trained guards. In 2020, apartment security has evolved to become a holistic package combining the human instinct and the efficiency of technology. We are living in the times of the visitor management system. With so many players in the market, it often gets confusing to understand how to choose the best gate management system for your Community. This blog gives you the top 5 questions to ponder on while choosing your society management security system.
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Can The Best Gate Management System be Free?
Remember the evergreen popular saying,”Good things are not Free and Free things are not good.” The same applies for your visitor management system. When you are offered a free security solution, make sure to ask the following questions :
a. If the product is free, how does the company take care of its expenses?
b. Is the company selling my residents’ data to bridge the revenue gap?
c. Is the company cash flow positive?
d. If the company is investor funded, who are the investors or what happens to my residents’ data once the investor pulls out or the company shuts down?
e. If the product is free, do I get access to support and latest enhancements?
f. Are there any hidden charges?
Is the Visitor Management System open to Integrations?
Security is one of those aspects where you cannot just depend on one single avenue. You need multiple avenues to balance the limitations of each resource. For instance, technology no matter how advanced cannot calculate the human instinct that recognises danger. Similarly, a human no matter how efficient cannot stop a speeding car trespassing into the property. A balanced security system comprises hardware, software and the human response. The best gate management system is one that can easily integrate with your security hardware like biometric attendance tracker, boom barriers, ANPR, etc. to keep a record of all movements in and out of your community.
What is the System’s Data Privacy record?
Gated communities are increasingly seeing a cosmopolitan population. It is quite possible to have owners or tenants or even visitors who have citizenships of other countries. Always check if your visitor management system is GDPR compliant or not. At the same time, research if the company has been caught in any data privacy concerns. The ideal visitor management system provider will not shy away from signing a strong Data Privacy agreement with you and will be willing to take accountability for the protection of your data.
Does The Visitor Management System have in-built Emergency Management?
The best gate management system not just secures your gate, but provides a robust emergency assistance mechanism for your individual residents too. Residents should have access to options like Panic Alert to help send a SOS trigger to Community security along with their friends/family/neighbours in case of any emergency. This can be especially helpful for children and senior citizens who stay alone temporarily or permanently. At the same time, it should give the residents the privilege to access emergency services that specifically serve the neighbourhood.
It should also be loaded with a good Incident Management system that empowers the guards to record any untoward incident immediately to help in further investigations.
What about Enhancements?
As the world modernises, so does danger. Sometimes it comes in the form of a virus and sometimes in the form of humans. Whatever the case may be, the best gate management system constantly introduces enhancements that contribute to increase the efficiency of your Community security.
Always remember, your security solution should provide you with peace of mind and not contribute to your worries. Choose safely, choose wisely.
