Experts Say Physical Security Needs to Embrace SaaS

In this Internet-connected age, companies from nearly every sector have embraced “software as a service,” or SaaS models.

This means leveraging cloud-based apps, with software that is licensed on a subscription basis, according to a post from computer giant Microsoft.

In a new piece for Security Sales & Integration, Roy Dagan, CEO of SecuriThings, explains why it is important that physical security officials embrace SaaS models at their own companies if they haven’t done so already. This is due to the fact that businesses’ security cameras are now digital and the act of protecting IP-based networks has become a key component of any strong security program. This is all a continued part of bridging the cyber and physical security worlds.

An easy-to-implement system

Dagan writes that embracing these cloud-centric software models are easy to implement and train staff to use. This software receives ongoing real-time maintenance — which is provided by the software provider itself — and easy to scale. Security personnel can experiment with what works.

“Over the years, IT has realized outsized gains from adopting SaaS. Many recurring tasks that were once performed manually, like onboarding and offboarding employees, are now automated using low-code or no-code SaaS-based tools,” Dagan says. “IT has embraced SaaS, enabling other departments to manage and secure applications and the data within them.”

There are a few ways in which physical security managers can best use SaaS at their companies, according to Dagan:

• These systems are easy to implement. Traditional software models would require a company to host an entirely new system, procuring physical servers that are set up on campus. Cloud-based SaaS solutions streamline this process, dispensing with the need to go through the labor of physically setting up new systems.
• SaaS also offers low maintenance. Instead of wasting security employees’ time when a system goes down or has become obsolete, the SaaS provider itself will make sure updates are put in motion and maintenance is performed. This allows physical security teams to focus on their own important work at hand.
• Scaling is the name of the game. A physical security team could start using SaaS cloud systems at certain locations for a company or for individual devices. If the system works, then it can be broadened throughout a company. This approach to software means that a company uses trial and error to see what works and what doesn’t moving forward.

Leaders in innovation

Dagan concludes that embracing new technology is embedded in the identity of physical security leaders. Historically, those working in this space have been at the vanguard of determining what new technologies are platformed when it comes to keeping a company and its assets safe.

“Physical security was historically a leader in adopting technology, with expertise in devices. Originally, it worked mostly with analog devices, and with the migration to digital cameras and IP-based networks, physical security has been making up ground in device and operations management,” he writes. “Moving from legacy software and manual methods to SaaS-based solutions is a key phase in this evolution.”

As always, every company or firm has its own needs. What might work for one might not work for another. This means physical and cyber security experts have to collaborate to determine what software system or cloud technology works best.