3 Reasons Integrated Technology is Key for Your Company’s Data Security

Nowadays, most of your company’s data is stored or transferred using some form of digital technology. This makes it crucial for businesses to take effective steps in preventing unauthorized access to said data. Threats can come from all sides. These include both those who are trying to obtain your data through cyber attacks and those who plan to gain physical access to the places where your devices and servers are located.

Recent stats estimate the global annual cost of crime to be around $6 trillion a year. Even more worrisome is the fact that a single malware attack costs a company an average of $2.5 million, an amount that also takes into account the time the business needs to recover. Plus, we shouldn’t forget the risk that sensitive data on the company’s customers may end up in the wrong hands.

In such an environment, companies must take extra steps to protect their data and avoid attacks and breaches that can cost dearly in terms of both money and reputation. In this article, we will list and explain three reasons why integrating your technologies is a key step to ensure your company’s data security.

#1 Combining Data Shareability and Protection

One of the primary reasons companies rely on digital solutions to store and transfer their data is the flexibility that these tools provide. Being able to effortlessly share data across teams and departments using computers, smartphones, and other devices noticeably increases the speed and efficiency of workflows, the level of cooperation within the company, and the accuracy of each decision. All these factors then contribute to the organization’s overall profitability.

Adopting cloud-based and AI-based solutions to integrate your technologies can improve data accessibility and sharing among authorized individuals while ensuring that any other person or entity can’t reach sensitive information. For example, cloud data sharing allows devices used by remote workers to access company documents while relying at the same time on the latest electronic security measures to prevent breaches and attacks by ill-intentioned outsiders. The same goes for large organizations that need to share data across multiple geographic locations or need to send sensitive digital information to external businesses such as suppliers or B2B customers. 

#2 More Agile Response to Threats

Another major benefit of integrating a company’s technological solutions is facilitating an agile response in reaction to threats and attacks. 

When the company’s tools and devices work together, they can detect issues quicker and more accurately, as well as trigger an automatic response and alert the competent personnel (that will be monitoring each issue from a single control panel). The results obtained by coordinating the best security systems for business (like access control technologies, video security tools and alarm solutions) are superior to the sum of the benefits each of these individual technologies can provide on its own. For instance, building security camera systems located on the outside of a commercial, industrial or healthcare facility could locate a glass break and send an alert to security personnel that can implement access control counter-measures immediately. 

Furthermore, these technologies can be combined with AI solutions to prevent risks and unfavorable events more effectively. After gathering information from multiple sources, AI can process it and trigger extremely quick actions when needed (even across multiple locations). Take the case of an employee that has just used his or her ID badge to enter a room in your company’s Boston office just two hours ago. An integrated and AI-based security system can instantly detect an inconsistency if someone is also trying to use a cloned ID badge at the company’s New York headquarters. Its response could be to deny access and alert security personnel immediately. 

#3 Saving Valuable Time and Resources

Among the perks of integrating your company’s technological solutions, there are also significant savings in terms of both time and resources. Using one single system to monitor all threats is a more cost-effective solution than using different systems to handle separate aspects of security. 

Technology integration and automation also lead to more streamlined processes and reduced employee involvement. Both these factors can lead to an increase in productivity and allow the company to free up resources and allocate them elsewhere.

For instance, access control tools can notify HVAC and lighting technologies that a room is currently empty, which will trigger the system to reduce room temperature and turn the light off. This also allows the company to relieve security personnel from these routine tasks and focus more on activities that require human monitoring.

Image Credit: Photo by Flex Point Security