With St. Louis continually appearing on lists as one of the most dangerous cities with high crime—ranked No. 2 in 2017—making the decision of adding a modern security system for business owners operating in St. Louis is a no-brainer. If this isn’t reason enough for the need for a professionally monitored security and video surveillance system, we’ve come up with a few more reasons to consider installing commercial security equipment in your St. Louis business.
10 reasons to consider an upgrade to your overall security posture.
1. Prevent Crime
I know this is an obvious one, but don’t underestimate the power of prevention when it comes to minimizing crime in and around your business. Businesses across the nation are finding out that criminals would rather move onto the next business once they detect a pro-security system is in place and that they are under surveillance. Cameras not only function as a visible deterrent but also make it much easier to catch the criminal in the act using real-time monitoring. By verifying immediately by video that there is a crime occurring, a central station and/or business owner can alert the authorities, with the ability to share footage with Police, if needed.
2. Lower False Alarms
One of the key benefits of today’s security systems is the tight integration that goes on between access control and video surveillance, allowing a business to eliminate false alarms and fees associated with them. Click here for a comprehensive look at false alarms in St. Louis. With false alarms becoming such an issue for fire and law enforcement officials, it is important to work with a local security company that has a proven history in access control, video security and fire detection equipment and services.
3. Decrease Theft/Shrink
Having a video surveillance system in place at your business also acts as a deterrent for theft, from either customers or employees, as we all know shrink is a real problem for every business owner. Many studies have shown that people, in general, tend to behave better when they know they are being watched, and that extends beyond theft to crimes of any nature. Plus, today’s cameras are so good, with such high resolution and zooming capability, that you know you will have the video footage and/or image when you need it.
4. Eliminate Litigation
Another problem that no one likes to talk about is fraud, such as in the form of false accident liability claims. For example, having the ability to prove that a person was not injured in your establishment can save a business a costly settlement or court case. And with the storage and compression technology that is available today, a business can now afford to save video footage for months and years, if needed, as well as easily search and find specific footage when the time comes and they really need it, such as with a lawsuit or accusation.
5. Increase Operational Efficiencies
Integrating your security system with other systems in your business, such as lighting and HVAC, can help business owners achieve some real energy savings and save money over the long-term. For example, smart thermostats and lighting alone can provide significant energy efficiency savings through automation. With all of your systems on the network, you can also be more preventive with your maintenance of equipment, minimizing any downtime or accidents.
6. Realize Business Intel
Beyond operational efficiencies, the savings that can be found using analytics, especially in a business or retail environment, are tremendous. Video analytics, some of which are built right into today’s cameras, can help a business to maximize store layout, product choices, hours of operation, staffing—the list goes on and on. Plus, if you take it even further and use a video management system or VMS, you can really begin to customize the analytics to suit the needs of your business and maximize that ROI (more on this later).
7. Leverage Employee Management Software
Tying into the two reasons discussed above, today’s access control systems allow a business owner to streamline and simplify the onboarding of employees as well as the management of credentials for employees. Giving and denying access can now be given in real time right from your computer or phone, so there is no longer a need to worry about keys, and getting them back and/or replacing them when someone leaves or is fired, which does happen from time to time. This not only saves time and labor but overall cost, while decreasing the chance for theft from a former employee, or just from a key getting in the wrong hand.
8. Contribute to a Safer City
Another area that is important to consider is how you are contributing to the overall solution of making your community safer as well as the areas around your business more secure and inviting. As more and more cities look at what Detroit has done with its Project Green Light project, the simple act of several businesses taking a stand against crime can make a difference over time. The businesses that have participated in Project Green Light, for example, have realized a 50 percent reduction in crime, and the number of businesses participating has climbed to well over 100. In addition to Detroit, more and more cities across the U.S. are becoming smart cities.
9. Improve Cybersecurity
Hopefully, as a business owner you are well aware that security concerns today go well beyond just physical security. In fact, cyber-attacks on small businesses are on the rise, as hackers look for the path of least resistance as the large businesses beef up their cybersecurity measure. With everything going IP, and all of your computers and systems connecting to the network, this creates a vulnerability that goes beyond brick and mortar. But with so much attention being paid to this problem by security professionals, there are ways to minimize your risk of being the next headline, starting with securing the data that is important to your business.
10. Increase ROI
Last, but certainly not least, today’s security systems provide ample opportunities to get a great ROI once everything is installed and ready to go. As mentioned above, today’s security systems provide much more than, well, just security, extending into operational efficiencies, business intelligence, better management of your employees and assets, and more.
Get a Quote for Commercial Security in St. Louis
Be sure to talk with a local security dealer about some the many benefits to installing a professionally monitored security system.
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