Small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) often share concerns similar to enterprise environments. They want to improve access control. They have an interest in security control systems that bridge the physical and virtual. However, the tools, systems, and applications developed sometimes exacerbate rather than assuage those concerns. They’re too complex. They require an investment of time, money, and human resources that SMBs just don’t have. What should the response to the growing demand from the small business sector be? We believe the answer lies in knowing SMBs better. By knowing their pain points, we can better meet their needs.
Simplicity
Small business owners wear many hats. They’re human resources, payroll, marketing, and IT—sometimes all within the span of a single hour. Somewhere in the midst of all those responsibilities, they’re supposed to provide strategic direction and ensure safety and security. SMB owners don’t have the luxury of learning a complex access control system. They need a plug-and-play solution. It should be easy to install, learn, and use on a day-to-day basis.
Convenience
Security control systems also needs to be convenient. SMB owners shouldn’t have to spend hours managing credentials. They shouldn’t have to endure a lengthy process just to view activity logs or video feeds. In addition, SMB owners should be able to log into the system’s dashboard at any time and at any place. That’s what they need—to log in and immediately be able to manage privileges, watch video surveillance, and open doors.
Business Access Control Systems – Cost savings
SMB owners watch their bank accounts carefully. They know exactly how much money is coming in and going out. Their budgets are lean and strict. Even if they have a good year, enterprise-level access control systems remain out of reach. They’re simply too expensive to install and maintain. The business can’t dare to hope to recoup a return on the investment (ROI). Because of that, they often resort to other access control measures, some of which are inherently insecure or merely inconvenient. They now have three applications to manage rather than one. They manually enter data in each system. They try to keep the information up-to-date in the applications, but they worry. Did they forget to do something? Did they log out? Did they issue credentials to the new hire? Offering an affordable system with proven ROI isn’t impossible; SaaS proves the case. SMBs turn to SaaS because it can be less expensive to install, not to mention maintain. The small business owner isn’t responsible for IT anymore. It’s delegated to the third-party vendor. SaaS also lends itself to scalability, meaning the business can start with a small solution, be it access control for a single door or four, and grow from there.