Every sensor tells a story. A camera sensor can capture how people move through a space. An access control system can provide information about how and when an entrance is being used. Audio sensors can provide insight into sounds and activity in an area. Environmental sensors can detect other changes in the surrounding scene.
Individually, each of these sensors can provide useful information. But unsurprisingly, when these technologies are connected, their data becomes significantly more valuable.
Rather than leaning on isolated systems and individual data points, organizations now have the ability to build a more comprehensive picture of their environments.
This is where connected technology can evolve into a source of business intelligence by helping teams understand what is happening and why it matters.
Intelligence starts with connected systems
Modern organizations are now operating in increasingly complex environments. This makes it difficult for any singular system or team to maintain complete visibility. When video, audio, access control, intercoms, analytics, sensors, and other technologies operate independently, valuable information can remain trapped within an individual, siloed system.
The context is unlocked when those systems are connected. Consider a secure door being forced open. Access control can identify the event, a nearby camera can provide visual verification, a network speaker can issue an automatic warning, and an operator can receive an alert to assess the situation. Instead of separate systems capturing different pieces of an incident, the organization can rely on a coordinated response that’s based on information shared across the environment.
This same principle applies beyond traditional security events. If, for example, analytics detect a growing queue, that information can trigger a notification so additional staff can be deployed. In any of these instances, cameras and analytics are no longer simply documenting the environment…they are providing information that can be used in real time to influence what happens next.
Edge processing can make these connections even more powerful by analyzing data closer to where it is generated. At the same time, open platforms and system integrations allow information to seamlessly move between devices and applications. The result: an ecosystem in which individual technologies contribute to a larger operational picture.
A platform brings this connected view together. It provides a place to aggregate information from cameras, access control, sensors, analytics, and other systems, so teams can understand activity across an environment, rather than looking at one device at a time. The platform can also make that information available to the applications and people who need it, while allowing organizations to add or change capabilities as their needs evolve. In this way, the value comes not just from connecting devices, but from building a view across them.
The Windsor Port Authority offers one example of what a platform view can make possible. By bringing radar and bispectral camera information together, the port can combine wide-area detection and tracking with visual and thermal verification of activity on the Detroit River. When radar identifies and tracks a specific vessel, operators can use camera views to gain additional context. Rather than relying on separate device views, they can build a more complete understanding of what is happening on the water.
Turning security data into business intelligence and business value
Connecting systems creates value beyond security. Information that was originally collected for security purposes can also reveal useful insight into how an organization operates, supporting better-informed decisions and business outcomes.
Business intelligence is ultimately about collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and structuring data so it can be turned into actionable insights. Physical security devices can contribute valuable information to that process because they already have key visibility into people, vehicles, spaces, assets, and activity throughout an organization.
Retail provides a clear example of how security infrastructure can take on a broader role. Lowe’s initially deployed its network cameras as loss prevention tools. Fast forward to today and more than 35,000 associates access those cameras for business intelligence and operational purposes. Store managers monitor checkout activity to determine whether another lane should be opened. Merchandising teams evaluate traffic around displays. Facilities teams remotely assess activity at individual locations. The company can also use additional camera streams for third-party and internally developed analytics, which are designed to identify business opportunities and operational issues.
The same concept takes different forms across industries. Transportation organizations can analyze passenger or vehicle movement to improve traffic flow. Healthcare organizations can gain insight into patient and visitor flow while identifying opportunities to allocate resources more effectively.
Real-time information can help organizations make immediate adjustments, while aggregated data can reveal longer-term patterns that support planning and operational efficiency. So while security infrastructure undoubtedly remains important for protecting people and property, the data it produces can serve a much broader purpose.
Making this data useful starts with close collaboration between security and the teams looking to gain operational insight. Security systems are often designed and positioned first to protect people and property, so existing devices may not cover every area of interest. In some cases, additional cameras or sensors may be needed, but they can often be added to the same connected infrastructure. This gives operational teams access to relevant data while helping security expand coverage and strengthen its mission. When all needs are considered, the result is a stronger, more valuable system for the entire organization.
Connected teams make smarter decisions
Connecting technology is only part of the equation. The information generated by those systems also needs to reach the people who can act on it.
Traditionally, security, operations, facilities, and IT teams may have relied on different systems and different sources of information. That can make it especially difficult to establish a shared understanding of what is happening. This is particularly glaring when an event crosses departmental boundaries.
Connected systems help provide a common operational picture. Real-time alerts, centralized dashboards, and integrated data can give multiple teams access to relevant information and help them coordinate a response.
At AstraZeneca’s Gaithersburg campus, for example, technology that was originally deployed to support security has now become a resource for teams across the organization. People-counting analytics can be compared with badge and location data to better understand how employees are using assigned spaces, which then helps facilities teams evaluate whether offices and equipment could be reallocated. Other teams use the same video infrastructure to support manufacturing processes, quality assurance, lab operations, emergency response, and other needs. The result: information that can provide value to different departments based on their individual responsibilities.
When different groups draw from the same underlying information, they can make decisions based on a shared understanding rather than isolated observations. This is where business intelligence becomes especially valuable. While the goal remains to generate more data, it’s also to get precise, relevant information to the right people so they can make better decisions.
The future is connected intelligence
The amount and variety of data available to organizations will only continue to expand. Cameras and access control systems are now joined by radar, environmental sensors, body-worn cameras, audio devices, and other IoT-connected tech.
At the same time, AI-powered analytics are becoming more capable of classifying and analyzing that information. Hybrid cloud and edge architectures provide organizations with greater flexibility around where data is processed and managed. Open ecosystems make it possible to combine information from different devices, applications, and data sources while giving organizations greater autonomy over the tools they use for analysis, visualization, and reporting.
That openness will be especially important as new technologies emerge. Organizations cannot know exactly which devices, analytics, or applications they will need years from now. Building around scalable, interoperable platforms will allow for new capabilities to become part of the existing ecosystem rather than becoming another isolated source of information.
As that ecosystem expands, so does the value of the intelligence it generates.
The future of business intelligence starts with connected systems
Every device may tell its own story. But as we’ve discussed, no single device can provide the complete picture.
By fusing data from video, audio, access control, sensors, analytics, and other technologies, organizations can bring those individual pieces of information together and transform the reliable data into actionable intelligence. That intelligence can help security teams respond more effectively, operations teams optimize resources, and business leaders better understand how their organizations are functioning.
The opportunity was once limited solely to monitoring events. Connected technology can now help organizations understand their environments and leverage that newfound information to improve safety, efficiency, and long-term business outcomes.
The more connected the system becomes, the clearer the story can become.
