For virtually every organization, failing security systems are a nightmare. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to detect potential malfunctions early and thus prevent downtime. After all, prevention is still better than cure.
Various malfunctions can occur. Some are immediately visible, while others happen without you noticing. A card reader that no longer works, a surveillance camera that no longer provides images, or an alarm system that cannot be activated. Such malfunctions are immediately noticed in daily use. It is different when the recorder no longer records images, the access control system no longer logs events, or hackers manage to access or manipulate the systems unnoticed. You often only find out when the damage is done, and important camera footage is lost, or the hacker has stolen information.
Signalling malfunctions
The sooner these types of malfunctions are detected, the better. With advanced monitoring software, malfunctions can be detected in time. The software continuously monitors the network, its various components, and the running applications. The software also has an alarm function that informs the system administrator about a detected anomaly. And because an administrator cannot possibly view and interpret all notifications from all systems, monitoring software offers the ability to present only the relevant notifications. In a clear manner. You determine what is relevant in advance and record it in parameters.
In the MOC (Mactwin Operation Center), Mactwin has been using this type of advanced monitoring software for years. This allows early detection of various anomalies in customers’ security systems—such as the status of batteries and hard disks of video servers—and also maps the contamination level of smoke detectors.
Prevent breakdowns, solve them quickly and maintain them more efficiently
By detecting anomalies early, we can often prevent real malfunctions or quickly resolve them. Take the contamination level of smoke detectors. If a smoke detector becomes too contaminated, it needs to be cleaned. When the monitoring software sees that the contamination level is entering the danger zone, a field service engineer can be dispatched immediately to clean the detector. He then knows exactly which detector it is and whether there are more detectors that will soon become contaminated. These can also be cleaned preventively.
As a result, maintenance can be carried out much more targeted and efficiently instead of according to a pre-agreed frequency. This way, maintenance is never too late or unnecessarily early. More time is spent on components that require it and less on components that are still in good condition. This often results in a reduction in maintenance hours and costs.
Remote Maintenance
A significant portion of the management and maintenance of security systems can already be done remotely. At Mactwin, this is done from the MOC. For customers, this means cost savings. Fewer field service engineers visit, resulting in fewer registration procedures, processes are less frequently halted due to maintenance, and it is naturally less burdensome on the environment.
Finally
Preventing failing security systems due to malfunctions is important to ensure the continuity of business processes and the desired security level. Systematic monitoring of the systems plays an important role in this. Equally important in this context is maintaining the currency of the security software. By keeping operating systems, software, and firmware up-to-date, problems with performance, stability, and security can be prevented or limited.