The global Security Operations Software market is predicted to reach US$ 29.1 billion by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 7.5% during 2019-2025.

Security operations are transitioning from manual to automated operations. Organisations are now starting to embrace the higher efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy that automation provides. Management of physical security is traditionally based on manual tasks using people-centric resources, the development and application of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for security is perhaps later than other departments in organisations.  

When it comes to security operations, security management software ensures timely detection and resolution of security incidents, better management of guards, and lower costs. If deployed correctly, it enables your organisation to run on an intelligence-driven security strategy. Operations based software for Security Service Providers can enhance business effectiveness in the same way other software has such as financial management, human resources, inventory and asset management software.

However, before decision makers decide on the what type of operational security and guard management software that best fits their needs, here are a few things to consider and compare:

Pricing Model

When transitioning your security systems to software, look for the one that fits within your budget, comes with no hidden charges, and also helps you save costs in the long run. Do some thorough calculation to make sure that any setup costs or additional features will not exceed your budget. See if you can identify annual cost savings. Many software solutions will charge by the site and provide no real scalable benefits. This approach limits flexibility for Security Service Providers and often requires barriers to adding and removing sites internal to the security company.

A software suite that enables multiple sites under a single license that leaves control of adding and removing sites to the company reduces operating costs across the business as it saves both time and money.

Implementation

Next comes the ease of implementing security management software. When transitioning to software, it is crucial to ensure that the system you are implementing will not have you or your team confused. Simple user interfaces that reduce training costs are vital. A software company with readily accessible customer service support and online training tools, presentations and videos are essential.

Focus on a system that doesn't require a high level of expertise and be sure to look if the software company offers technical support and turnkey services. After all, the software transition is supposed to ease the burden, not to add some. The features in the software should match the main tasks of your business, and although no single software solution will meet all of your needs, you want to get a software solution that meets most of the needs. This means an integrated platform that covers several areas is better than implementing four different products that don’t talk to each other and need to used in separate ways. For instance, you don’t want your guard management software separate to your incident and operations management and control room. If a guard makes a report then you want it to be accessible in a single system wherever possible.

Customisability

Every company works differently with a unique and have varying clients and operational environments. In some security operational areas you may need to track armed response, but in other areas (where armed guards are not available) this feature is not needed. Subsequently the security management software you choose should be flexible and customisable enough to suit and fully adapt to your company's security needs and still relevant to the location in which it is deployed.

Look for additional customisation features such as modification of the reporting categories, report incidents, and offline reporting. If your workforce runs in remote areas with no internet, a cloud based software solution that need to be online 100% of the time will not work, you may need an ability for guard patrols to be run offline and data uploaded weekly or monthly. A good software should also allow users to add images and other attachments to give additional information, assign follow-up actions and handle root cause analysis with ease. 

Shareability

Security systems require extensive storage of data in the form of reports, incident logs, patrol history and emergency response.  Whilst this is run daily on a dashboard, the ability to search, find, display and report on historical data is key,. There is a lot of record-keeping and tracking involved, both manual and automated. Data is sent back and forth between users, checked and rechecked, tracked and processed. All of this is possible if the software allows easy shareability and has accessible collaboration features. Look for a software that allows easy modification and shareability of playbooks, integrations, workflows, and reports. 

Compliance Requirements

Software needs to adhere to related compliance standards. Compliance standards may have different requirements across in different regions and countries. For example, PCI Secure Software Standard published a new set of standards last year, and GDPR compliance (General Data Protection Regulation) are examples of recently implemented standards. Personal Data Protection Regulations (PDPR) 2014 were implmeneted in Singapore and have variances from GDPR. Therefore, the security software you pick should adhere to international standards and be established as compliant to local laws, whilst having routine security updates to ensure no hiccups and consistent performance.

Multitenancy

Next up when choosing a security system is its ability to facilitate multiple users. Multitenancy of a software system means software can equip and handle multiple users at the same time. 

The security management software you pick should provide multi-task support to multiple users and teams at the same time and on a single host. All records, backlogs, reports, and other databases should support multitenancy. There should be enough resources to multi-task and complete a variety of tasks at the same time.

Feedback Loop

Before finalising your security guard management software, ensure that the system provides greater facilitation, optimisation, and efficiency than the current system. Identify whether the solution will enhance and promote communications across teams. Look for faster communication, team coordination, and data-sharing features. Access to an active support network from the software provider can ensure that downtime due to system issues is minimised. A software system that has a schedule of updates will ensure that the value of the system grows with the organisation and the time and resource dedicated to implementing the software is continuously rewarded.

Role-based Access Control

One of the most required features in security management software is role-based access control management. Setting granular restrictions for data access and features is very important. Not all staff should have access to all the features and data available in the system. Defining the access rights to managers, supervisors, general users, clients and the public is important. Any information collated and distributed on the system should be available to access by users with the relevant authorisation.

The more customisable access to roles and authorisations will be, the easier it is to set up the system. It will also secure your data from threats. Good security software ensures that only authorised personnel can access sensitive data to discourage tampering of information.

Workload Management

The security guard management system that you chose should allow and enable proper workload management. The platform should be sufficient and powerful enough to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. There should also be algorithms set in place to prioritise critical tasks. For instance the ability to conduct routine patrols and operational monitoring in one part of the organisation whilst key managers use the software to manage a critical incident will enhance business continuity and assist smooth running of security operations.

The security guard tracking system should be able to distribute the workload and manage resources accordingly. It should optimise performance and deliver optimum results in all test cases. This means a number of automation, scheduling and task management tools should be available in the system.

Recommendations

Hopefully, this short guide will help you in selecting the perfect security management software for your company and ease the transition. Considering the plus points of an automated system, it is clear that transitioning your security operations to software is the right call. Be sure to keep in mind your budget, customisability, and required features. If you are looking for a comprehensive and affordable platform, check out if Security Risk's security management software can address your needs.