Proving ROI: How Advanced Access Control Saves Businesses Money 

For many years, business security has been seen by many companies as a sunk cost. They know they’re required to have it, but think of it as money they’ll never get back. However, a new perspective has recently begun to take hold: security is actually an investment that generates value for a company. Let’s look at a few of the reasons behind this new way of thinking. 

The True Costs of Inadequate Access Control

Inadequate access controls can cost businesses a lot of money, as it leaves them open to internal theft, unauthorized entry into places with sensitive information, and heavy fines for disobeying state and federal compliance laws. 

There are also many other “hidden” costs that might not show up on a balance sheet, but can still be damaging to the company’s bottom line. Using manual processes or outdated systems can reduce efficiency, which leads to higher overall operating costs and, in turn, lower profits. 

How Advanced Access Control Works

Modern systems use a variety of methods to increase a company’s security over traditional methods. The first of these is a “smart credential” system that goes further than the use of a password to verify the user’s authorization. This can include an individual QR code to scan, information verification like the user’s birthday, fingerprints, and more.

Another important aspect is centralized control, which means all critical information and controls are in a single location. This avoids one of the many pitfalls of decentralized control, as a hacker who gains access to one part of the system can’t gain access to the rest. 

Finally, real-time monitoring means that systems are protected 24 hours a day. This usually means systems are monitored by a rotating crew of security professionals, but more recently, has come to include AI-based programs that can detect threats before they occur.

For added protection, these can be integrated with other building or HR systems to provide one overall security solution that protects against both physical and digital access to sensitive data by unauthorized individuals, disgruntled employees, and potential thiefs.

Direct Cost Savings

The result is a direct cost savings to companies as it reduces the need for physical keys, which can become quite expensive if keys are lost, destroyed, or stolen, leading to entire sections of the building needing to be rekeyed.

It also reduces the cost of security staffing, as many of their duties can now be automated. Even with one fewer employee, that’s an entire year of salary and benefits the company no longer has to pay. 

Additionally, it decreases the rate of theft and expenses coming from direct losses. Tighter security measures will naturally serve as an effective deterrent, as most thieves prefer easy targets where they aren’t likely to be caught, either in the act or afterward.

Indirect Business Benefits

Advanced access control also provides many indirect benefits, like improving employee productivity. It provides faster access and causes fewer interruptions, giving them more time to focus on their work instead of fumbling with their keys.

It also reduces the risk of regulatory penalties by enhancing compliance. As some of these fines from government agencies can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more and lead to increased scrutiny and damage to the firm’s reputation, the benefits of prevention become very clear. 

From an insurance standpoint, having advanced access controls in place significantly reduces a company’s level of risk. In turn, this gives the company a much stronger position in negotiations and can even potentially reduce its premiums. 

Measuring and Demonstrating ROI

There are several metrics that can be tracked that will measure and demonstrate access control ROI. The first of these is quite simply incident reduction. If the number of security breaches, unauthorized accesses to areas containing sensitive information or items are kept, and similar incidents is reduced, the program has already saved the company money through cost avoidance. 

Implementing dvanced access control also lowers operational costs by streamlining and simplifying processes, similar to programs like Six Sigma or Lean, only with an emphasis on security. 

They also tend to lead to significant gains of productivity. Instead of employees fumbling with a large sets of keys that can’t be traced back to individual users, they can spend more time focused on completing tasks and projects that will also benefit the company’s bottom line, which can also be monitored.

There are numerous success stories about advanced access control systems, although naturally they’re mostly anonymous, as it would defeat the purpose by advertising the exact security measures in place, allowing criminals to construct a plan to overcome them before setting foot in the building. 

An American retail chain implemented advanced access control systems and successfully reduced its internal theft rate by 30% companywide, resulting in significant savings.

They’re also quickly gaining popularity in the healthcare industry, as HIPAA and other privacy laws impose severe penalties for breaking patient confidentiality. Depending on the severity, they can also result in criminal or civil charges filed against individuals or companies. 

By using advanced access control programs to restrict access patient medical records, healthcare companies can limit access to that information and make sure that only employees with a legitimate need can access the data. 

This significantly reduces not only lawsuits and potential heavy government fines, but helps ensure patients can trust the company. Violating privacy laws can do irreparable damage to a company’s reputation, potentially leading to bankruptcy. 

Future Outlook

The future of advanced access control will most certainly include the popularization of predictive analytics for access behavior, which can reveal potential security threats before or as they happen. 

For example, imagine a junior employee named Bob who uses a thumbprint scanner to access a room that contains a company safe that contains money, proprietary documents, and other valuable items. He routinely enters the room around 4 PM to make the daily deposit.

Then, let’s say one day, he doesn’t make it to the room until 6 PM. It could be that he was delayed or busy, but it could also be because he was waiting for everyone to leave to steal or photograph important documents to sell to competitors. 

With traditional security measures, Bob could have exited the building and flown to a non-extradition country before anyone noticed an empty safe the next morning. With these analytics in place, security might catch up with him before he’s able to leave the building.

There will also be better integration with business intelligence dashboards that will allow companies to quantify their ongoing ROI based on implementing these features. Once these features become more popular and businesses have hard numbers to prove that they’re receiving solid ROI, implementation across the board will skyrocket. 

That increased demand will inevitably lead to higher prices for some types of security software and other aspects of advanced access control programs, which is another incentive for current businesses to become early adopters of the technology for even better ROI.

Conclusion & Call to Action

Advanced access control for businesses provides measurable and specific ROI by avoiding regulatory non-compliance fines, right-sizing the number of security staff, and lowering the rates of theft and direct losses. 

If you’d like to take the next step and enjoy these and the many other benefits of advanced access control, the best way to start is to analyze the systems currently in use and explore potential upgrade opportunities to start enjoying quality ROI on your security investments.