Security departments continuously look to reduce their response times, measured as the interval between reporting an event and a security operator initiating action. Speed is often essential when a delay of only a few seconds could make a difference between a satisfactory resolution or severe harm to an organization’s people, assets, and reputation.
How fast a security command center responds to events is often impacted by two categories of bottlenecks. First, system bottlenecks include the overwhelming amount of data generated and stored by multiple security systems—while people, processes, and procedures generate operational bottlenecks.
Let’s look first at system bottlenecks. Many organizations—from SMBs to enterprise companies—spend heavily on security solutions to deter and detect challenges to daily operations. The “noise” created by these multiple systems may overburden a security command center. Channeling this data into a cohesive, manageable stream improves and standardizes security response and performance.
So, where does a security professional begin? Eliminating the “noise” is an excellent place to start. Siloed systems with separate interfaces and controls swamp even the most highly trained security teams. Having all system alerts shown in one display is a huge first step—eliminating confusion, enhancing collaboration and preventing teams from becoming overwhelmed.
The latest generation of PSIMs provides a simple-to-use universal alarm queue, allowing teams to respond to any range of events consistently. These platforms use cloud computing to deliver a Software as a Service (SaaS) model to add agility and speed to event responses. The cloud allows organizations to develop previously complicated rules quickly, automate actions and even integrate with artificial intelligence systems to radically reduce false alarms—often by more than 90%. AI software can constantly analyze data from diverse inputs—including news and weather reports—helping a command center team to make predictions ranging from security hotspots to executive travel delays.
With all their alarm and event responses in one place, it’s easy to identify the bottlenecks and act. No more time-consuming exercises to find pieces of information from multiple systems—information that requires complex and ad hoc data manipulation to make it even somewhat coherent.
Next up, let’s examine how next-gen PSIMs affect operational bottlenecks. Every command center has a book of standard operating procedures for how to respond to different security events. However, these are often stored in printed binders kept under a desk. As a result, they’re rarely referenced and are quickly out-of-date. Next-gen PSIMs solve this issue by creating simple interactive checklists or action plans to ensure a consistent operator response. These standard operation procedures (SOPs) or action plans are flexible and can be customized or changed by SOCs to suit their requirements.
PSIM platforms also provide all the key information an operator needs to quickly respond to real-time events from streaming nearby cameras and providing easy access to call lists to displaying geospatial mapping, and more. Routine processes such as recording cameras, sending notifications, and triggering actions are automated, eliminating the need for operators to respond to non-threatening, recurring events or nuisance alarms.
Finally, auditing and record keeping is a time-consuming and repetitive task that can slow down response and hinder operator performance. PSIM software maintains detailed audits of operator actions in the background as they go about their job. A record of everything an operator saw, said, and did provides managers with the data needed to establish baseline reporting metrics, identify when changes occurred and how they affected overall response times and results.
In short, the capabilities of today’s PSIMs reach beyond the command center. Utilizing the latest mobile technology, remote teams can easily share real-time data with their colleagues in the SOC, directly from their smartphones—including video and photos.
All of this only scratches the surface of a next-gen PSIM platform’s capabilities. It’s time to look critically at your current physical security systems. With a next-generation PSIM platform, organizations are already seeing improved security results, faster response times, easier collaboration and the benefits of comprehensive and automatic record keeping.
About the Author:
Simon Morgan is Chief Product Manager of SureView Systems, a provider of PSIM platforms.
