Survey Finds 75% of Facility Managers Say Pandemic Changed Their Physical Security Technology Priorities
BETHESDA, MD., March 1, 2021
According to the 2021 Brivo Smart Security Trends Report published today by Brivo, the global leader in cloud access control and related technologies, 75% of respondents said the COVID pandemic increased the importance of physical security in their organizations. Additionally, 60% of respondents said they either see a need for immediate cloud-based technology upgrades or are considering it in the near future.
“Property technology has evolved rapidly in the past year with a major shift in how security and facility management leaders recognize the benefits that cloud technology can provide to them,” said Steve Van Till, CEO and founder of Brivo. “Accelerated by the trend toward working offsite during the pandemic, organizations need the ability to remotely manage security and access control, and see what’s going on in real time, without being on-site. This is accomplished through the cloud.”
The survey, fielded from November 2020 to January 2021 of more than 500 U.S.-based physical security and facility management professionals, explored the physical security impacts from COVID, specifically the challenges facing organizations as they look to reopen their doors. The survey also took a look at the technology, cloud, and data utilization trends shaping the physical security landscape for 2021.
The pandemic put security and facility managers in the position of needing to protect health and safety in addition to their usual responsibilities for people and physical assets. Businesses with a primarily remote workforce had to monitor and manage access to empty buildings that were more vulnerable than usual. Nearly 30% of respondents said they did not have centralized security solutions in place and struggled during the pandemic to manage day-to-day operations.
Another critical weakness for many respondents was leveraging data for physical security — 70% admitted they have problems with data, ranging from too much, too little, or a lack of understanding how to use it. Brivo recognized the need for better analytics to interpret physical security data and launched its new Data Explorer business intelligence tool last year as part of Brivo Access, its 4th generation cloud platform.
Looking ahead, the survey found that technology integrations are a key area of focus for businesses in 2021. 61% of respondents agreed that integration was the most important goal for them this year. An additional 26% indicated that it is imperative to have technology that will assist in enforcing contact tracing, social distancing, and healthy building compliance requirements. These trends will likely continue as more organizations prepare to bring employees, customers, and students back to work and school in 2021.
“Last summer we launched Facility Safety Features to help reduce the spread of COVID. We’ve since helped more than a thousand customers with their return-to-work efforts leveraging Brivo Visitor reporting, personnel control, contact reporting and self-screening,” said Van Till. “As the hybrid work force continues to become the norm, we’re launching occupancy tracking as well so that organizations can see how space is being used and adjust their plans accordingly.”
Brivo provides solutions that support organizations as they migrate from costly legacy on-prem systems to modern cloud security. Brivo is the first cloud access control provider, the first to offer mobile credentials, the first to combine smart apartment technology with common area security for multifamily buildings, and the first to utilize artificial intelligence to surface actionable data for security and facility managers.
Complete Results
Complete results are available via Brivo’s website in the 2021 Brivo Smart Security Trends Report: Physical Security Disruption in the COVID Era, which details tackling challenges as businesses reopen, cloud adoption acceleration, and using data analytics to help navigate the next era.
About Brivo
Brivo is the global leader in mobile, cloud-based access control for commercial real estate, multifamily residential, and large distributed enterprises. Our comprehensive product ecosystem and open API provide businesses with powerful digital tools to increase security automation, elevate employee and tenant experience, and improve the safety of all people and assets in the built environment. Having created the category over twenty years ago, our building access platform is now the digital foundation for the largest collection of customer facilities in the world, trusted by more than 25 million users occupying over 300M square feet of secured space in 42 countries.
Our dedication to simply better security means providing the best technology and support to property owners, managers, and tenants as they look for more from buildings where they live, work, and play. Our comprehensive product suite includes access control, smart readers, touchless mobile credentials, visitor management, occupancy monitoring, health and safety features, and integrated video surveillance, smart locks, and intercoms. Valued for its simple installation, high-reliability backbone, and rich API partner network, Brivo also has the longest track record of cybersecurity audits and privacy protections in the industry.