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Repurposing your existing devices

Are you looking to upgrade your current physical security solution? If you are, one of the things you might be wondering about is whether or not you need to "rip and replace" your current security infrastructure or if there is a way to hang on to existing devices.

The answer to this depends on many factors like whether your current hardware is proprietary or not, but generally speaking, no, you should have other options. Having to consider a rip-and-replace scenario is a realistic and common challenge if you are interested in merging existing video and access control systems. Often times, this situation will tempt you to pursue a simple integration.

However, at some point, you will have to consider where it is cost effective or reasonable to move forward with an older system, whether that is for video surveillance, access control or both. To fully grasp the situation, you can ask questions such as "How many new installs of this vendor's solution is being implemented in the global marketplace? Is anyone still buying this solution? Is the company investing in development or are they holding on to their install-base? Is my hardware open and able to integrate with more current solutions? Is it secure?"

This will determine if the vendor has a forward-moving strategy and if it makes sense to reinvest in the technology during an integration. The vulnerability of an existing security system should also be scrutinized since cyber threats are causing rising concerns within organizations. Yesterday’s video surveillance and access control systems have also quickly become anchored to obsolete software, devices, protocols, and products, hindering their ability to support and facilitate change.

While initially, integration might seem like the more economical choice, in the end, the decision could end up costing you far more. Instead, when any of these factors come into play, you can consider keeping existing hardware devices and moving to a more open unified security platform. Not only does our open platform provide deeply unified functionality between video surveillance and access control along with the latest protection against cyber threats, but it also supports an ever-growing list of video surveillance and access control hardware. This leads to even greater investment longevity as needs continue to evolve.