As the world is finally recovering from the aftermath of Covid-19, the Technomine electronic security team stepped back to take stock of how the global remote guarding industry has changed over the past year – and what measures security agencies need to take moving forward.
While the world was in lockdown, deserted offices gave way to rioting masses. Rioting masses gave way to political standoffs. As spring bloomed into summer, those who were vaccinated (and some who weren’t) shed their winter hesitations and stepped into sunny public parks – with or without social distancing.
Amidst this global smorgasbord of vaccination, social distancing, public compliance and unrest, how did the security industry fare? If you are wondering whether crimes went up or down during the pandemic, you are not alone. At Technomine, we were pondering the same questions, so we set out to answer the following questions using qualitative research.
Summary
While the future is uncertain when it comes to predicting the end of the pandemic, law enforcement and security agencies are already paving the way towards a safer future. Experts predict that as the world is trying to calibrate to a new normal, remote monitoring will become indispensable in the security services toolbelt. In our whitepaper, we cover all of the above burning questions. We also cover the diverse applications of remote guarding, best practices as well as future considerations for the offshore electronic security industry which is already seeing an exponential rise in popularity. This rise can be attributed, in part, to the growing personnel needs of security agencies and the availability of skilled, affordable security personnel overseas.
Methodology
Electronic security is much more than CCTV cameras and crime prevention. In order to understand the changing roles of remote security teams as a result of these events, Technomine has conducted a systematic literature and multimedia review of the changing needs of the remote guarding industry – from video surveillance to alarm monitoring to everything in between. We conducted an evidence-based, sector-specific analysis of the challenges and solutions that will be faced by the global security industry in 2021. We analyzed the relevant social media discussions that talked about the importance of the video surveillance industry in the coming year.
Findings
One of our findings was the fact that workplace monitoring technologies aiming for better employee productivity are still in the early stages of development. Here is a scrolling screen from our whitepaper that talks about the nature of crime and the changing nature of global electronic security.
There is a clear case for greater adoption of remote security offerings to reduce response times, improve service quality, address complex situations, proactively combat crime and reduce costs. The ethical, social and business standards we set within the global remote surveillance fraternity will effectively determine our long-term profitability in the security industry. In fact, we found that across the board – from CCNA certified engineers, RNOC technicians, alarm monitoring agents to everyone in-between – a collaborative approach definitively enabled security agencies to offer uninterrupted services in the following areas.
Over the course of the past year, we have spoken to scores of clients who are security providers about their experiences during the pandemic. The response has been undeniable and overwhelming – offshore electronic security services are here to stay.
In the words of one of our clients in Texas, “ If we had not adopted remote guarding the year before the pandemic, our business would be in trouble right now. The strategic move to offshore security services has allowed me to grow and expand our security offering from parking lots to truckyards even during a time of crisis. The crazy thing is, I’m still able to afford most of my on-ground team in the US and the business runs mostly on auto-pilot. Every challenge is an opportunity, I guess”
If you would like to understand how live video monitoring services can help security agencies respond quickly to dynamic events on-ground, you may benefit from reading our whitepaper. In the whitepaper, you will also read about the changing needs of the remote surveillance industry. Services such as gatehouse surveillance, alarm response, live video monitoring, remote patrolling and many more are covered in detail in our whitepaper.
Read more about the electronic security industry in our whitepaper “Global Electronic Security: Transformations in remote support”