The rising role of IT in physical
access control
The study finds that the IT department
will increasingly play a role in physical
security to influence technology decisions
(76%) through the integration of access
control within the ecosystem (72%), by
implementing access control technology
(59%) and through the management of
access control systems (39%).
Luc Merredew, Product
Marketing Director, at
HID Global
Shifting budgets and
responsibilities require IT and
physical security teams to
consider fundamental change in
day-to-day operations, says Luc
Merredew, Product Marketing
Director, at HID Global.
hysical security professionals
have long suspected a
shift toward increased
involvement of the IT department in
physical access control and this is
supported with recent research from
a survey of IT professionals, which
indicates that IT departments are more
involved than ever in an organisation’s
physical access control decisions
and implementation. According to a
survey, a slight majority (55%) reported
IT as primarily responsible or having
shared responsibility for access control
within their organisation. IT leaders
are tasked with spearheading not
only the protection of their company’s
network and cybersecurity-related
initiatives, but also those set forth by the
physical security department to protect
employees, visitors and assets from
internal and external threats.
P
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According to 85% of survey respondents,
IT leaders are also increasingly
responsible for physical security
budgeting decisions. The numbers
speak to a trend to a more collaborative
approach to access control and
physical security solutions. Questions of
connectivity, cloud-based vs. on-premise
hosting and capital investment vs.
operating expense are common in this
organisational environment.
Physical access control
responsibility rapidly
shifting to IT
While a majority of respondents’
organisations (67%) have a dedicated
physical security team or person in
place, 55% reported that IT was at least
partially responsible for physical access
control within the organisation.
Of those, 26% reported that IT was
primarily responsible and 29% said
that IT and the physical security
departments shared responsibility.
In organisations where IT is not yet
involved in physical access control,
36% reported that IT will play a role
within the next year to five years. This
indicates a fundamental shift in how
organisations manage physical security.
As this fundamental shift takes place
across organisations, there is a need to
establish a holistic security approach
with regard to decision-making. In
this approach, the emphasis is on the
entire breadth of a security solution,
not just access control’s potential to
be the weakest link in an otherwise
sophisticated network security strategy.
Conclusion
Today’s organisations must be more
collaborative internally than ever,
especially within the realm of security.
Physical access control decisions and
responsibilities are seeing a fundamental
shift toward the IT department, requiring
both departments to better work together
to achieve true security across the
enterprise. It is clear the shift toward the
collaboration between IT and physical
security departments are resulting in a
more unified approach to security, which
results in a more united front to combat
incoming problems.
As a result, IT professionals need to
rely on physical security teams for
their expertise and support when
implementing new technology, while
physical security teams must do the
same with regard to IT-centric decisions.
Additionally, it is critical for physical
security teams to demonstrate their
value to the overall security posture of
the organisation.
By focusing on the collaboration
between the two departments,
physical security teams can retain
control over their budgets and
investment decisions, as well as the
ability to prioritise the safety and
security of the organisation. u
Issue 10
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