Why Social Media Is Key To Creating A Converged Security Platform

In today’s world, the power of social media is far reaching and significant, turning individuals into walking sources of data collection and information, with single messages or posts becoming accessible by anyone from anywhere within a matter of seconds. According to the annual Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report, 91 percent of U.S. consumers say their mobile phone is very important, just as important as their car (91 percent) and deodorant (91 percent), and significantly more important than television (76 percent) and coffee (60 percent).

When approaching safety and security, especially on a large scale, such as with enterprises, hospitals, special events or government campuses, many organizations look at the most obvious needs – physical security and cybersecurity – without considering a more converged approach that combines physical security monitoring along with IT. Even more surprising is that many organizations underestimate the power of using social media to track real-time security updates and events.

At Vidsys, we believe in implementing a converged platform that analyzes and correlates open source data with physical security data in order to provide a safe and secure environment. Below are a few of the advantages to this approach when handling emergency response situations

Faster

In the case of an incident, it is imperative to recognize the situation quickly so that the appropriate corrective actions can be implemented before it spins out of control. CSIM software makes this possible through an open architecture platform that integrates big data analytics tools, social media and other intelligence inputs to address both internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Quick access to the right data at the right time is key to addressing and resolving any situation.

Smarter

With CSIM, organizations can combine physical security with information technology to provide a more holistic evaluation of a security situation.  Sensor data, video data, identity and access data, GPS and geospatial data, and social media data are among the key sources of information from which to derive actionable intelligence. Formally integrating these previously disparate security aspects of the physical and IT components into a converged security environment is a natural evolution in our increasingly networked world.  This improved capability allows organizations to correlate data in a more efficient way.

Mobile

Mobile devices can also be thought of as sensors that can be leveraged in a security environment, enabling employees or social media users to both access and share data while also providing real-time, critical information. Employees can also send real-time updates to a larger group of people so that the closest responder to each group can act appropriately.

Actionable

A CSIM platform can convert both physical and open source data into meaningful and actionable information via business rules that correlate the data based on time, location, duration, frequency, and type. Financial losses due to a security incident can vary widely and it can be challenging to calculate in advance the financial impacts associated with loss of productivity, loss of customer business, legal fees and reputational damage.

Vidsys CSIM enabled a Fortune 50 company to maintain its security force head count even though it has doubled the size of its physical campus in the last five years. This company realized a 66% reduction in response time and a 50% reduction in false alarms from access control systems.  A major municipal transit agency using Vidsys CSIM saved millions of dollars by procuring security systems through a competitive bid process with multiple awards to multiple vendors. Vidsys CSIM’s open architecture enables end users to integrate multiple disparate systems from any brand, platform or device (such as social media) thereby increasing buying power and leverage on new projects.

As social media continues to grow and evolve, we are embracing these new capabilities and integrating them into our enterprise platform to create the best possible solutions to help our customers become safer, smarter, and more efficient.
Click here to request a demo to learn more about how social media can integrate with your physical security environment through Vidsys’ CSIM platform.