When designing a commercial building, your architectural design should include security considerations. You must ensure that the property will only be accessible to authorised users.
So, why does your architectural design need to compensate for door access control?
Keep reading as we discuss why access control is essential and the best access control solutions you can choose to deploy in your commercial property quickly.
Why Is Access Control Essential?
Access control is essential whether you’re designing a commercial or residential property. You need to ensure that no unauthorised users can enter the building, as this could lead to the following:
- Data breaches for any companies operating from your commercial property.
- Property damage.
- Theft of valuable assets and personal items.
- Violent crimes.
Architectural design is the first step in securing both commercial buildings and home offices from intruders and preventing crimes on site. By creating designs that allow for easy access control deployment, you can ensure a system is in place to enable authorised persons to enter the building while blocking access for unverified users.
If you’re designing a commercial building, you cannot rely on traditional key and lock systems. These door locks present the risk of lockpicking, which leaves the facility vulnerable. Access control is required to prevent the risk of lockpicking by implementing keycards, fobs, and mobile credentials.
Cloud-Based Access Control For Easy Deployment
On-premise access control systems are quickly becoming the less preferred access control technology. When designing the architecture of your commercial building, you need to consider whether you’ll opt for on-premise or cloud-based access control and retail security camera systems. Here are some of the issues you could encounter with an on-premise access control system:
- Server storage – you must allocate building space for server storage should you opt for an on-premise security system. The system requires servers for data storage, which could inhibit space optimisation in your plans.
- Complex wiring systems – you must hire the services of a security professional to design complex wiring systems that connect your access control door locks to your server room. This will also require an increased emphasis on carefully choosing your server storage room, ensuring it is close to your building’s entrance points.
- Maintenance – choosing an on-premise solution will also require the building’s property manager to devote energy toward maintaining the system. They must call service engineers to visit the location and resolve any issues.
A cloud-based system presents more convenience for deployment, which makes the architectural design more straightforward. Here are some of the benefits of implementing cloud-based access cntrol in your architectural design:
- Wireless connectivity – cloud-based systems do not require designing and deploying complex wiring infrastructure. The door lock hardware communicates using WiFi, Bluetooth, or cellular communication, making deploying and scaling across multiple buildings easier.
- Over-the-air updates – maintenance for a cloud-based system becomes simpler and more convenient, as your service provider can troubleshoot and update your system remotely using over-the-air updates.
- Cloud database – you do not need to allocate significant space for servers with a cloud-based access control system. The system stores all security data in a cloud database.
- Remote management – security teams in your building and system administrators can easily manage your door lock security from anywhere using a cloud-based control centre or mobile app. This allows for more convenient, efficient, and proactive protection within the property.
Opting for cloud-based access control in your architectural design can ensure easy deployment and reduce the burden of planning your building design with security in mind. Additionally, the remote management features and accessibility of a cloud-based access control system can make your property more attractive and valuable to prospective tenants.
How To Design Your Commercial Space With Access Control In Mind
When planning your commercial space, decide which access control you will deploy. Once you have chosen, you can identify whether you need to allocate server storage space and plan wiring infrastructure.
No matter which kind of access control solution you choose for your architectural design, you should ensure your building’s design provides a barrier to entry. When designing your building, you should try and reduce the number of entry points that could present a risk for intrusion.
Of course, you will need to ensure enough exit points for emergency evacuations, but keeping the number of doors and windows in the building minimal will ensure more security. Additionally, minimising the number of doors in your building will help reduce access control requirements, presenting cost savings.
Summary
Security is an essential consideration in architectural design. You need to ensure that your design does not create vulnerabilities or increase the need for security hardware, which will increase costs. Choosing a cloud-based access control system will simplify planning with easy deployment. You can also opt for cloud-based alarm and camera systems to ensure easy deployment for all security hardware in your design.