The upcoming winter issue of HOA Advisors magazine features an article about how the virtual greeter service provided by Centralized Vision can provide as-good or better security than on-site security personnel at a fraction of the cost.
Technology to the Rescue: Virtual Greeter 75% Less Expensive than On-site Security Officers
Keeping one’s community safe is of primary importance to any HOA. But the cost of hiring on-site security officers can eat up a huge chunk of association resources. Thankfully, new advancements in security systems technology can reduce costs significantly, without sacrificing quality of security.
Here’s a look at what you expect from a good security solution, and the way they are handled by a virtual vs. on-site security service:
- Control access – Automated gates can be circumvented by people who tailgate residents as they enter. But if the security officer is sitting at the gate all the time then they can’t be roaming the community on alert for other issues. Centralized monitoring allows the virtual security officer to be everywhere at once – greeting residents vocally at the gate one moment and keeping an eye on a landscaper across the community in the next moment. License plate recording keeps track of who goes in and out.
- Recognize residents vs. strangers – A security officer may or may not get out of their car to meet and get to know residents. Facial recognition software and resident database management makes it possible for virtual security technicians to know who’s who and act accordingly.
- Monitor visitors such as vendors and landscapers – An on-site security officer can only be in one place at a time, whereas a virtual security technician has access to all community common areas at once.
- Detect suspicious activity and intervene – If the on-site officer happens by when suspicious or criminal activity occurs, he can intervene. With real-time remote camera monitoring, suspicious persons are easier to spot and law enforcement authorities can be notified immediately to intervene and pursue suspects.
- Keep an eye on your community at all times – Virtual safety-certified technicians are on-call 24/7/365, at one-quarter of the cost of the same availability by an on-site security officer.
With access to cameras, audio speakers, and the residential database live in real-time, virtual security technicians can be proactive, rather than reactive, and provide a level of service that would normally necessitate hiring a full-time on-site security officer.
If your association doesn’t have a budget to support an on-site security officer, or if you have one but would like to use a lot of that money for other projects, a real-time camera monitoring system may be the cost-effective solution you need.
