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I
t’s a new world. You hear that all the time. If you watch
the news long enough, you’ll begin to feel that our safety
is at risk in every facet of our daily routine. It’s true that the
need for top notch security increases with each new threat
that evolves, however, advances in technology also allow
security professionals to keep pace with those threats. But
that security comes at an added cost for those who are in
charge of managing properties. So how do you stay vig-
ilant without completely wiping out your community’s bud-
get? The answer is simple: quality information technology.
As a manager or resident board member, you naturally
want to map out and create a safe environment within your
community. Your residents want the peace of mind that their
family members and their property are safe from outside
threats. But the price needs to be right and the inconve-
nience to residents needs to be low. One starting point is
intelligent access control.
Living in a gated community sounds great in the bro-
chure. But how often do you come across properties that
THE KEYS TO
EFFECTIVE
SECURITY
By Kevin Oliver, President,
G&C Electronics
leave their gates up all day due to equipment issues, poor
credential management or just plain convenience? You
have to wonder if the price of a service call is worth jeop-
ardizing the safety of the entire community. Make sure your
gate systems are working properly at all times. Think about
contracting with a reputable company to do scheduled
gate maintenance to ensure that the system components last
longer and remain working reliably.
If your access gates are currently operating by using
‘garage door’ type remote controllers, your property isn’t
secure. When these remotes get lost, stolen or lent out,
anyone who has one can easily drive onto the grounds
undetected. Inherently, this type of system gives you virtu-
ally no information about who is entering or leaving the
"Your residents want the peace of mind
that their family members and their
property are safe from outside threats."