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ACaaS should be on your radar

David Arrikum.

With the rapid increase in construction of data centres, economies of scale dictate that hosted services will become cheaper as time progresses. Why does an end-user still need to build a data centre to manage their security systems? Has an end-user ever been advised on the total cost of ownership of their system? Moving towards a hosted environment allows end-users to do what they do best by focusing on their business operation and the improvement thereof, while reducing the total cost of ownership.

Reduction of total cost of ownership

Straight off the bat, with a hosted environment an end-user has less capital expenditure due to less hardware on site. Less hardware on site results in lower power/electricity consumption, less cooling power to keep head-end devices at the optimal temperature, less back-up power required, no specific ICT skillset required to manage head-end infrastructure and no replacement of head-end equipment every 3 to 5 years. Less equipment on site also means that maintenance is drastically reduced. End-users now move away from CAPEX and to and OPEX model.

Moving your systems to a hosted environment gives you far greater flexibility and scalability as an end-user, allowing you far more control over your own environment. You have the ability to make decisions about your system that directly influence your business ‘on the fly’. If you are not happy, simply revert to your previous configuration. Add users, remove users, update permissions, configure access groups, remotely manage both users and door access - all with far greater ease; all you need is power and Internet.

We live in a world where things are simultaneously real and unreal. Take social media platforms for example. They are not ‘real’ places so to speak, yet the social and financial effects are very real. The security industry in South Africa needs to change its perception that if something like a server cannot be seen or touched, then it is not as real or as safe as an on-premises server is, and therefor is of no benefit for the business.

While the cloud may seem a very imaginary place, the benefits for business are very real and can be achieved far more quickly, and with greater ease, when compared to that of a traditional on-premise solution. Access Control-as-a-Service (ACaaS) should therefore be on the radar of every company looking to control costs in tough economic times.

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