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Lessons in security

In years gone by traditional tertiary institutions had an ethos of free movement and very much an open door policy, something that has sadly had to change due to an ever-increasing crime rate.

The past few years has seen an increase in interest from educational institutions which are actively adopting a more controlled environment. The needs of the different business sectors within these organisations requires the effective management of information and strict controls in order to make important decisions regarding the control of staff, students, visitors, contractors and assets.

As a result, there has been a major increase of interest from tertiary education facilities, and in some instances schools, who are fast realising the benefit of proper people control through advanced access control solutions.

Common areas: Main entrances, libraries, and administration buildings need to cater for a large number of users, in many cases over ten thousand people per door. This in itself is a challenging task unless the correct technology and system/service provider is chosen.

Computer labs: Due to the high volume of students requiring computer access, there is a huge demand on the computer labs of educational institutions. It is therefore necessary to find solutions that combat overcrowding and misuse of technology.

Housing: A traditional problem with student housing has been squatting. This is when students sub-let their rooms or invite long-term guests to stay. This has been eliminated in several institutions through effective access control measures.

Schools: More recently, there has been an increase in the number of inquiries from schools. These institutions are not only required to maintain attendance records for their students, but also need to secure high value/priority areas.

Powell Tronics has gained experience concerning comprehensive systems and solutions for the educational sector. One of the keys to success is its ability to develop integration platforms that integrate to SAP/PeopleSoft/Novell/Active Directory/UDAP and the like.

These integration platforms allow for a bi-directional and seamless transfer of information, with the added benefit of insuring that the correct data is maintained as per the institutions enterprise systems/software. Other benefits provided by these interfaces include the automatic mapping of access levels via the individual’s attribute.

The IP friendly environment that exists in modern day educational institutions makes them prime candidates for the latest in IT technology. These IP ready solutions provide effective asset management and inventory control solutions, and secure software password sign on/login via biometric devices.

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