The Bytes Group is a significant feature in the South African ICT landscape, consisting of a number of companies with specific focus areas. Bytes Systems Integration (BSI) is one of those companies with a long history in the time and access space.
BSI is perhaps best known for its implementation and support of the Kronos brand of time and access solutions, as well as its support for solutions from local manufacturer Saflec. BSI also sells the Morpho range of fingerprint readers. David Hunter is the divisional MD of BSI and has been with the company since before the company was known as Bytes Systems Integration.
Hunter says that while BSI handles time and access solutions, a field generally viewed as a security function, the company sees it as an IT function. “When installing time and access solutions, we deal with so much more than merely clocking people in and out and granting access to certain areas,” Hunter explains.
As noted, BSI has been successful with its Kronos implementations, including implementations up into Africa. The IT component of the installation allows BSI to implement the solution and manage multiple sites from a central server at the client’s head office, integrating it directly into the business’s enterprise applications.
Enterprise integration
No matter which technology you install, you need to be able to pull data out of the access system and send it to another system that deals with payroll or HR, for example. This is an IT function requiring knowledge of networking and enterprise applications. IT is the enabler and any installer or integrator needs to be able to deal with IT systems and networks – the basic IP functionality all companies use and require.
In some instances, it will be smaller IT skills that are required, such as network integration. However, Hunter says BSI often has to integrate its access systems into SAP, and for this task a company needs certified personnel to ensure the integration is handled correctly. People managing SAP are loathe to let anyone touch their system if they are not certified.
Looking ahead, Hunter says BSI is applying this convergence principle to the CCTV market as well. The company has created its own CCTV department to assist clients looking at integrating surveillance into their overall security capability. Once again this will not be handled as a standalone project, but an integration into the client’s existing infrastructure.
“BSI is fortunate to have a dedicated IT company that deals with the largest companies in South Africa to call on when complex integration is required,” he says. “In addition Bytes also has a process control department that can be called upon for integration into manufacturing or building management systems (BMS).”
So while many security companies are still contemplating convergence and its impact on their business, many of the leading IT companies such as BSI are already ahead of the curve, integrating time and access functions into their clients’ IT infrastructures. These companies have large IT resources, making the integration a standard part of their business processes. The challenge for the more traditional security companies is whether they can adapt to an IP-based world, get and keep the relevant skills on board to serve customers effectively.
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