When it comes to protecting your business premises, a reliable burglar or intruder alarm system is a must-have. But the question arises: should you invest in monitoring for your burglar alarm? In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and considerations from a business perspective to help you make an informed decision.
- What Is Remote Alarm Monitoring?
- 5 Benefits of Alarm Monitoring for Businesses
- The Financial and Operational Case for Remote Monitoring
- What To Consider When Deciding on Monitoring for Your Burglar Alarm
- Choosing Monitoring for Your Burglar Alarm
- Remote Burglar Alarm Monitoring with RMS
What Is Remote Alarm Monitoring?
Alarm monitoring involves connecting your burglar alarm system to a remote monitoring centre (also called an ARC – Alarm Receiving Centre), staffed 24/7 by a team of monitoring operatives. When an alarm is triggered, the ARC receives an alert and takes appropriate action, such as notifying you, local authorities, or a designated security team.
Modern ARCs go far beyond simply calling the police. They utilise advanced protocols, video verification, and data analysis to filter out false alarms, ensuring police attendance is reserved for genuine emergencies. This proactive approach significantly improves the efficiency of your security investment, moving security from a reactive safeguard to a fully managed service that protects your assets and personnel.
5 Benefits of Alarm Monitoring for Businesses
Research from the latest Commercial Victimisation Survey estimates that 26% of all UK business premises were victimised by crime in the last 12 months, with burglary and theft remaining major concerns for the commercial sector. Given this persistent threat, it is therefore important to look at the robust benefits that professional alarm monitoring can bring to a business.
1. Rapid Response in Emergencies
When an alarm is triggered, every second counts. Professional remote monitoring ensures a swift response, minimising potential losses and damage. Critically, only monitored alarms that comply with the required standards can guarantee a Level 1 Police response. For unmonitored alarms, a police response may be significantly delayed or non-existent, treating it as a low-priority call.
By adhering to the standards detailed in our complete guide to intruder alarm monitoring, a monitored system bypasses this uncertainty, ensuring immediate, verified action when a true threat occurs.
2. 24/7 Protection
Criminals don’t stick to a 9-to-5 schedule. Alarm monitoring provides round-the-clock protection, even when there are no security personnel or staff on-site. This perpetual vigilance is especially vital for businesses with multi-site operations or those with remote locations.
An ARC ensures that regardless of the time or date, a trained operative is always ready to initiate a response, whether by dispatching a security guard for a physical presence or carrying out remote virtual patrols via integrated security cameras.
3. Enhanced Security
Monitoring centres are equipped with the latest technology and trained personnel to assess and respond to alarms accurately, including business burglar alarms. This increasingly involves the integration of CCTV monitoring and video analytics, drastically improving the ability to verify incidents. By using AI to prevent operator fatigue and false alarms, an ARC ensures a focused response to genuine threats and therefore enhances business security.
This dedicated focus also extends to the protection of vulnerable lone workers who rely on monitored panic alarms for immediate assistance.
4. Peace of Mind
Knowing that experts are watching over a business or site can offer peace of mind. Rest easy knowing that any security issues will be handled promptly, no matter the time or day. This assurance allows business owners and managers to focus on core operations without the constant worry of out-of-hours breaches or the need for self-monitoring staff, a system that is often unreliable and costly.
5. Insurance Benefits
Many insurance providers offer discounts on premiums for businesses with monitored alarm systems, as they pose a lower risk. An accredited, monitored system not only provides peace of mind but also demonstrates due diligence to your insurer, which can significantly affect the true long-term impact on your insurance premiums and the terms of your policy.
The Financial and Operational Case for Remote Monitoring
Beyond the immediate security benefits, the cost of crime in the UK makes professional monitoring an economic necessity. The estimated total tangible costs of crime inflicted on UK businesses are approximately £38 billion a year, according to a recent report by Policy Exchange. These figures underscore that the expense of installing and monitoring a robust security system is minimal compared to the potential losses from theft, vandalism, and operational downtime.
Furthermore, monitoring is no longer limited to purely security functions. Businesses are increasingly moving towards integrated smart building monitoring, where the ARC also manages environmental and operational alerts. This means one trusted partner can monitor everything from non-security monitoring solutions like temperature and flood detection to access control and power faults, providing a single point of truth for all site management issues, day and night.
What To Consider When Deciding on Monitoring for Your Burglar Alarm
While alarm monitoring offers numerous advantages, it’s essential to consider a few factors before making a decision.
Cost
Monitoring services come at a cost, typically through a monthly or annual subscription fee. Evaluate your budget and the value of added security to determine if it’s feasible for your business. Remember to factor in the potential insurance discounts and the cost savings from avoiding internal staff call-outs or physical losses when calculating the true return on investment.
Type of Business
The nature of your business may influence your decision. Retail stores, banks, and businesses with high-value assets may find monitoring particularly beneficial. However, monitoring is crucial for any site with assets at risk, particularly for construction sites or vacant properties, which often face heightened security threats.
Location
If your business is in an area with a higher crime rate or experiences frequent break-ins, monitoring becomes more critical. Moreover, sites in remote locations benefit greatly as the immediate dispatch of keyholders or emergency services is handled by the ARC, saving significant time.
Integration with Other Systems
Consider whether your alarm system monitoring can integrate with other security systems, such as video surveillance or access control, which may enhance overall security. A unified platform for managing intrusion alarms alongside air conditioning monitoring or other environmental sensors offers complete site oversight.
Compliance and Accreditation
Choosing an ARC that adheres to recognised UK and European standards is paramount. Accreditation bodies like NSI and SSAIB enforce strict standards on the facility, equipment, and training of operatives. Working with a compliant ARC guarantees the highest quality of service and is often a mandatory requirement for police response and comprehensive insurance cover. Always check an ARC’s adherence to standards like NSI Gold and SSAIB.
Customer Experience
You will want to have a good relationship with your chosen monitoring centre and trust them to deal with any incidents quickly and efficiently. Customer service and the overall experience are therefore very important. Look for an honest, transparent and communicative team.
Choosing Monitoring for Your Burglar Alarm
Investing in monitoring for your site’s burglar alarm system is a strategic move. It offers a layer of professional, verified protection that can be invaluable in the event of an emergency. The peace of mind that comes with professional alarm monitoring can be a worthwhile investment, safeguarding your business, assets, and reputation against the continuing threat of commercial crime.
Remote Burglar Alarm Monitoring with RMS
At RMS, we provide 24/7 remote monitoring for a variety of security and non-security systems for sites and businesses across various industries. Our category 2 ARC is NSI gold approved and we hand select our monitoring operatives, combined with continued investment into new technologies to provide the very best monitoring service on the market.
Learn more and receive a free quote by getting in touch here.
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