Are Bio-metrics Worth The Investment?

Bio-metrics have amped up security and made things much safer for employees and employers—but are they worth the investment?

Recent technological advancements have completely revolutionized our lives. From how we pay for our food to how we enter buildings, new gadgets have not only simplified our lives, but have made them safer as well.

Bio-metric security systems are all the rage in the world of safety.

For those of you who don’t know, your bio-metrics are your unique physical features (e.g. your fingerprints, and your iris, etc.) that are virtually impossible to replicate. As every person has a completely unique set of bio-metrics, you can make an office building or even your homes much safer by installing bio-metric cameras and scanners.

Despite the added layer of security, people and companies are still a bit skeptical about the functionality of the security system. Today we’ll be comparing the pros and cons of bio-metric security to finally answer whether they’re worth the investment or not.

Pros

1. Increased Security

The best thing about bio-metric security systems is that they enhance the security levels of a building and make things much safer for your employees. Furthermore, these systems have a near negligible false acceptance rate which means that very few people are going to get around your defenses and cause you any harm.

This significantly reduces chances of intruders getting into your office building and adds to the safety of the building!

Moreover, the processing time of bio-metrics is significantly lower than manual methods of cross checking security details. Gone are the days when your security team would have to go through thousands of pages of security records manually to check if a visitor’s credentials check out, as bio-metrics like fingerprints scans and facial recognition take less than a few seconds to be verified.

2. Non-Invasive Collection:

Despite being much faster than manual methods of checking, bio-metrics like facial recognition, finger print scans, and iris scans also have the added benefit of being non-invasive. This is great news for employers that have squeamish employees as they can keep their workers happy without compromising on security.

What’s great about this collection of data is that it’s digitally stored on a computer and can be accessed at any point within seconds! This means that even if your employees forget their ID cards, they can easily enter the building without being a major security concern!

3. Low Maintenance

At the end of the day, no business is willing to invest thousands of dollars on a security system if they’re going to be spending hundreds of dollars every month just to keep it running. Therefore, security systems need to be economical and functional at the same time!

What makes bio-metric security systems so lucrative and promising is that they’re incredibly durable and require little to no maintenance whatsoever. Furthermore, despite being intricate, relying on delicate sensors, and working on complex algorithms, bio-metric security systems offer unparalleled longevity. So, businesses and building owners should think of them as a long, one-time investment.

4. Makes Things Easier

The main reason why businesses are turning towards bio-metric security systems is because they undoubtedly make things much easier for their employees. Businesses have learnt that they can say goodbye to the long, unnecessary queues at their security check-in desks by installing simple and effective bio-metric systems like fingerprint scanners and iris scanners.

Furthermore, by keeping a digital record of their employees, companies can also easily monitor where their employees are at any given moment. This makes it easier for them to see if any employee is acting unusually or if someone is trying to access a restricted area of the building. This enables employers to spot any threats and security breaches from afar and makes them proactive instead of reactive!

Cons

Now that we’ve established the importance of bio-metric security systems, it’s time we turn our attention to the other side of the argument. Here are a few cons of bio-metric security systems.

1. Expensive Initial Investment

By far the most common reason why business shy away from bio-metric security systems is that they cost a lot of money.

No doubt a thermally activated surveillance camera can detect the slightest of temperature changes up to 1000 feet and record only when a person walks in their vicinity (thus saving both footage tape and energy), but these cameras are very expensive and cost upwards of 200 dollars each! This means that businesses will have to cough up to 5,000 dollars if they want to install these cameras on strategic points in their buildings!

Now if you compare them to a traditional security system, the decision to walk away from these impressive technological wonders becomes much more sensible.

Home Advisor carried out a nationwide survey and came to the conclusion that an entire security system (composing of nothing but traditional security systems) will cost around 1,441 USD on average!

2. Not Foolproof

When a business is paying over the odds, they have the right to expect exceptional results. Unfortunately, that’s not the case as there have been many instances where bio-metrics have failed and caused companies millions of dollars in damages and repairs. While these instances are certainly a very rare occurrence, the fact that they’re not completely foolproof has turned away many businesses as they know they can’t rely blindly on this product.

The Final Verdict:

Despite being a multi-billion-dollar industry, bio-metric security systems are not without their flaws. However, based on the current political climate, they are definitely an organization’s best bet to ensure the safety and security of its employees.

Most bio-metric security systems are incredibly secure and make things much easier and systematic for your security team. Businesses that can afford to install these amazing devices should do so at once as they will go a long way in increasing the level of security at their buildings.

However, businesses (fledgling or otherwise) that can’t afford to install these systems shouldn’t feel inadequate. There are countless other options that offer almost the same level of security and are much more economical.

Alternatives

Luckily all businesses don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on security. There are many other options for them to explore. They can always install traditional security cameras and strategically position their security team and achieve similar levels of security, albeit at a fraction of the cost!

As most intruders gain access to restricted areas of a building by picking the locks, periodically changing your locks is a wise idea.

Nowadays, there are hundreds of reinforced locks that are virtually impossible to pick and can thus massively improve your security. You can make things much safer for your firm and your employees by storing the keys to your locks in an isolated room on your compound.

If you need help changing your locks, we at New York Locksmith Networks can be of assistance. We have a vast inventory of reinforced door locks and can install them at your building for a very economical price.

We specialize in commercial and residential locksmith in New York City and are always just a phone call away! Owing to the seriousness of the issue, we offer 24-hour emergency locksmith service in Brooklyn and Queens!

So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with us and make things much safer for your firm and your employees!