Besides security, visitor management can also be used for business enablement purposes, thanks to an increasing amount of data that is fed into it.
Today’s visitor management systems come with various advanced features such as pre-registering visitors, tracking and notifying them in the event of emergency, and integrating with existing systems. The intention is to improve security at the end user organization and protect staff and visitors alike. But besides security, visitor management can also be used for business enablement purposes, thanks to an increasing amount of data that is fed into it.
The gathering of data begins at the very beginning of the visitation. “It all starts with the pre-registration. The more pre-registration compliance you get, the more participation you get, the more you'll know about the different matrix and key performance indicators you'll have around your visitor management program,” said Kurt Takahashi, SVP of Sales for AMAG Technology.
“We capture the basics you would expect from a modern visitor system. This includes additional information fields the customer may setup such as collecting citizenship status, vehicle registration numbers or any other data,” said Steve Barrett, CEO of Go Reception.
The data can then be processed and analyzed to help end users meet their various security and business enablement objectives. “This information can not only be used to pinpoint issues before they arise, which can help thwart potential threats to the safety and security of people and assets, but also analyze traffic flow patterns that can streamline better planning and operations,” said Mitchell Kane, President of Vanderbilt.
“Data regarding reasons for visiting a site or how many third-party individuals came on-site throughout a particular timeframe could be optimized in terms of identifying the frequency of a visitor within a certain timeframe and revealing the amount of times a visitor was onsite and for what particular reasons,” said Neil Fox, Marketing Manager at Time Data Security.
“With regard to big data, the system can help share information with building management and facilities to understand utilization of space, key movement around site, and volume of visitors,” said Evan Morgans, Product Manager for Security at Gallagher.
Takahashi echoed those remarks. “You can see how many visitors come in today, what time of day, it'll help you optimize operationally,” Takahashi said. “Do I need one receptionist, do I need two, do I need to stand up mobile stations because I have a big influx of visitors between 10 and 2. From a big data analysis, you get to see who is coming, how many are coming, what time they are coming, and what types of companies are coming, all of that is at your fingertips.”
Visitor management has come a long way, from traditional paper logs to today’s solutions that can perform a number of tasks, including simplifying the registration process, integrating with existing security systems, as well as gathering data that can be further utilized for business enablement. Takahashi of AMAG likes to use the phrase “convenience without compromise” to characterize today’s visitor management solutions, and indeed that’s what they offer to end users across verticals.