WHY IS ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE IMPORTANT IN PHYSICAL SECURITY?

We all now that more and more information becomes available nowadays. We even have the risk of accumulating tons of information until we get dizzy and lost and don’t know what to do with it. Well, this is where the term actionable intelligence comes in! It is generally used in terms of big data, due to the huge amount of information collected, and its purpose is to find specific elements within the data that can be exploited to enhance our performance. So, not only this concept is fundamental nowadays, but it can also be predicted that will become even more important soon, as the problem of “too much information” is going to become even worse!

But, why is the concept of actionable intelligence important in physical security? Well, in summary, because nowadays safety and security operations need a large amount of both internal and external data from a massive network of sources that are mostly unconnected. Security agencies need to bring together all of this information, clean the mess and get conclusions in order to clearly see the big picture and take proactive actions for managing risks.

For example, let’s analyze transportation: they are complex environments that need perfect functioning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on which the awareness of their situation needs to be perfect. Since the smallest cause can create some really serious problems, personnel of airports and traffic management need to be perfectly 100% aware of their situation. Spotting potential issues before they actually happen becomes essential: it is the only way for them to act properly and on time in order to maintain people’s safety. Other examples of systems that currently need to apply actionable intelligence in physical security are banks, venues hosting sporting events, utility companies, city centers, or enterprise facilities.

One of the best companies out there that provides actionable intelligence for physical security is Qognify (formerly NICE Systems’ Physical Security Business Unit). What they do with their software is to help their clients to maintain all their information and data on surveillance and security together. Their software will filter all the unnecessary noise, connect the dots, and let the client see clearly its overall significance. This allows the clients to then take the necessary actions and considerably improve the safety of all of their operations.