Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security - Cisco · vital “security services” in the workplace....

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Scalability of physical security system opens new opportunities for global engineering consultancy. Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security Customer Name: Aurecon Industry: Construction Location: South Africa Company Size: 7500 + employees globally Business Impact • Increased awareness of people and incidents in workplace • Integration capabilities maximise technology utilisation • Improved protection capabilities without employing more resources Solution and Results As a result of the scalability of the Cisco Physical Access Control and Cisco Video Surveillance solutions, Aurecon’s IT department has maximised the technology to provide other vital “security services” in the workplace. Integration of the solution with the Cisco IP network provides the safety officer with a higher level of situational awareness. For example, the door hardware and proximity-style badge readers connect to the centralised servers through a Cisco Physical Access Gateway. When an employee swipes an access card at a door, integra- tion with Microsoft Active Directory and Aurecon’s identity management system allows for facial recognition of an em- ployee. When an incident occurs at a door, the safety officer is notified on a unified interface, and the employee is easily recognised via Active Directory. The company is now also more responsive and in a position to make intelligent decisions more quickly. In the event of incidents such as fires, the safety officer pushes one button to open all the doors instantaneously, rather than employees Business Challenge Aurecon provides engineering, management, and specialist technical services for government and private- sector clients globally. The group, with an office network extending across 23 countries, has been involved in projects in more than 70 countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. A top priority for the company is to provide a secure work- ing environment for its employees. When Aurecon built a new head office, the company turned to trusted Cisco part- ner of 10 years, Business Connexion, to design a solution based on specific security requirements, which focused mostly around access control. Business Connexion knew the advantage of implementing a scalable solution, and subsequently deployed Cisco® Physical Access Control and Cisco Video Surveillance solutions at the company’s head office in Tshwane. Au- recon initially utilized the solution to provide electronic access control for its employees to allow them easy access to the building from the parking basement to their offices using one access card. Harry van Meyeren IT Service Operations Manager - Global, Aurecon “We have the fexibility to utilise our physical security solutions for different needs, thereby increasing our return on investment. Our systetem is now also more effective and costs less to manage because it is tied together over our IP network.” having to break down doors to exit the building. Moreover, the solution is based on a centralised system, and if a WAN link fails, employees can still enter and exit the building. In addition, Aurecon recently upgraded to Cisco Video Surveillance Manager 7.5, offering the company more capabilities to increase security. The company utilises Case Study

Transcript of Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security - Cisco · vital “security services” in the workplace....

Page 1: Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security - Cisco · vital “security services” in the workplace. Integration of the solution with the Cisco IP network provides the safety officer with

Scalability of physical security system opens new opportunities for global engineering consultancy.

Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security

Customer Name: Aurecon

Industry: Construction

Location: South Africa

Company Size: 7500 + employeesglobally

Business Impact

• Increasedawarenessofpeopleandincidentsinworkplace

• Integrationcapabilitiesmaximisetechnologyutilisation

• Improvedprotectioncapabilitieswithoutemployingmore resources

Solution and ResultsAs a result of the scalability of the Cisco Physical Access Control and Cisco Video Surveillance solutions, Aurecon’s IT department has maximised the technology to provide other vital “security services” in the workplace.

Integration of the solution with the Cisco IP network provides the safety officer with a higher level of situational awareness. For example, the door hardware and proximity-style badge readers connect to the centralised servers through a Cisco Physical Access Gateway.

When an employee swipes an access card at a door, integra-tion with Microsoft Active Directory and Aurecon’s identity management system allows for facial recognition of an em-ployee. When an incident occurs at a door, the safety officer is notified on a unified interface, and the employee is easily recognised via Active Directory.

The company is now also more responsive and in a position to make intelligent decisions more quickly. In the event of incidents such as fires, the safety officer pushes one button to open all the doors instantaneously, rather than employees

Business ChallengeAurecon provides engineering, management, and specialist technical services for government and private-sector clients globally. The group, with an office network extending across 23 countries, has been involved in projects in more than 70 countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

A top priority for the company is to provide a secure work-ing environment for its employees. When Aurecon built a new head office, the company turned to trusted Cisco part-ner of 10 years, Business Connexion, to design a solution based on specific security requirements, which focused mostly around access control.

Business Connexion knew the advantage of implementing a scalable solution, and subsequently deployed Cisco® Physical Access Control and Cisco Video Surveillance solutions at the company’s head office in Tshwane. Au-recon initially utilized the solution to provide electronic access control for its employees to allow them easy access to the building from the parking basement to their offices using one access card.

HarryvanMeyerenITServiceOperationsManager-Global,Aurecon

“We have the fexibility to utilise our physical security solutions for different needs, thereby increasing our return on investment. Our systetem is now also more effective and costs less to manage because it is tied together over our IP network.”

having to break down doors to exit the building. Moreover, the solution is based on a centralised system, and if a WAN link fails, employees can still enter and exit the building.

In addition, Aurecon recently upgraded to Cisco Video Surveillance Manager 7.5, offering the company more capabilities to increase security. The company utilises

Case Study

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two high-definition, pan-tilt zoom cameras at the entrance gates to the building to record vehicles’ number plate licenses, as well the driver of the vehicle. Cameras are also installed in the basement parking lot. When incidents occur there, such as car theft or damage to cars, response time is decreased because the safety officer utilises a forensic thumbnail search to view the incident and quickly correlate and prioritise key footage.

The system has also decreased the demand to deploy more security resources. Future use of the system includes employing a single security officer to have a high-level view of security and monitor video surveillance at all Aurecon’s offices nationwide.

Partner ProfileBusiness Connexion (Pty) Ltd. is a black-empowered inte-grator of innovative business solutions based on informa-tion and communications technology (ICT). With over 4500 employees and a track record spanning over 30 years, the company runs mission-critical ICT systems and manage products, services and solutions for Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed and key public-sector organizations, parastatals and medium-sized companies.

Case Study

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Aurecon Tightens Workplace Security

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To find out more about Cisco Physical Security solutions, visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/physicalsecurity. For more about Business Video, visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/businessvideo.For more about Smart + Connected Communities, visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/smartconnectedcommunities. For more about Aurecon, visit: http://www.aurecongroup.com.

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