How Do You Choose the Best Intruder Alarm System for Your Commercial Property?

The are many reasons for getting a commercial intruder alarm system. But they tend to be grouped into three categories:

• Preventing damage to your buildings and assets,
• Preventing theft of stock or assets, and ·      
• Protecting your employees and members of the public. 

Every company should take its responsibility seriously and there are statistics that reinforce the case for taking preventative action. Research from the British Security Industry Association show that companies are four times more likely to be the target of crime if they don’t have an intruder alarm system in place.

Lax measures also have a bearing on insurance. Introducing a well-designed technical solution, physical deterrents (such as shutters and barriers) and staff training will lower premiums and mitigate the day-to-day risks.

Choosing an intruder alarm system should therefore be a priority. However, there is a wide variety of systems to choose from. These range from solutions that are hard wired into the electrical fabric of a building, through to those that take advantage of a wireless network and can be programmed to activate alerts according to different scenarios in different parts of a building.

So how do you choose the best intruder alarm system for your commercial property?

Our guide will help. It covers the key considerations of building size, risk level, budget, and the feature set, as well as the differences between wired, wireless, and ‘hybrid’ systems.

Assess Your Property’s Security Needs

Undertaking a security audit is the best way to understand the level of risk your business has, and therefore the type of solution you need and the level of investment required.

Building size and layout

It’s possible that you have a small property such as a single shop, workshop, or an office, with windows and a front and back door. It’s likely that a system that includes motion detectors and door/window sensors will be adequate for triggering an alarm.

Larger buildings such as warehouses, multi-story buildings, and campus organisations need more comprehensive coverage. This might include coverage for multiple entry points, or coverage for different property usage – office space will have a different risk profile (see below) versus retail or manufacturing space.

Similarly, a stock room or warehouse door will need different measures compared to a customer entrance. This often leads to considerations such as access control, whereby people can only use specific doors if they have a pass or a keycode. In these cases, a centralised monitoring system is required.

Risk profiling

We often talk about risk profiles when building an intruder alert system. Building a profile helps identify the factors that increase the risk of break in. There are several determining factors, and they typically include:

• Location - are you based in a high-crime area, a secluded area, on a monitored business park?
• The type of business you run – do you have high value items stored on site?
• Opening hours – closure overnight adds risk
• Past evidence of risk - incidents of break-ins or vandalism in the past increase the risk profile

It goes without saying that the higher your risk, the more robust the alarm system needs to be.

A solid feature set for your business

Based on your risk profile, determine what features you need, remembering an intruder alarm system is only as good as the features it offers. It’s often helpful to look at the must have features and the advanced features when comparing solutions. Also consider if you need a single solution because the risk profile is similar across your premises or whether you need to introduce higher security ‘zones’.

Must have features include:

• Motion detectors, such as infrared that detect movement
• Door/window sensors that trigger alerts when breached
• Control panel used to arm/disarm the system
• Audible alarms that scare off intruders and alert security teams / police.

Advanced features may include:

• Remote monitoring that gives your security teams access to alerts and camera feeds
• 24/7 monitoring service where a third-party company commits to respond to alerts instantly
• Panic buttons that let employees trigger an alarm discreetly
• Integration with CCTV or access control systems to give security teams and facility managers a complete view of their business premises at any one time.

We’re also starting to see biometric access control and AI-powered analytics for enhanced protection come into very high security settings, such as government buildings and pharmaceuticals.

Budget

Intruder alarm systems will vary in price according to the factors above – the more varied the space, the more disparate the locations, and the more varied the value of items you need to protect, then the more complex the solution.

If your business is on course for growth and needs flexibility or wants to introduce different zones to a schema then it’s sensible to select a system that can meet these needs as this offsets costs in the future.

When doing your evaluation don’t just think about the cost of the hardware. You need to factor in initial installation, any ongoing maintenance and fees, monthly subscriptions (for directing alerts through to the police, for example) and future upgrades as software and hardware is replaced by the manufacturer. Note these types of upgrades are often linked to keeping software up to date and capable of withstanding new cyber threats so they are an important element of the business case.

Do you need wired, wireless, and hybrid?

Based on the features you need and your risk profile you can start weighing up different options that meet your criteria. Soon into the process you’ll need to look at wired, wireless, or hybrid intruder alarm systems. There are pros and cons to all, usually determined by your site layout, need for flexibility and budget.

This table compares the options. 

	Wired	Wireless	Hybrid
Reliability	HIGH	HIGH/ MEDIUM May be affected by interruptions to connectivity and wireless range in complex or large building footprints	HIGH – combining reliability of wired and flexibility of wireless
Maintenance requirements	LOW, after installation	MEDIUM - regular HealthCheck – battery / connectivity	May require a more complex system to manage the different ‘zones’.
Installation	Depending on the scale, can be labour intensive and will affect the fabric of the building. This can add cost.	QUICK and won’t affect the fabric of the building	Potential to be QUICK but may require some cabling
Best for...	Permanent, large-scale buildings (with no plans to move). Best where there is easy access to wall cavity	Businesses that might expand, have leased properties, or buildings that are under conservation orders	Businesses with a variety of needs as can customise the installation using zones within the one schema. Also good for those with plans to expand / move

Think about compliance

Start by asking yourself these two questions: what standards does your business need, and what standards does your insurer expect? That will set a benchmark. Anything you shortlist will need to meet these expectations.

Next look at the industry standards the systems comply with. This will stipulate minimum performance levels for example.

It’s helpful to look at this as a sliding scale. A Grade 1 standard implementation is intended to meet low-risk scenarios, likely to come about from opportunistic thieves and therefore requiring basic motion detection.

Whereas a Grade 4 implementation is for very high-risk scenarios that government facilities, banks and high security commercial premises are exposed to. Maximum security with failover, encryption, and high-grade sensors will make up the protection measures to mitigate against highly organized groups using advanced tools to achieve a breach.

A reputable firm will be up-front with all the standards they comply with and will help you find a solution that fits your needs in the short, mid and long term. They should also be transparent about any ongoing fees for maintenance, service and support post installation.

Above all, choose a solution that reflects your unique risks, layout, and operational needs so you have peace of mind at all times. That way it will be more than a deterrent. It will also be a core part of business resilience too.

If you need help evaluating the options, then book a no obligation consultation with our team of experts.