Visitor Management vs Access Control: How are They Different?

Businesses worldwide are using various tools and software to ease tedious processes and enhance security on their premises. Creating a workplace, where both employees and guests feel welcome and safe, is closely related to increasing work productivity and even enhancing the brand image of an organization.

Two such essential tools nowadays are Visitor management systems and Access Control Systems. Both systems streamline security procedures and reduce delays. At first, they offer similar functionalities. While they do complement each other when integrated, they fulfil different purposes. For any business or admin executive, it is essential to know the difference.

Welcoming Guests into the Office

A Visitor Management System serves the purpose of gathering critical background information of every guest that comes into the office premises. The system stores photos, mobile numbers and other important credentials, which come in handy for frequent visitors, so that they don’t need to check ink-in every time they visit making visitor access management more efficient. This feature is true for other people too, such as family members of employees, courier delivery professionals, contract employees, medical professionals or not-in-circle employees. Also, it is not only the guests who can be checked- in through a VMS but even employees can also be included in the system easily.

An access control system on another hand is specifically designed only for trusted employees. While VMS is more of a front desk solution, the access control system takes over from there on. In that sense, an access control system is restrictive in nature. A business establishment attracts various types of people and not just employees. It is important that both systems be integrated for the highest levels of security.

Enhanced Security

It is the restrictive nature of an access control system due to which well-designed VMS software scores over it any day. For instance, the Veris visitor access control and visitor management software captures the photos of every per checking ing-in at the premises and can even issue badges with QR codes and their images attached. It can generate real-time reports for security officials, regarding visitor activities and movements, and can also generate alarms if a person overstays their limits, this means visitor access management is simplified. In case of an emergency, the system can send alerts to every guest’s mobile phone to evacuate the premises.

Also, read about The Modern Welcome: Wow your employees & guests with a breeze-through front office experience

Since the Veris visitor management system can be integrated with third-party apps, female employees are at an advantage. Security officials can track their cab movements from home to the workplace and vice-versa, in case they have to work odd hours. An access control system lacks this multi-device aspect. Apart from that, access badges can easily be stolen and used to get into office premises. Unless biometric scans are enabled, this presents a grave security threat.

Integration of Access Control and Visitor Management Software

Gone are the days when on-site guests were sent to security offices to gain access credentials. Today, major companies integrate visitor management systems with access control, to improve operational efficiencies and tighten security policies.

This allows sensitive areas to remain restricted from outsiders at all times, while also maintaining employee privacy. Plus, a lot of confusion is avoided. Think about the days when interviews are scheduled at the office premises. An access control system cannot manage so many prospective employees, who will then need to be routed to the traditional log-book system, a needlessly tedious affair. With an integrated system, even when visitors fail to clock out properly on exit, the system will do so, and then deny access to them after the expiry of the stipulated period.

The Veris visitor management system can easily be integrated with legacy access control systems. It can pass on critical information to the system, while also providing additional functionalities. Veris addresses the gaps in access control systems, by providing advance workflows, which are compliance-centric. It offers greater levels of approvals to enter specific areas of a facility. The system leverages the power of the cloud to minimize hardware requirements. In case of a disaster or a wide-scale system outage, all employee and visitor data can be procured safely from the Veris cloud.

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