Insights & Advice
Security guidance, compliance updates and practical advice for businesses across Coventry and the Midlands.
Tailgating and Piggybacking: The Access Control Vulnerability That Hardware Alone Cannot Fix
Tailgating — following an authorised person through a controlled door without presenting credentials — is one of the most common ways that access control systems are defeated in practice. No card reader stops it. Here is what does.
Visitor Management in Schools: Why a Paper Signing-In Book Is No Longer Good Enough
Most schools have a visitor signing-in process. Far fewer have one that actually provides the safeguarding assurance it is supposed to deliver. A paper book on a reception desk is a process. A digital visitor management system is evidence.
CCTV in Schools and UK GDPR: What Your Data Protection Policy Actually Needs to Cover
Schools operating CCTV face an unusual combination of obligations: safeguarding duties under KCSIE, data protection requirements under UK GDPR, and in some cases the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice. Most school CCTV policies do not cover all three adequately.
How Long Should You Keep CCTV Footage? UK Law, Insurance and Practical Advice
One of the most common questions we get asked about CCTV is how long footage should be kept. The answer is more nuanced than most online guides suggest — and getting it wrong can cause problems with the ICO, your insurer, or the police.
The PSTN Switch-Off Is January 2027 — What Midlands Businesses Still Need to Do
The UK's analogue telephone network is being switched off permanently on 31 January 2027. Most businesses know this is coming. Far fewer have actually done anything about it — and the risk is not just losing phone calls.
Paxton Net2 Pro vs Free: What the Pro Licence Actually Gets You
Paxton Net2 comes in two flavours: a free version that is included with the hardware, and a Pro licence that costs extra. For smaller single-site installations, the free version is often perfectly adequate. For anything more complex, the Pro features are not a luxury — they are what make the system manageable.
Why We Use Synology Surveillance Station as Our Preferred NVR Platform
Most CCTV installers push their own proprietary NVR hardware. We have moved most of our commercial installations onto Synology NAS devices running Surveillance Station, and the reasons are straightforward: better value, more flexibility, and a platform that clients can actually manage themselves.
Martyn's Law: What It Means for Venues and What You Should Be Doing Now
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act received Royal Assent in April 2025. Martyn's Law is now on the statute book and most public venues will need to demonstrate compliance. Here is what the legislation actually requires and what a proportionate security response looks like.
What Access Control Does Your School Actually Need to Meet Its Safeguarding Duty?
KCSIE sets out what schools must do to keep children safe, but it stops short of telling you exactly what hardware to install. This article cuts through the ambiguity and explains what access control actually satisfies your safeguarding duty.
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