Who Has Keys to Your Building and Your Data?
For many small businesses the answer is "we're not sure". This article covers how that happens, where the risk sits, and what managed access looks like for doors and logins alike.
- One login per person for every tool
- Access set by role
- Doors and systems tied to the same identity
- A record of who opened what, and when
- Policies and logs that belong to you
Keys and Passwords Are the Same Problem
The office manager handles building keys. Whoever does IT handles passwords. Nobody sees both, and access piles up. A key handed out on someone's first day never comes back. A former employee's login still works. A contractor's temporary code becomes permanent because nobody removed it.
Doors, Codes and Equipment Rooms
- Keys and alarm codes rarely collected back
- No log of who entered when
- Removing one person means changing the code for everyone
- Contractors and visitors use the same entry as staff
Email, Files and Business Systems
- A separate login for every tool
- Shared passwords passed around
- Old employee accounts still active
- No record of who opened what
Someone Just Gave Notice. What Do They Still Have Access To?
A departure is when access control either works or visibly fails. Try the list on the right. If you can't finish it within an hour, any item you miss is a door left open after that person has gone.
- Email account shut off
- Building key returned and alarm code changed
- Shared drive and file access removed
- Customer records access removed
- Accounting and financial access removed
- VPN and remote access disabled
- Shared passwords they knew changed
- Server room and equipment access removed
Simple to Run, Clear at a Glance
You should always know who has access to what, be able to change it quickly, and not need an IT department to do it.
With single sign-on, each person has one set of credentials for every connected tool. A new hire means one account to create. A departure means one account to disable, and the connected tools follow.
A salesperson doesn't need payroll. A contractor doesn't need your client records. We set access by role, and new people pick up the right access when they are given that role.
Door access systems, smart locks and alarm codes can tie into the same identity as your digital tools. When someone leaves, one update closes their doors and their accounts.
Who signed in to customer records at 11 PM on Friday? Who opened the finance folder last week? Who entered the server room on Tuesday? With managed access, you can look those up.
Knowing Who Has Access Is Part of Owning Your Business
If you can see who has access and change it yourself, you are in control. If changing it is slow or depends on someone else, you aren't. We set access up so the controls and the records stay with you.
- A full list of who can open which door and system
- Onboarding and offboarding in minutes, not days
- Identity setup, policies and logs that belong to you
- Every role and policy documented
- Roles defined once and reused as you hire
When It Is Worth Doing Now
A very small team with stable staff, nothing sensitive and single sign-on already in place may have little to fix. Closing accounts when people start and leave is part of our managed IT service either way. Doors, cameras and a single identity across them are the larger project.
- Staff have left and you aren't sure all their access was removed
- You hold client data, financial records or anything sensitive
- Several people share passwords to the same systems
- You have no record of who accessed what
- Onboarding or offboarding someone takes more than a day
- Contractors or part-time staff have the same access as full-time staff
Secure Access Control
The tools, identity setup and door integration in full technical detail.
The service →Intelligent Surveillance
Cameras for your building, set up and managed alongside door access.
Cameras →Managed IT
Accounts opened and closed as people join and leave, as part of the monthly service.
Managed IT →Find Out Who Has Access Right Now
The free assessment includes a review of who can reach your doors and systems. We'll tell you what is working, what isn't and where the real risks are, then send a written plan with the monthly fee.