Changing internet providers, replacing network equipment, or updating phone service may seem like an IT decision. Depending on how your fire and security systems communicate, however, those changes can affect equipment elsewhere in the building.
That does not mean every network or telecom change will interrupt your protection. Many systems use dedicated cellular communication or other paths that operate separately from your primary business internet. The important step is knowing how the equipment at your facility is configured before work begins.
If Advanced Security & Fire Inc. monitors or services systems at your property, giving our team advance notice of a significant network or communication change allows us to determine whether anything should be coordinated, checked, or tested as part of the work.
Network Changes Can Reach Beyond Your Computers
Business networks support more than employee computers and office applications. Video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, intercoms, and other security equipment can include network-connected components that depend on the infrastructure inside your facility.
Fire alarm communication deserves particular attention. The connection between a monitored fire alarm system and the monitoring center is an important part of the overall system, and communication methods can vary depending on the equipment and how the installation was originally configured.
Some systems use cellular communication, others rely on IP connectivity, and certain properties may have a combination of communication technologies. Rather than assuming a planned change will or will not affect your system, it is better to confirm beforehand.
Changes Worth Mentioning Before the Work Starts
You do not need to contact us every time someone connects a new workstation or makes a routine IT adjustment. Larger infrastructure changes are different because they may alter connections, network equipment, addressing, or communication paths used by other systems in the building.
Please let our team know if your business is planning work such as:
- switching internet or telecommunications providers
- replacing routers, switches, or other network infrastructure
- eliminating or changing existing phone service
- relocating network or communications equipment
- making significant firewall or network configuration changes
- renovating an area where fire or security wiring and equipment are located
What requires attention will depend on the systems installed at your facility. A conversation before the work begins can help determine whether coordination with your IT provider, contractor, or internal team is necessary.
Fire Alarm Communication Should Be Accounted for Early
A fire alarm panel can appear normal at the building while a problem exists with the communication path used to transmit signals off-site. That is one reason telecom and network changes should be considered carefully when a monitored fire alarm system is involved.
Advanced Security & Fire Inc. can review the communication equipment associated with your fire alarm system and determine whether planned work could affect it. Once relevant changes have been completed, signal testing can help confirm that communication between the panel and monitoring station is operating as intended.
Coordinating this before the work is usually much simpler than trying to determine afterward whether a separate building project affected a life safety system.
Planning an internet, phone, or network change at your facility? Call Advanced Security & Fire Inc. at 678-814-4137 before the work begins. We can help determine whether your fire alarm or security systems should be included in the plan.
Cameras and Access Control May Need to Be Considered Too
Fire alarm communication may be one of the more important considerations, but other security technologies can also rely on your building’s network.
IP cameras may use network infrastructure to communicate with recording or management equipment. Access control systems can include networked controllers or cloud-connected management tools. Remote access to surveillance and security platforms may also depend on connectivity that could be affected by infrastructure changes.
In many cases, the issue is simply making sure the right equipment is accounted for before the work starts.
This becomes particularly important when an outside IT company is handling the project. Their responsibility may be the business network, while ours is the fire and security equipment connected to or communicating through it. Coordinating those responsibilities helps prevent important systems from being overlooked.
Confirm Operation After Significant Changes
Once major network or communication work is complete, the systems that could reasonably have been affected should be checked.
For monitored equipment, that may include confirming that signals are reaching the monitoring center correctly. Cameras and remote viewing can be checked for connectivity, while access control and other connected security functions can be reviewed when the work involved infrastructure they depend on.
The scope of testing should match the work performed. There is no reason to turn every IT update into a major security project, but verifying affected systems provides confirmation that the change was completed without creating a new communication or connectivity problem.
Keep Us Informed When Building Technology Changes
If Advanced Security & Fire Inc. monitors or services systems at your facility, keep us informed when a significant network, telecom, or communication change is planned. We can help identify what needs to be coordinated before the project and what should be checked afterward.
That communication helps your IT provider focus on the network while our team accounts for the fire and security equipment we support.
If you are planning changes to your business internet, phone service, network equipment, or communications infrastructure, call Advanced Security & Fire Inc. at 678-814-4137 or contact us online before the work begins. We can help make sure the systems already protecting your facility are properly accounted for throughout the project.
