Commercial Security Planning Glossary

These terms help facilities teams prepare commercial security questions and compare proposals. They are general explanations; product capabilities and project requirements need separate verification.

Access control

A system and operating process for managing authorized entry. Planning includes users, openings, schedules, exceptions and removal of access.

Acceptance testing

Agreed demonstrations that the delivered scope performs the required tasks under relevant conditions. Record results and unresolved issues.

Administrator ownership

Control of the accounts and permissions needed to manage a system. Establish organizational ownership and an approved recovery process.

Analytics

Software that evaluates video or other data for defined patterns or events. Results require validation against the intended environment and use case.

Audit trail

A record of relevant system or user events. Confirm what is recorded, how long it is retained and who can review or export it.

Credential

A means of identifying an authorized user, such as a card or mobile credential. Define issue, replacement and revocation procedures.

Event correlation

Associating information such as a door event and nearby video to support review. Confirm time alignment and supported interfaces.

Field of view

The portion of a scene visible to a camera. Coverage alone does not establish that the required detail is available.

Integration

An agreed exchange of information or functions between systems. Compatibility must be checked for the actual equipment, software and required actions.

Monitoring

A defined process for receiving and handling events or system information. Specify responsibilities, communication dependencies and escalation procedures.

Retention

The period for which records remain available. The organization should define its needs and confirm that storage and settings support them.

System health

Information about device, power, storage or communication conditions. Determine who receives a fault and how it is investigated.

Unification

A coordinated operating environment for multiple security functions. A shared interface does not by itself establish every required integration.

Handover

Transfer of operating knowledge, documentation and agreed ownership at project completion. Include staff training and service contacts.

Use the resource directory to continue research. Property-specific service information is available from NERSA.