Crime targeting businesses is a common problem up and down the UK, with offences such as break-ins, burglaries and vandalism among the biggest issues organisations face. This can be a particular problem for smaller companies, which could find such incidents very damaging.
The theft of essential equipment, supplies or products can be difficult to recover from and could leave businesses struggling to operate in the wake of an incident. Therefore, having the right tools to protect against criminal activity is a must for these firms.
Why small businesses need intruder alarms
Government figures suggest that every year, around a quarter of businesses (26 per cent in 2024) fall victim to crime. The most prevalent incidents last year involved theft (14 per cent), burglary (eight per cent), vandalism (eight per cent) and assaults or threats against staff or customers (seven per cent).
However, smaller firms are more likely to be impacted by crime. For instance, research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that between 2021 and 2023, 42 per cent of these companies fell victim to robbery or burglary, while 35 per cent experienced criminal damage. Overall, this equated to 3.8 million incidents. The organisation estimated that, altogether, traditional crime adds up to costs of up to £12.9 billion a year for small firms in the UK – three times the costs incurred from cybercrime.
The FSB described the number of crimes targeted at these firms as “staggering”, adding: “For too long, smaller businesses have been the poor relation of crime victims in England and Wales.”
Therefore, it’s vital that such organisations have the right tools in place to protect themselves and deter criminals. This should start with effective intruder alarm systems.
Benefits of investing in SECOM alarm systems
An alarm system is an essential first line of defence for small businesses. Key advantages of SECOM’s small business-focused systems include:
- Deter criminals: a visible intruder alarm system offers a clear warning to burglars that the premises are protected and will often make them reconsider targeting a business.
- Protect employees: having alarms offers great peace of mind to employees, especially at locations where people may need to work alone or at night.
- Prevent losses: SECOM’s tools can offer savings by reducing the cost of crime. This not only includes any lost stock or equipment as a result of a burglary, but also the need to repair any damage such as broken doors and windows or other vandalism.
- Insurance advantages: some business insurance providers will offer more competitive quotes for customers that can demonstrate they have effective security systems in place such as monitored intruder alarms.
- Protect beyond crime: alarm systems offer more than protection against criminals. SECOM’s systems come with a range of sensors that can be integrated with other solutions and also alert you to other issues your premises may face, from flooding to energy usage.
Key features of SECOM’s solutions
Some small and micro businesses may be able to use tools designed for use in the home, but for the best results and peace of mind, SECOM offers a range of bespoke, commercially focused solutions that are designed with the unique needs of the business in mind. This includes both wired and wireless capabilities and integrations with other smart systems to deliver comprehensive protection that keeps your business safe from intruders and other threats.
Full 24/7 monitoring is an essential feature of SECOM’s commercial intruder alarm systems. All our business protection products connect to our Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), where a team of experts is always on hand to assess the situation and react swiftly to any incident.
SECOM’s systems offer a choice of how you would like us to respond to any alerts, depending on your needs. When our ARC receives an alert, there are four main options. These are:
- Keyholder alert: this will see you receive an immediate alert of the alarm via the SECOM app, as well as a call from our monitoring team.
- Keyholder and police response: should you not respond after being informed of an alarm activation at your business, we will alert the police.
- Key response service and police response: this is similar to the above option. However, in addition to informing the police, a professional keyholder will be dispatched to your premises to investigate the alarm and secure the location.
- Guard Patrol Response: this will send a fully vetted security professional to your premises to conduct a thorough external check once your alarm has been activated and received. They will not enter the property, but will immediately notify the police and wait for them if there are signs of a break-in.
Other benefits of SECOM’s solutions include access to our integrated app. As well as receiving alerts of any suspicious activity, this can be used as a single solution to manage a range of other security issues. For example, it allows you to arm or disarm the intruder alarm system remotely, get information about activity or inactivity in certain areas, or manage employee access rights, all from your fingertips, wherever you are in the world.
We also integrate our intruder alarms with other security measures such as CCTV cameras, access control systems and fire protection solutions. Taken as a whole, these services do much more than just protect against intruders. For example, they can be used to fix maintenance issues before they become a problem, manage energy usage and identify potential insider threats to your business.
For example, if you keep getting an alert about an unlocked door or window, you can investigate this using the alert logging system to look for any patterns. This can also allow you to set up CCTV cameras at the location to learn more about what’s happening.
Addressing the pain points facing small businesses
While the importance of an effective intruder alarm system for firms of all sizes is clear, small businesses in particular may worry that they won’t be able to secure the necessary tools, either due to a lack of budget or other resources. However, SECOM offers a range of solutions to address the most common pain points that can prevent small enterprises from protecting themselves.
For instance, a major issue for many less-sizeable enterprises is the initial capital investment needed to add security systems. However, you don’t have to do everything at once. This issue can be tackled through the use of scalable, modular solutions that can be added to over time.
Another challenge is the potential complexity of any installation, which may often be compounded by a lack of resources in smaller firms. SECOM assists with this through our expert guidance and advice throughout the process, while our professional installation teams are on-hand to ensure the setup is completed as easily as possible.
How SECOM tailors solutions to your needs
A key advantage of choosing SECOM for your small business intruder alarm system is that we provide a bespoke service that’s tailored to the exact needs of your firm. We understand that every business is different, in terms of the type and size of premises, the location, the assets you need to protect and your access control requirements, to name but a few.
Therefore, we’ll start the process with a free site survey to determine what works best for you. Whether you’re looking to protect a small office, a retail or warehouse space or a manufacturing facility, we’ll conduct a thorough assessment to understand your requirements and identify key areas to protect before providing you with a personalised quote.
Our engineers will then come and install the system and give you a complete walkthrough of how it works, ensuring there are no blindspots or issues that could cause false alarms. We also tailor our offerings to ensure business optimisation as well as security, so you’ll have full peace of mind that your company’s premises are fully protected without compromising on what you do.
To find out more about how SECOM can help your small business to stay safe, explore our range of intruder alarm systems today or contact us for a free consultation.