There’s a substantial difference between knowing the risks that are present for an organization using real-time data and assuming the risks based on what similar kinds of organizations are facing. Assuming these risks can be costly, as security programs are designed around protecting from these risks and potentially, from unrealistic risks.
This is especially true for cannabis operations – everything from seed to the sale of the product – can be protected using security solutions that generate data that can turn around and be used to better protect the organization at all stages of the process.
We often think about data from the lens of our personal data, but for physical security across cannabis operations, data is gleaned from what we call point solutions: intrusion and fire alarms, video surveillance cameras, access control systems, perimeter security devices, intelligence platforms, social media and many other sources to help gather information about any given situation.
Too often, we leave data on the table because we don’t know how to use it properly. We aren’t sure where it lives, where to view it, or how to access it in real time. And you can’t realize its full potential until you do.
However, cannabis operations must consider what happens when the data being collected isn’t analyzed in a way that is beneficial for all aspects of the business. Regulatory requirements based on individual states are also a factor, giving physical security leaders in the space the challenge of optimizing security spend – and making data that much more important.
It starts with detecting potential threats to the organization at any stage but also can be a critical tool in driving revenue for the organization.
Detecting Threats Using Data
Day-to-day threats to cannabis operations are evolving, meaning that risk levels at various locations fluctuate and make it harder to standardize an approach to safety for not only customers but employees, as well. Using data to conduct quantitative, data-driven risk assessments can set security leaders in the industry apart by providing them with more information that can be used to make better decisions about staffing levels, the use of guarding resources, and external threats that may play a role in how business is conducted.
In cannabis security operations, a robust surveillance and access control strategy is typically in place, but to ensure the data from these solutions is usable, it’s critical to layer a security operations management platform over the incoming data to better make sense of the information coming in.
For example, this can be done by collecting data from multiple sources, such as security-related devices, monitoring social media, deep web traffic, and the dark web. When adding a layer of intelligence to all of this raw data as a way to visualize the number of incidents, areas of concern, “hot spots” where incidents typically originate, and the time it took to resolve the incidents, security leaders are better able to paint a picture about real-time threats that can impact operations and severely reduce the safety of customers and employees.
On a more granular level, cannabis retail operations that consist of multiple locations covered by a centralized security operations center can be better served by incorporating technology that proactively uses the data gathered to help make sense of how incidents are unfolding and the pieces of the puzzle that are contributing to these incidents.
Data-driven Risk Analysis
When we talk about the risks to an organization, the full picture is incomplete without device data to paint it. If a company has ample information on an impending threat but refuses to act on it, the risk for that business skyrockets. This is largely because people have become much more demanding on organizations to act preventatively.
Cannabis security leaders need to be able to dynamically shift the measures they use on a case-by-case basis. For example, when there’s a security event unfolding within a certain radius of a retail location, a credible threat of social unrest, or a potential warning about a rise in organized retail crime, there’s a potential risk for that employee to get injured, or for continuity of the business to be disrupted.
It becomes crucial then to differentiate between what is noise, and what is intelligent information which can be researched and found viable. Technology and software that can take device data and analyze and report on the incoming data to inform decision-making allows security teams to better assess the risks to the organization and protect operations.
Using Data to Increase Revenue
It’s no secret that security data is useful. With all that the right kind of data can do to prevent and address risk, modern cannabis organizations – and organizations in general – can take pieces of the data derived from video and other analytics to enhance operations and generate revenue.
Take an analytic like heat mapping, for example, which can highlight the areas of a retail location that garner the most attention. Used by retail operations to enhance these areas or note what is driving traffic to specific areas can mean more insights for determining how product is displayed and sold.
Additionally, on the flip side, identifying where items are being lost or stolen can also equip retailers with the information, they need to better survey the location or add more associates that can become a presence in the store. Reducing loss and shrink is a revenue driver that security data can be directly attributed to.
Cannabis security leaders are sitting on a wealth of information that can tell the right story about the use of data-driven insights across a business. This data is a critical piece of the puzzle and not having a plan to leverage incoming data means missing insights that can mean all the difference between profitability and extensive losses.
