Unified Communications & Telephony
Intercoms & Door Entry
Audio and video intercoms at entrances, gates and reception, integrated with access control so a remote release is logged like any other door event.
An intercom is the part of the security system that deals with people who are not in the database — a delivery driver, a contractor, a visitor. Everything else in access control answers the question of who already has permission; the intercom is how somebody without it is dealt with, which makes it the most-used part of the system at most sites.
Its value depends on two things: whether the person answering can see who is there, and whether the release they grant is recorded. Audio alone means a door is opened on a voice, and if the release is wired directly to a handset rather than through the access-control platform, no record exists of who opened the door or when. Both are avoidable with a video intercom integrated into the same platform as the doors.
SOT specifies the entrance panels, the answering stations, the network path and the integration into access control together, so a remote release appears in the same log and beside the same footage as a card presentation.
What this covers
Video entrance panels
Vandal-resistant panels with cameras and wide-dynamic-range imaging, so somebody backlit against a bright entrance is still identifiable.
Answering stations and mobile
Desk stations at reception and calls routed to a mobile out of hours, so a delivery outside working hours is not simply a missed caller.
Access-control integration
Remote release issued through the access-control platform, so it is logged, time-stamped and matched to camera footage.
Gate and lane intercoms
Call points at vehicle entrances, so an unrecognised vehicle is handled without anybody walking out to the barrier.
Multi-tenant directories
Panel directories and call routing for buildings with several occupiers, updated centrally rather than by relabelling the panel.
What we will ask you
These are the questions that decide the specification. Having the answers ready is what turns a first conversation into a real quotation.
- 01
Who answers, and when?
Reception during the day is straightforward. Evenings, weekends and holidays are where most intercom designs quietly have no answer.
- 02
Is the release recorded?
A door strike wired straight to a handset leaves no audit trail. Routing it through access control is what makes the event reconstructable.
- 03
What are the lighting conditions at the panel?
A camera facing a glazed entrance in daylight will silhouette every caller unless it is specified for wide dynamic range.