NCJ Number
138863
Journal
Security Management Volume: 36 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 94- 98
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Security management software (SMS) help security professionals track incidents and activities, analyze data, produce various reports based on that data, and gain access to relevant security-related information. SMS programs generally run on personal computers, using the power of relational database management to gather and sort through information.
Abstract
Security software can help managers discern trends, facilitate reporting, answer questions more quickly, communicate more professionally, prove security's value to other personnel, better protect files, and improve security's image. The three primary sources for SMS programs are inhouse programmers, custom software houses, and commercial software publishers. Among the features to consider when purchasing or designing a program are lookup tables or prompters, help screens, default values, import- export capability, use of incident names, ability to customize programs, system access control, updates, support, and experience and reputation. Security managers can expect their software programs to help them in varied tasks, including generating performance evaluations, setting up preventive maintenance schedules, anticipating problems, justifying costs and providing budgeting data, monitoring workloads and staff assignments, and monitoring trends and changes.