The 12 Days of Campus Safety

As the year comes to a close, our team is reflecting on some of the essential campus safety tips we’ve shared over the past twelve months. We hope this year-end review serves as a helpful resource as you plan for 2025 and work toward building a safer, more connected campus community in the year ahead.

Whether you’re entrusted with the security of a school, municipal, or business community, these 12 Days of Campus Safety offer ideas that help create a comprehensive plan for enhancing how you keep your buildings and grounds connected and protected.

Over the course of the next 12 days, we encourage you to focus your attention on each of these resources—just one a day—to help you build and implement the most connected and protected campus possible in the New Year.

 Let’s get to it!

Day 1 –  Clear Communication Is Key: It All Begins with VoIP Phone Systems

In our January blog, 3 Resolutions for a Safer Campus: Where to Begin Enhancing Your Safety & Communications Technology, we shared our resolutions for the start of 2024. One of the key resolutions that we’ve helped our customers keep all year long is to make communication clearer and more streamlined than ever before. After all, whether you’re dealing with an emergency where every second counts, or simply want to deliver the best possible customer service with call clarity everyone raves about, the right phone system makes all the difference.

Fast, effective communication is also valuable when it comes to maintaining compliance with federal regulations. That’s why staying connected with a vendor partner like Eastern DataComm is so valuable. We can help you navigate the process of selecting the right phone system, the right integrations, the installation, and even the staff onboarding process with ease. Because it’s more than buying a phone system, it’s investing in real change for your organization.

Day 2 – Prioritize Campus Security with Enhanced Access Control Systems that Truly Make a Difference

In February, we provided insights on key considerations for upgrading your access control system in our blog, 5 Key Considerations for Planning Upgrades to Your Access Control Systems. This piece was primarily aimed at campuses with existing access control systems, but the suggestions offered are valuable for all campuses.

Access control systems are essential tools for organizations of all sizes, providing technology that safeguards data, buildings, and the people within them.

The right-fit access control system—or the necessary upgrades to improve upon the system you have in place—can help you manage who accesses your building and when, identify potential security threats, and offer a variety of features. Those include swipe cards, card readers, door strikes, crash bars, and request-to-exit systems. Additionally, these systems can integrate with other technologies like video surveillance and environmental sensors.

Of course, the ideal solution isn’t one-size-fits-all. It should be tailored to fit your building and meet the specific needs of your organization.

Day 3 – Grant Funding for a Safer Campus

In March, we explored available funding opportunities to assist with improving the safety and security of your campus in our blog, The 2024 Ed Tech Grant Opportunity Update.

We created this piece to remind both current and prospective customers that funding opportunities are available to help you create safer campuses.

A common concern we hear from organizational leaders everywhere relates to the cost of implementing security solutions. And understandably so, given the magnitude of these decisions that weigh performance and budget when assessing which options are viable fits. However, financial support may be accessible, particularly for solutions that have the greatest impact on the safety and security of your buildings and grounds.

State and federal funding sources are becoming increasingly available, recognizing the urgent need for technological solutions to protect schools.

If you’re interested in enhancing campus safety but unsure how to navigate the funding process, partnering with an organization like Eastern DataComm can provide the guidance you need to succeed.

Day 4 – A Trusted Vendor Partner Can Guide You Through Challenges Like Rip-and-Replace Requirements

In April, we tackled a hot topic on the minds of many entrusted with safeguarding their communities: the rip-and-replace compliance requirements resulting from the nationwide security threat related to surveillance camera vulnerabilities. In our blog, Addressing An Evolving Nationwide Security Threat: Removing & Replacing Prohibited Video Surveillance Cameras For Safety And Federal Compliance, we provided insights on why non-compliant surveillance cameras must be removed and how to identify the best replacement camera systems

We discussed why these cameras became a national security concern. We explained the necessary process of removing and replacing non-compliant surveillance equipment to protect the privacy of individuals at any given location. Additionally, we highlighted how replacing the now-banned cameras with those that meet NDAA requirements would enhance both campus security and privacy.

An additional benefit of replacing these cameras: prevention of the unintended sharing of confidential materials. Schools, businesses, and municipalities handle sensitive information daily, making the replacement of these cameras crucial for safeguarding that data and their communities at-large.

For the safety of both your information and your people, partnering with an organization that keeps you informed about impactful news and helps you navigate security decisions can make all the difference.

Day 5 – Leverage Our Must-Have Checklist to Create a Comprehensive Video Surveillance Solution

Many of our customers have come to us with questions about what we’d recommend as essential features and components for a robust video surveillance solution.  For this reason we created this reference: 2024 Video Surveillance Checklist: Top 10 Must-Have Features. In this piece, we offered ten must-have video surveillance solution features we’ve found to be of greatest benefit to our customers. While not exhaustive, this list provides readers with an opportunity to explore some of the most valuable features available.

From high-quality video and AI-powered analytics to access control integration and mobile access, the list has helped our readers envision what the ideal video surveillance solution might look like to fit their unique needs. A well-rounded system also includes integrations with emergency response systems, environmental sensors, visual mapping, vehicle recognition, automated alerts, and easy manageability.

The list featured ten key items, encouraging readers to consider how each component could work together to create a comprehensive video surveillance system that keeps their campus connected and protected around the clock.

Day 6 – Create a Safer Campus with Environmental Sensors

Our June blog featured the Top 5 Ways Environmental Sensors Make for a Safer Campus.

While some solutions are a great fit specifically for school campuses or best designed for businesses, environmental sensors can augment safety and communications across virtually any community.

Environmental sensors offer a wide range of benefits to municipalities, businesses, and schools.

These benefits tend to fall into two broad categories:

Safety Risk Monitoring:

Health Risk Monitoring:

The applications are endless.

That’s why it’s crucial to partner with the right technology partner, whether you’re tasked with protecting a school, business, or municipality. This relationship can truly assist by helping to prioritize needs and implement the best solution to ensure the safety of your campus.

Day 7 – Create a Culture of Campus Safety Year-Round

This year, we’ve been thrilled to share with our community of readers our partnership with ZeroNow. We speak at length on that subject in our blog: Eastern DataComm: ZeroNow’s Newest Industry Partner.

Municipalities, businesses, and schools all have the ability to foster a culture of safety across their campuses—and we encourage you to do so if you haven’t already. Creating a culture of campus safety means establishing clear expectations.

It’s about ensuring that everyone—whether employees, staff, leadership, teachers, or students—knows the steps they must take to stay safe within your buildings and on your grounds.

This could be as simple as reminding individuals to carry their ID badge each day so they can swipe it at the access control station when entering. Every small step in the right direction adds up to a stronger safety culture.

At Eastern DataComm, we lead by example, offering best-in-class, multifunction technology solutions such as cellular repeaters, environmental sensors, clocks, paging systems, VoIP systems, access control, and video surveillance. These solutions make safety and communication accessible for all.

We are committed to helping our customers stay informed and comply with state and federal regulations.

We actively seek opportunities to assist with funding for your technology improvement projects and guide you in advancing campus safety.

As your trusted vendor partner, we’re always here to meet your physical security technology needs.

Because together, we can keep our communities safe.

Day 8 – Strengthening Your Safety & Communications Ecosystem Through Comprehensive Approaches

We encourage our customers to look at campus safety comprehensively. For a deep dive on what we mean by that, visit our blog: Fortify Your Business’s Safety & Communications Ecosystem: Access Control, Video Surveillance, Environmental Sensors, and Other Tech Solutions for Improved Security.

While this blog focused on the business safety and communications ecosystem, the same approach can be applied to municipalities and schools.

Thinking about your campus community as a whole allows you to evaluate access control, environmental sensors, and other technology solutions both individually and in terms of how they work together.

This perspective benefits us in two key ways:

First, it moves us beyond a fragmented mindset where we see each solution as addressing only one specific issue. Instead, we broaden our view, which not only improves our planning but also helps when seeking funding or gaining support for the solution.

Second, it reveals how different systems can integrate to support one another, enhancing safety, communication, and security for your community, data, and campus.

For example, when implemented with best practices and careful attention to detail, environmental sensors, video surveillance, and access control systems can seamlessly work together. This integration provides valuable insights and long-term safety, offering peace of mind.

That’s the advantage of partnering with an experienced vendor. At Eastern DataComm, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Day 9 – Commitment to Campus Safety Means to Never Stop Learning

As with every fall, we invited leaders in education to join us for our School Safety Seminar Series. This year, our presenters shared an exploration of innovative technologies designed to enhance school security. These technologies included advanced video surveillance with AI, innovative access control systems, environmental sensors, emergency notification systems, paging bell and clock systems, VoIP phone systems, and of course the implementation strategies and best practices for each.

In the spirit of this educational event series, we’d like to invite you to Explore Our Webinars. Our webinar series offers insight from prior presentations on relevant topics in safety and communications technology.

Our goal in providing the webinar archive is to remain your steadfast vendor partner. We are here to support you as you create a safer campus and welcome any questions you may have before or after reviewing any of the webinar presentations.

Day 10 – Technology Evolution: Tomorrow’s Needs Met Today

Our needs grow and evolve as time goes on. Technology solutions that grow and scale with you are of increasing importance not just to our customers, but to tech consumers across the globe.

In our blog, Responding to Customer Needs: The Evolution of Surveillance Technology, we explored how video surveillance is evolving to better meet the needs of those entrusted with ensuring campus safety with solutions like Verkada’s Command Connector.

From cutting-edge developments like artificial intelligence to more robust analytics, companies we partner with, like Verkada, have proven not just to respond to market needs, but to do so quickly.

So, you may know that it’s time to evolve your safety and communications tech systems, but where do you begin? The first step is to brainstorm ideas based on the specific areas of need you’ve identified. Next, consult with a professional team to determine whether the solution to your challenge lies in a particular feature or technology.

As innovations continue to advance, the answer will likely remain yes.

However, the real challenge will be figuring out how to make the solution work for you. How can you integrate it with your existing systems in a way that makes sense and remains cost-effective?

That’s where the Eastern DataComm team comes in. We’re here to guide you from start to finish, providing support at every step of the way.

Swift and effective responses to threats are key to keeping your systems connected and secure—and that’s what we do best.

Day 11 – Improve Connectivity: Avoid Dead Zones with Cellular Repeaters

In November, we explored our Top Physical Security Tech Solutions to Safeguard Your Campus. In addition to discussing the importance of video surveillance, environmental sensors, access control systems, VoIP phone systems, paging systems, and emergency notification systems, we also mentioned a critical but often overlooked solution: Cellular repeaters.

If you’ve ever walked around a building and dropped a call or suffered poor reception, you know what it’s like to feel disconnected. Those instances can be frustrating as daily occurrences, but they can become life-threatening in the event of an emergency situation.

And that’s why cellular repeaters are so essential.

A strong network keeps your campus connected. Wired and wireless systems are part of a strong safety ecosystem and often, great lengths are taken to ensure that they are running optimally. All too frequently, we find that cell signal strength, which plays a pivotal role in the communications ecosystem, is often neglected.

Cellular repeaters enhance mobile communication by boosting cell signals within buildings and on grounds. Areas such as stairwells, parking lots, and basements often experience weak or unreliable cell signals. However, if members of your community frequently pass through these spaces, it’s crucial to ensure that signal strength is maintained for effective communication.  

Cellular repeaters are designed to improve mobile phone performance in areas with weak signal or poor reception. They enhance reliability, reduce slow data transfers, and prevent dropped calls. These devices are essential for both everyday communication and emergency situations.

The campus safety tip is simple: Don’t fear dead zones—use cellular repeaters.

Day 12: Complete a Campus Safety Audit with Eastern DataComm

We’ve covered a lot of ground over the past year, and there’s even more to come in the year ahead.

If you’re wondering how to bring all these ideas together, our team is here to help.

We invite you to complete a comprehensive Campus Safety & Communications Audit with Eastern DataComm. Through a thorough diagnostic and consultative process, we’ll save you time and provide peace of mind by considering your team, budget, existing technology, strengths, and areas for improvement. Together, we’ll develop the right strategy to keep your campus connected and protected in 2025 and beyond.

Because you deserve a trusted partner by your side, every step of the way.

Connect with Our Safety & Communications Tech Advisors Today

You can contact our team here to learn more.