Meet Onguard
Founded in 1993, Onguard offers a large variety of security related technology products and software. For nearly 30 years, Onguard has focused on securing and monitoring activities and assets nationwide, and focused on eliminating the risk of human error in the security industry.
Onguard's security devices and real-time monitoring systems provide analysis, recording, interpersonal communication between guards on patrol and their supervisors, control room safeguards and detailed patrol reporting. It also provides backup data via a combination of intelligent hardware and software systems. Their products include the Onguard Mobi handheld tour system with push to talk, patrol module and time & attendance capability, the Identiscan gate scanning device, the StayAwake alert buzzer, and the Patrol System guard control unit.
The Challenge
The core part of a modern guarding system is the sending real-time patrol information (guard info, global positioning, checkpoints on site, events, timestamps & alarms) through 2G, 3G or LTE mobile networks.
This complex structure needs a reliable, easy to use and powerful cellular data connectivity management platform. Richard Frost, CEO of Onguard, experienced a frustration as his team continued to dedicate a significant amount of time to managing SIM cards in devices because they were working directly with different mobile operators. Each devices' SIM card belonged to a different mobile operator and it was very difficult to manage thousands of SIM cards simultaneously as no online tools were available.
In addition to managing SIM cards, controlling and managing data costs was a nightmare. Typically mobile operators work on long term contract-based SIMs and it was near impossible to cancel the contracts when the device is stolen or no longer in use.
The Solution
About 10 years ago, Onguard was introduced to Flickswitch's SIMcontrol, an online, easy to use SIM management platform automating and simplifying the managed device connectivity at scale. Being able to manage SIM cards without the need for a third party was a milestone for the company.
They used SIMcontrol’s network agnostic platform to test various SIM options. The results were very promising. With technical guidance from Flickswitch, Onguard started using SIMcontrol's Business Prepaid solution, and also later migrated some device SIM cards to the new-generation Managed APN solution. With pooled data options they managed to control their budget. This solution also limits the use of the data to specific end-point url’s, so even if SIMs get stolen they cannot connect to the normal internet.
Moreover, what they found the most effective was pooled data. This is a unique feature where all APN SIMs from multiple networks consume data from a large organization-level data bundle. With the possibility of creating Quota limits per SIM, cost efficiency around data is also maximized.
Plus, the simplicity of using SIMcontrol increased their ability to manage and administer thousands of SIM cards easily and quickly.
SIMcontrol's Benefits for Security Companies
An invaluable benefit of using SIMcontrol is the ability to simultaneously control multiple SIM types from different networks in smart security devices. It is a highly developed platform enabling automated recharges, schedule rules, detailed reporting and SIM balance monitoring.
SIMcontrol offers different SIM options including Business Prepaid, Managed APN and Global Roaming SIM across several mobile networks. With real-time SIM-level monitoring with spending caps, Onguard knows exactly where their business stands in terms of device connectivity and delivering a reliable service to their customers.
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