SUMMARY
A national AEC firm with a growing 140-office footprint needed a security partner who could standardize access control across every location, eliminate cybersecurity vulnerabilities tied to legacy on-premise hardware, and remove all system management burden from the IT Director. Alen Security deployed the Brivo cloud access control platform across 50 locations to date, coordinating each installation within active construction timelines and maintaining every site through a proactive, fully documented preventive maintenance program. The result is a unified national security platform, zero IT overhead, and a long-term partnership built around a quarterly cadence that keeps the firm ahead of every new office opening.
THE CLIENT
A national architecture, engineering and construction firm delivering infrastructure solutions across the transportation, water, power, and building markets. With approximately 140 offices across the United States and a workforce operating across active project sites and corporate locations, the firm required a physical security platform built to scale with its continued growth.
THE CHALLENGE
As the firm expanded its national office footprint through new construction and renovation, leadership identified three compounding problems. First, there was no standardized security platform across locations. Each office operated independently, creating inconsistency, management gaps, and unnecessary complexity. Second, legacy on-premise access control systems carried meaningful cybersecurity risk. On-premise systems require manual firmware updates, and research consistently shows that the vast majority of organizations running local servers fall behind on those updates, leaving known vulnerabilities unpatched and exploitable. Third, the IT Director needed physical security removed from the IT team’s plate entirely. The firm needed a partner, not another system to manage.
THE SOLUTION
Alen Security was selected as the firm’s single point of contact for the national rollout of the Brivo cloud access control platform. The deployment is structured as a phased program aligned to each office’s construction or renovation schedule. To date, Alen has completed 50 of approximately 140 locations, roughly one third of the firm’s total portfolio, with the full national buildout actively underway.
Each location is deployed with Brivo door stations and Mobile Pass, enabling administrators to issue and revoke access credentials remotely via text message. There are no physical key cards to manage, no on-site servers to maintain, and no manual software updates to coordinate. Brivo’s cloud-native architecture delivers automatic security updates in real time, keeping every location current against evolving cybersecurity threats without any action required from the IT team.
Alen coordinates directly with the firm’s construction and facilities teams to ensure every installation is completed within the construction window, on schedule and code compliant.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
A core component of the engagement is Alen’s structured preventive maintenance program, designed around a straightforward principle: be proactive, not reactive.
Physical security systems fail quietly. A door that does not latch fully bypasses the entire access control system, regardless of how sophisticated the technology behind it is. Alen’s program addresses this at every site through scheduled inspections that include door open and close function verification, electric lock and strike testing, backup battery checks, and egress device confirmation.
Every site visit is fully documented. Alen maintains records and photographs of all controllers, reader modules, readers, cabling types, and egress devices at each location, providing a complete system record that supports troubleshooting, warranty claims, future upgrades, and code compliance verification. The firm’s leadership has full visibility into the health of every location without needing to track it internally.
ONGOING PARTNERSHIP
Alen conducts quarterly Zoom calls with the firm’s leadership team to review upcoming office openings, address any open service items, and present emerging technologies relevant to the firm’s security program. This cadence keeps the rollout coordinated across a complex national pipeline and ensures the firm is always positioned ahead of its next location rather than reacting to it.
THE RESULT
The firm now operates a unified, cloud-based access control platform across 50 offices nationwide, with a clear path to all 140 locations on a single standardized system. Cybersecurity exposure from legacy on-premise hardware has been eliminated. The IT Director has no system maintenance responsibilities. Credentials are managed remotely and instantly. New offices come online within construction timelines, fully documented and code compliant from day one.
Alen Security functions as an extension of the firm’s facilities operation. One partner, one platform, one number to call.
