With the advent of information and communication technology, it has become paramount for businesses to conform to the requirements by their businesses in order to stay relevant and get fair competitive grounds in business.

Part of these technological applications, is the management of business using “business analytics” where data is collected from the workforce, inventory management and consumer base of the business. Among the applications introduced is the barcode based visitor management system. In this system any visitor to the organization premises is given a barcoded card that authorizes entry into the different sections of an organization.

The typical system requires bar-code scanners at every entry point of the business premises. These scanners are fed with the relevant permissions and access grants to a specific visitor prior to being given to them. For example a prospective employee would be given a card that allows them only into the interview room while the Chief Executive Officer would get the highest level clearance in the whole of the organization.

It also requires a database management system to manage the different clearance levels at the organization. this system will log the activities of all the bar-code cards used in the organization. In addition to logging of data it also denies access where the bar-code clearance level is below the requested access hence enhancing security in the organization.

For example if a barcode card meant for a senior employee is used while the employee is absent then the system should flag that activity as a security threat and permission must be sought from the answerable authority.

This system also requires end user software at all entry points to support data logging as well as execute such commands as the opening of doors. For example, in organizations where the top management uses dedicated lifts to reach their offices then the hardware and software at the lift door is and should be strictly specific not to allow others into it.

Same case would apply to vaults and safes in organizations such as banks. This system has seen wide application in government departments schools libraries banks among other institutions as its benefits in security and creating a pool of data to help in decision making have been invaluable.