Moving a whole security system to a new office — without buying it twice

01 · The situation

A consulting firm was moving to a new Manhattan office and wanted to keep the money they'd already invested in security. Rather than buy a new system, they asked us to relocate their existing Verkada access control — card readers on the front door and the data room — into the new space, and add a camera covering the entrance and reception. The new office wasn't built for it: the front door had an electrified mortise lock, but the data closet had only a basic commercial lever with a key, and nothing was wired for access control yet.

02 · What we weighed

The whole point was cost savings, so reusing their Verkada hardware and readers was the priority — no reason to repurchase a system that worked. The challenge was integration: making an existing enterprise access-control system work with two very different doors, tying in a new camera, and routing everything back to the data room cleanly through walls and ceilings so the new office looked finished, not retrofitted.

03 · The solution

On the front door, we installed the card reader, ran wiring through an electrified hinge to the electrified mortise lock, connected it, and added new door position sensors. We ran wiring from the front door back to the data room through the ceiling. For the data closet, we cut the door and installed an Assa Abloy electric strike with a door loop, wired into the access control system. We re-installed the Verkada access control panel in the data room and connected it to power and internet, then mounted a camera over the entrance and reception, running its power and data cables through the walls for a clean, wired install. Total for the relocation and integration: $4,400.

04 · The outcome

The firm walked into their new office with the same access control they already owned — card access on the front door and data room, new door sensors, and a camera watching the entrance — all fully integrated and running on their existing Verkada system. They kept their investment, avoided buying a second system, and got a clean, finished install in the new space.