Privately owned UK security firm transforms operations with automation, live analytics, and a data-first mindset
When Dardan Security’s growth began to outpace its manual systems, the company turned to TrackTik to unify its workforce management, strengthen accountability, and deliver real-time visibility for clients. Five years later, the technology has become integral to Dardan’s ability to scale efficiently — without losing its personal, people-first touch.
About Dardan Security
Founded in 1973, Dardan Security is one of the UK’s most respected independent security providers, delivering robust physical guarding solutions at scale alongside industry-leading mobile services, security technology and systems. The company operates more than 50,000 hours of static guarding every month across 60+ locations, and supports over 700 clients with mobile patrols, alarm response, keyholding, and scheduled tasking. This dual capability, bringing together high-quality manned guarding with agile mobile operations, enables Dardan to protect sites with the right resources, visibility, and blend of technology and trained personnel.
With clients spanning academia, research and science facilities, corporate estates, life sciences and pharmaceutical environments, and critical infrastructure, Dardan’s commitment remains consistent: tailored, professional, intelligence-led security. “Every client is different, so we never deliver a one-size-fits-all solution,” explains Paul Beard the Chief Commercial Officer at Dardan Security. “We ask what they actually want and tailor our services to fit that.”
To support this breadth of services, Dardan operates a fleet of 27 vehicles covering more than 1.2 million miles annually across London, South East, Scotland, North East Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Essex, delivering patrols, CCTV response, alarm activation support, and lock/unlock services with speed and continuity.
The Challenge: Manual Workflows Were Slowing Growth
For years, Dardan relied on a patchwork of legacy systems and manual workflows. “We had talented people, but too much of their time was spent wrestling with spreadsheets and checking data by hand. Invoicing often meant a full-time job just cutting and pasting numbers from one place to another,” Andrew Barnard, ESG and Compliance Manager at Dardan recalls.
As Dardan expanded, legacy systems couldn’t keep up. Rostering, incident reporting, and invoicing were handled manually, often across multiple spreadsheets. The limitations were clear: “As we grew and started serving more complex clients, every manual step became a bottleneck. Errors crept in, data was hard to reconcile, and we’d run the risk of missing vital details on compliance or billing. No business can scale on the back of manual processes”, explains Barnard.
Beyond efficiency, Dardan needed greater accountability and real-time visibility for both management and clients across its mobile patrol and guarding operations.
The Solution: One Unified System with TrackTik
When Dardan implemented TrackTik’s security workforce management platform, the transformation was immediate.
“Having one system that does it all — rostering, run sheets, dispatch, billing — that’s what made the difference,” Barnard says. “Before, we had paper beat sheets and manual check-ins. Now it’s live analytics and instant accountability.”
TrackTik also helped Dardan advance its environmental or ESG strategy, reducing paperwork through the electronic reporting of patrols, daily occurrence reports, and visitor management. Compliance oversight was strengthened with features for lone worker monitoring and working time directive tracking, ensuring Dardan always meets regulatory requirements while keeping staff safe.
With TrackTik, Dardan’s Security Operations Centre can track mobile patrols in real time, monitor incident reports, and ensure all scheduled tasks are completed. Clients gain instant access to incident histories, compliance records, and performance analytics through the secure client portal, providing full “open-book” visibility.
Today, TrackTik supports operations across more than 4,000 active sites, integrates with over 200 connected CCTV systems, and automates workflows that once consumed entire workdays. The finance team alone now processes nearly 600 invoices per month, each one generated automatically with verified data from the field.
Quarterly business reviews that once took hours to prepare are now effortless. “We can click into the system and see exactly what’s been done,” Barnard explains. “That means meetings focus on improving outcomes — not chasing down data.”
Results: Smarter Decisions, Faster Billing, and Stronger Client Trust
Since implementing TrackTik, Dardan has realised measurable and strategic benefits:
- Time savings & billing accuracy: Invoicing is now automated and error-free, freeing the finance team from manual data entry.
- Improved visibility: Live analytics ensure every patrol, report, and task is tracked and verifiable.
- Enhanced compliance: Lone worker and working time directive monitoring ensures staff safety and regulatory adherence.
- ESG and reporting efficiency: Electronic patrol and visitor reports reduce paperwork and support sustainability initiatives.
- Data-driven growth: Insights from TrackTik data have helped Dardan identify service improvements and even restructure teams.
- Competitive advantage: Dardan has won several contracts by showcasing TrackTik’s technology and analytics capabilities during client presentations.
“Our biggest ROI is in billing accuracy — fewer people needed, faster turnaround, and total confidence in the data,” says Barnard. “But the hidden ROI is in the analysis. TrackTik helps us spot trends, justify changes, and prove our value to clients.”
Transforming Service at the CB1 Estate, Cambridge
One of Dardan’s most significant success stories is the CB1 Estate in Cambridge — a major mixed-use development that includes global names like Microsoft, Apple, Cushman & Wakefield, Bidwells, and Brookgate alongside research centers and student accommodation.
When Dardan took over the site, they used TrackTik’s data and analytics to overhaul how security was structured and delivered.
“The information that TrackTik provides transformed the entire contract,” Barnard explains. “It didn’t just help us meet SLAs — it gave us the evidence to redesign operations, add management oversight, and double the staff.”
By using TrackTik’s live reporting and incident data, Dardan demonstrated measurable improvements in service quality and responsiveness to both site owners and individual stakeholders. The transparency and ease of information sharing convinced the client to expand the partnership.
“Our client saw results and reinvested,” Barnard adds. “TrackTik’s transparency underpins that trust — it’s changed how we work with them day to day.”
A Data-Driven Future: 27,000 Reports a Month and Growing
Five years into its TrackTik journey, Dardan continues to innovate. The company now generates 27,000 reports per month capturing every incident, patrol, and compliance activity — all within TrackTik’s ecosystem.
“We capture everything,” Barnard notes. “That visibility drives accountability and helps us make smarter decisions. It’s not just about tracking — it’s about understanding where we can improve.”
The team is also expanding its use of TrackTik DataLab to build advanced dashboards and deeper client insights.
“Our next step is giving clients direct access to their own dashboards,” says Barnard. “They’ll be able to see incident trends, patrol coverage, and compliance metrics anytime they want.”
Beyond analytics, Dardan embraces the TrackTik API ecosystem and emerging AI integrations to automate more of its workflow — from CCTV monitoring to incident routing.
“AI is the next frontier for us,” Barnard says. “If the system can recognise what’s in a report and automatically route it to the right person, that’s a huge efficiency gain. And that’s where TrackTik is heading.”
The Outcome
TrackTik has empowered Dardan Security to:
- Automate billing and reporting across thousands of jobs per month
- Deliver real-time analytics and transparency to clients
- Free up staff time for higher-value tasks
- Use data insights to grow and strengthen client relationships
- Capture and analyse 27,000 reports monthly for continuous improvement
- Manage 4,000+ sites, 200+ CCTV systems, and nearly 600 invoices per month through a unified platform
“TrackTik helps us make our clients feel like individuals,” Barnard concludes. “It’s helped us work faster, smarter, and more transparently — and that’s exactly how we want to deliver security.”
