Cloud connectivity has presented the physical security industry with a new vision of how systems should be deployed and used. End users and buyers are demanding smarter, integrated and more business-focused solutions with surveillance and access control capabilities that reach well beyond those afforded by traditional legacy technologies.
Suppliers have built up a strong business model around their expertise, service and knowledge of physical security. Yet, network connectivity and the IoT present a constantly shifting landscape, requiring the traditional physical security vendor and installer to learn the language of IT; of open platforms, IP connectivity and software integration, to adapt to market changes and remain relevant. It seems that control is rapidly shifting away from the suppliers of electronic door access systems to become the domain of the global tech firms who have the power to shape security in a direction which challenges its traditional operation.
Smart benefits
Smart buildings and cities present great opportunities, and many anticipate rapid growth of the modern access control market as ease of deployment and the sophistication of technologies bring many benefits to the smart environment. It’s no surprise that a drive towards embracing hosted access control comes about as the impact of tech giants have shown the success of cloud technologies; so heavily relied upon during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such companies have the scope, scale and imagination to bring about radical change, and physical security will also be transformed as businesses, realising the value of cloud, look to hosted solutions for their security and business requirements. Yet many manufacturers are simply not ready for this changing market and still follow business models set around rigid, proprietary designs.
The shift toward smart physical security solutions exists in direct contrast to this traditional approach, which is likely to be strongly challenged. While change will not happen overnight, and cloud hosting has yet to become mainstream, this bright new world is nevertheless the domain of the new engineers joining our industry. The future of access control, and physical security as a whole, will therefore be based on an expectation of greater value. Access control systems will become data collection points; and door controllers, intelligent I/O devices. QR codes for visitor management and biometric face recognition for frictionless access control will increasingly be managed at the edge as analytics in a camera or sensor. Access control presents an exciting and challenging future for those ready to accept it and to help shape it; a time to innovate for a smarter, safer world.
In a white paper written by John Allen and Steven Kenny at Axis Communications those aspects which are particularly relevant to access control, including many of the fundamental features of these systems are explored; John and Steven also look at considerations around best practice for suppliers, with suggestions for end users, intended to give them the confidence to challenge their providers and make more enlightened purchasing decisions.
John Allen, Business Development Manager, Access Control at Axis, said: “Suppliers have built up a strong business model around their expertise, service and knowledge of physical security. Yet, network connectivity and the IoT present a constantly shifting landscape, requiring the traditional physical security vendor and installer to learn the language of IT; of open platforms, IP connectivity and software integration, to adapt to market changes and remain relevant. Our latest white paper creates awareness of the challenges being faced and looks at how these issues can be remedied. The paper places emphasis on the necessary cyber hygiene requirements and provides a check-list for those considering a move to hosted access control solutions.”
Key points covered in the PACS white paper include:
– The future of access control – The evolution of smart access control solutions.
– Challenges in an evolving market – Considerations around systems architecture and cybersecurity.
– Technical barriers to adoption – Exploring the reasons behind difficulties in adopting.
– The hallmarks of best practice – Stake-holder management: what to look for when selecting a vendor.
– Guides and tools – system management documentation; and
– Create a cyber hygiene profile – Key considerations when evaluating suppliers, products and systems.
Download the white paper here:
https://www.axis-communications.com/The_Digitization_and_Cybersecurity_of_Physical_access_control.
