security technology
inside
There is much
happening in
the access control market right
now and there are many on-going
trends. Ian Lowe, Director of
Product Marketing, HID Global,
stresses that the market is becoming
a lot more integrated and the de-
vices are becoming more connected
which makes buildings smarter
and much more connected. HC
Kim, Director of Global Sales at
Suprema, stresses that physical and
logical security is converging. He
says: "I think customers are becom-
ing more aware of the dangers of
the old proximity and Mifare solu-
tions. You can go to Youtube and
see how to duplicate these cards
very easily. Customers are trying
to find secure smart cards with
algorithms, with specific encryp-
tion algorithms. And of course, this
brings challenges to the customers
since it means additional costs for
small offices and large customers
have to think about how to deploy
this in different sites."
Thomas Schulz, EMEA Market-
ing & Communications Director,
Assa Abloy, stresses the major shift
from traditional wired locking to
wireless access solutions in recent
years. "Interconnectivity and
interoperability between different
systems and products made by
multiple manufacturers is also driv-
ing the market", he says.
Another trend is that access
control is getting more mobile
there is a growing demand from
users to manage their access control
on the move. Thomas Schulz also
sees a move towards having access
control on more than just doors:
wireless access control solutions
for server racks, medicine cabinets,
sports lockers, padlocks and more
are becoming increasingly popular.
And everything can be overviewed
and managed from one single
interface.
BiomeTric soluTions
like
finger print and face recogni-
tion readers are quite popular at
security shows but they are still
expensive compared to smart
cards. Adam Stroud, CEO for Pax-
ton Access, believes the biometric
technology has its place, but also
says: "The predominant technol-
ogy that is actually used in the
vast majority of cases is still RFID,
and I think it will stay that way.
These things tend to change fairly
slowly."
However, HC Kim from
Suprema thinks that the demand
for biometrics, and especially for
fingerprint and facial recognition,
will rise due to security concerns
for the smart cards and identities.
Thomas Schulz claims that the
residential access control sector
shows strong demand for finger-
print authentication and major
phone manufacturers are moving
towards face recognition for mobile
device unlocking. "So of course
this is relevant to us, too", he says.
HC Kim links mobile solutions
with the importance of the cloud.
He says: "In order to do anything
with mobile, you have to have a
cloud based solution. So I think
it just comes by nature that cloud
is a key feature of security going
forward."
Ian Lowe also stresses the
importance of the cloud and says
it is pivotal to the HID strategy
going forward. "As we see more
and more opportunity in cloud, it
makes our customers lives easier in
terms of deployment, and it allows
us to build in intelligence that our
customers need in order to have
smarter buildings."
Adam Stroud on the other
hand is a bit more sceptical and
believes cloud should not be
presented as a feature in itself.
He says: "It is a bit of boring
architecture really, but what it does
is to facilitate certain things it fa-
cilitates a different revenue model,
like selling services. Again, at this
stage, I think it has its place, but
there are a number of reasons
why you would not use cloud and
where it is not appropriate, and
then there are some reasons why
you might use it. And I think it is
important for manufacturers like
us to provide choices."
Thomas Schulz believes it
makes sense for smaller businesses
to use a cloud solution if they do
not want to buy, maintain and
manage their own IT infrastruc-
ture. He says: "For some larger
businesses with remote sites, and
where the security managers need
24/7 access from anywhere, a cloud
solution also makes sense."
cyBer securiTy
is the hottest
topic in the physical security
industry. Ian Lowe does not con-
sider access control products to
be safer than video surveillance
products.
"Let me flip that around, I
would not say one is more safe
than the other, but combined we
provide a much higher level of
security. I think they need to work
together to provide that extra level
of protection", he says.
Thomas Schulz stresses that
access control and smart home de-
vices, including smart door locks,
are often controlled by software
and apps just like video surveil-
lance technology and therefore
it is essential that all device manu-
facturers in the market follow
industry standards for encryption
and other security protocols.
HC Kim, says: "We have
learned to be prepared for cyber
attacks and we go through various
penetration tests with all products
we build today and we hire
experts to actually go into our
hardware, trying to break into our
software to protect and to build
walls so these devices are protected
from any external attacks."
Access control market a nd where it is heading
Detektor has talked to some of the leading access control manufacturers to get an
insight into their opinions about the following four subjects: the biggest trends,
the technologies, cyber security and the future of the market.
Trends: More integration, wireless an mobile solutions
Access control technologies: RFID, biometrics and cloud solutions
Cyber security hot topic for the security industry
By Henrik Söderlund
Ian Lowe, Director of Product
Marketing, HID Global.
Thomas Schulz, EMEA Marketing
& Communications Director, Assa
Abloy.
HC Kim, Director of Global Sales at
Suprema.
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