Trusted identities can serve as the backbone for smart buildings and a connected workforce, according to a recent study by IFSEC Global, sponsored by HID Global, the access control and identity product company. The study on the connected workplace looks at the trends in smart buildings.
Ashish Malpani, director of product marketing with HID Global, said: “Most respondents want more integrated smart buildings and business applications that seamlessly work together. While many of them are realising these benefits by using common management frameworks with centralised databases, this approach is generally quite expensive. The study reveals how trusted IDs offer a viable alternative for achieving a connected building at lower cost, better ROI and improved user experience–all by providing systems with knowledge of identities and their authorisations for access to elevators, parking garages, vending machines, printers and other systems.”
The study covers how the access control infrastructure with trusted identities can connect disparate systems for monitoring and a better user experience as people enter and move around buildings, access various systems, and consume building services.
According to the report, 85 percent of respondents are aware that identities can be connected across multiple systems and devices, and more than 60 percent believe that having everything on one ID card or mobile device will provide operational efficiencies. More than half have already connected their building systems to access control applications, and converging systems can even be a factor in deciding to upgrade the access control infrastructure. Top applications include integrated logical access, AV conferencing, elevators, secure print, locks for interior draws and racks and HVAC control. Other findings include:
– 63 percent define their building as “smart” to at least some degree, a 13 percent increase as compared to a 2016 IFSEC Global report on smart buildings.
– 60 percent of access control systems are already integrated with other buildings systems.
Roughly the same percentage believe that system integration is hugely beneficial for user convenience while adding value to existing systems.
– 51 percent of respondents have already integrated time and attendance systems.
– 45 percent cite asset tracking as the most likely system to be integrated in the future.
System integration can also be a trigger for access control upgrades – at least 40 percent cited converged physical and logical access as a decision factor.
Other top upgrade triggers include enhanced security (65 percent), multi-factor authentication (46 percent), and multiple ID form factors, such as mobile devices and cards (41 percent). Two-thirds of respondents believe that IT and facilities/security management teams need to work together more closely when buying, installing and using new technologies.
Another finding is a growing awareness of the Internet of Things (IoT), with 86 percent of respondents either “very aware” or “modestly aware” of the IoT.
HID Global will be exhibiting its Seos credentials, pictured, and other identity products at IFSEC International 2017 (stand E1250) in London from June 20 to 22. Visit www.hidglobal.com.
