With the growing adoption of mobile access control for physical security applications, smart cards and phones used as credentials are converging into centralised identity management systems. Either of these form factors – or both – will be used to secure access not just to the door, but also to data and to cloud applications, while providing a seamless user experience, writes Brandon Arcement, Director, Product Marketing, HID Global.
Landscape
The physical security market has been at the front lines of security convergence ever since video surveillance first began transitioning from analog to network cameras. Meanwhile, IT department involvement in video surveillance has steadily grown to the point that the IT staff now heavily influences technology purchasing and daily oversight.
There also has been a push to integrate disparate video, access control, intrusion detection and other system components into Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) and other unified systems. And now that ID cards and mobile phones are being used together for both physical and logical access, the convergence trend is accelerating even more quickly. With the latest solutions, the same card used to open a door can also have “tap” authentication capabilities for logical access control – it can be tapped to a laptop, tablet, phone or other NFC-enabled device to access data, cloud apps and web-based services. Plus, smartphones and other mobile devices can be turned into a trusted credential that can be used to unlock doors and open gates.
What does this mean for physical security dealers and integrators? In the past, a customer deployment might involve one major round of on-site card provisioning and periodic follow-on provisioning for new hires or to replace lost or stolen cards. This model won’t go away anytime soon because of the visual identification capabilities that only physical cards can deliver. However, on top of this model, there is the new opportunity to remotely provision physical access credentials to smartphones and other mobile devices, and to provision credentials to both cards and phones not just for opening doors, but also for secure print management, time and attendance and cashless payment applications, among others.
Plus, the same ID card that is used for these physical security applications can now also replace dedicated one time password (OTP) solutions for permitting access to computers, data, applications and cloud-based services. These trends are also dovetailing with what the research firm IHS describes as new opportunities for system integrators to expand their recurring monthly revenue (RMR) while also becoming closer to end users. According to Paul Bremner, senior analyst with IHS, “As equipment margins continue to edge lower for integrators, driven by price declines in the equipment itself, it is the services that integrators can offer, as well as the added value they are perceived to bring to the customer, that will ultimately prove to be the separator between the winners and losers in this market.”
The first step toward realising these new opportunities is for dealers and integrators to act as trusted advisors, helping customers evaluate their needs and build a roadmap that will support both current and future requirements. Only access control platforms based on open standards will enable the move to mobile access control, converged solutions, and web-based credential provisioning that will improve customer convenience while creating new revenue opportunities for dealers and integrators. In some cases, the best route is to deploy gradually, upgrading readers on a phased basis. In other cases, it is more economical to upgrade everything at once rather than dedicating the time and expense to evaluate each reader and panel and make a case-by-case decision.
Regardless of the upgrade strategy that is chosen, the access control platform will need to support the broadest possible range of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices without the need for additional sleeves or other accessories, and should deliver an equally smooth experience on different mobile platforms. Many think the role of the security integrator will become even more important, across both physical and logical access control. According to IHS, “…the physical space will continue to have a larger role within IT since access control can flag anomalies, which can create chain reaction to protect intellectual property and other assets.” This ability to flag anomalies will become even more powerful as mobile access adoption increases. Security integrators will be able to provide analytics generated from smartphones that are connected and delivering important data, all the time, throughout the infrastructure. Meanwhile, along with their expanded role comes new revenue opportunities for system integrators, as well, especially for credential provisioning.
More credentials, revenues
A major new opportunity for integrators is helping customers manage a broader set of credentials on an ongoing basis, for a broader range of both physical and logical access control applications. For physical access control applications, dealers and integrators can increase the efficiency of security administrators by helping to implement a robust mobile identity management system with proven processes for managing users and the entire life cycle of mobile identities. For instance, HID Global’s Security Identity Services offering enables integrators to help manage the entire process of how an employee is on-boarded and issued a mobile identity.
Opportunities
As converged physical and logical access control using both smart cards and mobile devices extends to a growing range of applications, security dealers and integrators find themselves moving into a new, expanded role. There is greater need than ever for them to act as trusted advisors, assisting their customers with more challenging decisions not just at deployment but over time with policy development and updating, as well as ongoing system and credential management. As they grow into this role, dealers and integrators also have the opportunity to significantly expand revenues at deployment and throughout the credential lifecycle, across a growing range of access applications.
