international outlook Top trends for the ac Perhaps, it is not a question of whether mobile credentials will see more widespread use in the access control market of the future, but rather a question of how long it will be before it happens. New research from IHS entitled – Access Control - Trends for 2015 - reports the following findings on the subject. By Rachel Ward Owens 1. Advantages outweigh the barriers IHS predicts that we will see the widespread uptake of mobile credentials within the next two to three years. In today’s market, technological advances in the access control industry are bound to encounter both drivers and barriers, but in this case IHS finds that the advantages are too beneficial to be ignored. Of course one of the biggest drivers for businesses is money. For example, a move towards mobile credentials will result in a reduction in administrative costs for printing and maintaining credentials, plus provisioning and registering of users becomes much easier. Costs would also be vastly reduced in terms of no longer having to buy hundreds or in some cases thousands of plastic card credentials. In terms of training and take-up, users will easily embrace the technology as these days our mobiles play increasingly important roles in our daily lives; and as a result they are lost less frequently than for example, cards and passes. In addition, the passcodes on mobile phones add an extra layer of security and this solution is able to combine legacy card technologies with mobile access. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) also adds its own risks to the organisation. Who within the business will manage the mobile devices? This could be down to the IT or the security department. In addition, the Secure Element (SE) cannot be widely accessed without extensive and potentially expensive partnerships. Most providers of NFC-based access control, currently use encryption methods located in the “sand box” (host operating system) of the handset only not the SE; by using host card emulation (HCE), providers can offer NFC outside of the SE. However, similar to access control as a service (ACaaS), selling mobile credentials will present new challenges and rewards for channel partners. 2. wireless online locks will account for over 1/3 of electronic locks shipped in 2015 IHS projects that more than 35% of electronic locks shipped in 2015 will be wireless online devices. Researchers also found that electromechanical and mechatronic locks were the most talked-about product in the industry over the past 12 months. Benefits for the user mean that electronic locks allow more doors to be online, and for the integrator it means less time spent with each user, plus installation costs are reduced for both parties. Mechatronic locking systems often hold the battery and the access rights in the key, and so they also offer online flexibility to be installed in remote locations in all-weather climates. There is more flexibility among offline static, programmable and read/ write applications, and flexibility of use across all kinds of cabinets, lockers, carts, doors, etc. 3. Services are key to differentiation Analysts believe that the hardware aspect is becoming more commoditised and so the key to the sale will need to be the additional services offered by the provider. For example, the residential security market is becoming increasingly competitive, but the brand of hardware is not a focus during marketing and selling. Instead, value is driven by services, expertise and customer satisfaction. Integration of services will become an important factor. Bringing together disparate systems and having them work cohesively to drive value. This includes integrating human resources (HR), visitor management, student databases, contractors and risk/compliance protocols. Cloud-based services will also have an impact on the uptake. Many mega trends impacting the access control market today are closely tied to IT. According to IHS, the access control industry over next 10 years will be reshaped by Physical Logical Access Interoperability (PLAI) and role based access control (RBAC) as it relates to logical, physical and HR integration, as well as implementation of new methods to assign access control rights. Researchers also believe that a diverse hardware portfolio will remain an ingredient for successful manufacturers in addition to open APIs and SDKs. IHS questions whether the barriers to mobile credentials could be down to the current failings of some NFC or Bluetooth Smart mobile technologies. Whilst NFC can be used with most smart card readers today with minimal updates, there are fewer phones available with this technology enabled for non-payment transactions. Bluetooth, on the other hand, is available on all smartphones today, but the existing access control reader infrastructure does not support Bluetooth. 4. IoT drives move towards a smarter world As the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution heats up and IT becomes more integral to security it is highly likely that closets with servers and PCs will become a thing of the past. Similar to the video surveillance industry intelligence is being pushed closer to the edge, and IHS expects that the average number of readers per panel will decrease. Despite many panels being capable of managing 100+ readers, the average number of readers per panel is nearing only 30 or less. Edge devices are getting smarter. All-in-one readers and panel devices can display information on training requirements, meetings, visitors and other important information specific to each employee. Web-based panels allow management from any Web browser. Wireless locks can connect to a gateway or via a mesh network, vastly reducing cabling. IHS also finds that Management of PACS (Physical Access Control systems) is beginning to decentralise with the adoption of ACaaS (Access Control as a Service). Plus in terms of costs, third party servers/ services combined with an operational and capital expenditure strategy can produce greatly reduced costs per door while removing on-site equipment. 5. Legacy solutions still around Flexibility and options remain a core function of the access control industry. Some end users prefer a pre-packaged/bundled solution, while others require a tailored approach. Others need to meet strict regulations and standards set by governments, while others want to utilise social media and mobile applications to create exciting Convenience-based security is a growing segment of the access control industry. Security News Every Day – www. securityworldhotel.com 16 • detektor i n te r n at i on al