A New Generation Of Smart Access Control Systems Is Disrupting The Market 

Access control is a term describing the process of managing the entry and access to buildings and interior spaces for individuals who have been authorized to be there. It can also be used for attendance and building usage tracking, track printing costs or lock cabinets. Access control has become some common that we just can’t imagine any office, co-working space, gym or medical center operating without it.  

Problems with the previous generation access control solutions

For decades we have used magnetic stripe cards, PIN codes and key fobs for authorized passage.  Although these systems did their basic job of opening doors, they come with some downsides:

• Costly, up to double the price of modern solutions
• Having to run both electric and control wires to every door
• They simply don’t work for many door types, like old doors and many glass doors
• Often they work with a local pc/server that you have to maintain
• Getting access to your data, i.e. for presence, usage monitoring or billing purposes is a real pain
• Integrating these systems into your own is often not supported
• Double administration of users, instead of pulling your users/members from systems you already have
• No support for modern access control methods, like unlocking a door with your phone using your branded app.
• Vendor lock-in, as Vendor control software from vendor X of course only works with the locks from vendor X. 

So shouldn’t we expect something more, something much better from the 21st century, the age of digital transformation, big data and the 4th industrial revolution? Can cloud computing and IoT revolutionize and disrupt the access control status quo? The answer is YES we should - and it’s already happening…

Here come the new generation smart access control systems

A new generation of smart access control systems from several lock vendors is causing a silent revolution. Key characteristics are:

• The control systems moved from local servers to the Cloud, so you can manage them from anywhere, and multi-site is just as easy as a single site. 
• The leading control systems like DoorFlow, don’t lock you into one lock brand anymore, giving you access to much more locks, allowing you to mix and match technologies, typically at a better price.
• Control systems are open, meaning Open Data and Open API’s, so you can realize any business scenario you can dream of, like charging per minute, or showing if somebody is at their floor.
• Smart locks that you can just slide into existing doors in minutes, without the need for running electrical or control wires. These locks use (long term) batteries and wireless technologies. This does not only allow you to drastically cut costs and installation time but also makes it possible to easily secure doors that you could not before, i.e. a glass meeting room door. 
• Cutting a layer of complexity by locks directly talk with the control system via the internet, without the need for controllers and servers in the building. 
• OK, admittedly, we’re geeks here at DoorFlow.  And therefore we love it that it’s now possible to open doors by just approaching them, as they see your phone via Bluetooth LE, which via your branded app checks if you are allowed in.  This might be future music for most of our clients, but it’s cool that the option to have your users open their doors with your app is possible in the future.

Benefits in a nutshell

This new generation of access control systems and locks make our lives much easier and only better. Let’s assume that you are the Facility Manager of a busy Coworking Space, Sports Club or you own and run a Medical Center. These are real problems smart cloud software will solve for you:

1) Maintaining users in two separate directories

Usually, every new user in your facility needs to be added to two or more directories like Active Directory and magnetic cards or key-fob system. We all know trying to keep two systems in sync eventually creates a mess. Now, thanks to DoorFlow integrations you’ll have to do it only once

2) Locking down glass doors without a single wire

Yes - no more wires and construction works in your office. DoorFlow allows you to integrate and manage all doors with electronic locks by wireless Bluetooth or wi-fi connection.

3) Cost savings from breaking vendor-lock-in

Your lock, card readers vendors will hate us for that. For years they have tried to persuade you to use only their systems, which from the cost perspective isn’t the best choice and binds you for years. Now, thanks to the smart cloud you can be totally independent and dictate your own requirements for hardware vendors to adapt to your needs.

4) Access to all your data to the smallest details

Having a cloud access control center allows you to see every activity of every user in the facility (eg. who is locked in a room at 8 pm). Aggregated data allows you to analyze and optimize space under your disposal and show you the potential threats. If you run a coworking office you can create separate digital payments gates for certain spaces, rooms (eg. conference room)

5) Open doors even if you forgot your card

Do you know how many times per month people forgot keys or cards? Gain the gratitude from your customers by delivering them a “key-less, card-less, PIN-code-less” future. All they will need to access your space is a smartphone.

6) Security finally solved…

Having too many systems causing “potential data leak threats” in the facility? DoorFlow cloud will replace them all and limit or eliminate the risk that might put your company in a very uncomfortable situation. 

Updating the access control system from “anywhere & anytime” gives you also the agility to deactivate access rights immediately. 

You can also easily define different levels of control to various groups or departments within your organization. This enables you to delegate management across the organization without compromising security and control. Furthermore, you can easily shape and synchronize floor access rights with your user directory or CRM.

7) The one to rule them all…

Having many facilities to manage? No problem. DoorFlow SaaS platform will allow you to create a multi-site control center regardless of their location. Forget about keeping multiple servers and seperate systems from different suppliers.

8) No need to be an IT expert…

The cloud solutions are managed by you (or people you allow) without the need to call technicians or external vendors to make some routine changes. Software updates are provided by DoorFlow seamlessly. You’re totally free in what you do.

Next Steps

Got some questions? Want a quick quote? Or maybe you would like to discuss your situation and like to learn what benefits this next-generation system can bring to your building? 

Book a free consultation call with us, no strings attached and we treat everybody like family. Alternatively, you can also send us your questions via our contact form.