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when it comes to access control.
Everything can be configured, up-
dated and handled via the cloud.
Updates are made automatically
and do not need to be controlled
by the end user. That means less
maintenance of hardware and soft-
ware, as long as the customer does
not choose to handle the access
control system in-house.
"We work in a very conserva-
tive industry and it is often the
customer who takes care of the
system. We have to ask ourselves
why that is, since it is not in their
skill-set to do so," says Johan
Rönnblad.
In order for Security-as-a-Ser-
vice to have its real breakthrough
the industry has to change, in his
opinion.
"The industry is used to selling
access control systems in a certain
way. I think the resistance to
some extent lies internally. It is
considered hard to convince the
customers that they need services
when they have not thought about
it before in that way. All busi-
nesses have to move in the same
direction in order for them to
really work, not just smaller niche
companies.
Many benefits
Håkan Björkman is the director
of Nordic sales at Pacom. The
company has a complete solution
that integrates access control,
video, alarms and alarm transmis-
sion and which they offer to their
resellers/partners who choose to
create a Security Centre based
on the SaaS concept. In Håkan´s
opinion, SaaS helps suppliers to
the security market to provide
added value to the customers in
terms of, amongst other things,
financial savings.
"SaaS is also a good way for
the suppliers to build long-term
relationships with their customers
and a way of showing customers
can gain access to information on
exactly who is inside a building
and who has left it from the access
control system itself a service
that could be very useful in case of
an emergency.
"There are several possible ser-
vices within this technology. You
can for example see who was in a
building or in a certain area when
a certain situation happened. It
can be expanded and display when
someone has been logged in, from
where and when. Only the imagi-
nation limits the possibilities for
what this service can offer to the
customer," says Johan Rönnblad.
Flexible
The biggest advantage with Securi-
ty-as-a-Service, according to Johan
Rönnblad, is that it means flexible
solutions that can be adapted if
the customer needs changes. End
users must ask themselves why
they should commit to heavy
security investments instead of
paying monthly for the security,
leaving more money to spend on
the core business.
Cloud solutions
Cloud solutions are a central
part of Security-as-a-Service
has to establish clear definitions,
solutions and offers in order for
Access Control-as-a-Service to
reach its full potential. How the
services should be packaged is a
central question and Johan Rönn-
blad is convinced that there are
many ways to do it.
"The simplest form is to offer
a service with particular hardware
at a certain site. But you can take
it further and help the customer
with a complete risk analysis. You
often see that the security level is
the same everywhere in a given
building, even though some parts
might need higher security than
others," he says.
Locking or unlocking a build-
ing remotely and re-programming
credentials, such as cards, are other
examples of services.
"Who gets access to what can
change on a daily basis. New
employees need access and other
employees might quit and have to
have their access cancelled. There
might also be certain persons who
need expanded access," he says.
Another example that Johan
Rönnblad mentions is that you
It is clear that the technical sector
of the security industry is heading
towards a business model where
services are more important than
products and where security is
regarded as an operating cost,
rather than an investment cost.
But the industry is conservative
and far behind other industries.
When SaaS becomes the business
model for access control providers
(e.g. system integrators) the real
demands of the customers will
become the issue of highest prior-
ity. The deal will not be about the
preferred products and the hours
to install them. Instead it will
mainly be about responding to the
security level that the customers
demand.
Packaging the services
Johan Rönnblad is business
development manager at Siemens
Building Technologies, Fire Safety
& Security in Sweden and works
with Security-as-a-Service.
"If the industry can put the
services together in a satisfactory
way there is no reason for the
customers to make heavy invest-
ments in access control, they can
instead pay monthly or quarterly.
With Security-as-a-Service we will
be closer to the customers and
their needs. That is positive for the
industry," he says.
Clear solutions
In a recent report from IMS
Research the market analyst Blake
Kozak concluded that the industry
security-as-a-service /
access control
We work in a
very conserva-
tive industry and
it is often the customer who
takes care of the system.
We have to ask ourselves
why that is, since it is not in
their skill-set to do so.
Johan Rönnblad
Access control and Security- as-a-Service
acombinationthatwillboostmarketgrowth
Access control has not come as far as video surveil-
lance when it comes to Security-as-a-Service (SaaS).
But there is no doubt that more and more companies
actively work to offer access control as a service.
detektor has asked some important security industry
players, involved in the access control business, about
how access control services can be packaged and
introduced to the customers.
By Henrik Söderlund / Henrik Paulsson
Johan Rönnblad, business development
manager at Siemens Building Technolo-
gies, Fire Safety & Security.