d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l · 1 3
Security News Every Day
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Security News Every Day
www. securityworldhotel.com
or her computer when he or she
leaves the parking lot, managing
the heating system when a room
is occupied or empty, printing
documents only on-demand,
providing free coffee for those who
use public transport are just some
of the use cases we see every day.
This is all linked by the same open
ecosystem", says Ackerman.
Selling device upgrades has
resulted in suppliers being able to
offer device upgrades on a regular
basis, hence increasing their
potential revenue opportunities,
and resulting in enhancing the
relationship with the end-user,
after the initial installation.
"This is unlike the traditional
model that doesn't have such
continuity within the offering
and is typically a one-time sell of
hardware, cards and readers with
no strong follow-up. In addition,
suppliers can enable end-users to
add levels of security, customise se-
curity protection, and extend sys-
tem capabilities without having to
overhaul the device infrastructure
and applications. This is creating
the framework and delivery infra-
structure to extend the traditional
card and reader model", concludes
Yves Ackerman. n
ity are not always followed. By
using SaaS, the customers will
automatically raise the level of
security at their facility consider-
ing that the Customer Service
Centre will follow these policies
with no exceptions", he says.
Open your eyes
But what needs to happen in
order for SaaS to have its break-
through within access control?
Håkan Björkman has a clear idea
on this matter.
"There is a need for the in-
dustry to acknowledge the SaaS
concept, and most importantly
for the customers to understand
the great value of a "subscrip-
tion" to security services as an
alternative to making big invest-
ments in the hardware, followed
by too little time spent on sup-
porting the system in-house that
may also partly cause a loss of
focus on their core business".
New generation
Yves Ackermann is the strategic
growth manager EMEA at HID
Global. He comments that a
new generation of credentials,
readers and NFC smartphones is
changing the way users view ac-
cess control and how companies
will manage their credentials in
the future.
"Being able to handle new
challenges seamlessly is crucial
for customers. A key challenge is
the convergence of systems. For
example, accessing a computer
with your access control card,
logging off the user from his
administration, where access
control related SaaS offers are
ideal. The first is the possibility to
register, store and easily access all
activities at the customer's facility,
so that if someone for example
tries to get through a secured
door, no matter who owns it and
where the person is at that time,
the activity will be registered.
This allows the customer to
easily access information in case
of events where they need to be
able to clarify what did actually
happen at a particular place and
at a particular time or, where they
need to access real time events
to prevent certain people who
should not have access (or vice
versa) from gaining entry to a
particular area at the facility.
Two others are the possibilities
to identify all known individuals
who try to access a certain part
of the facility and to monitor a
certain entrance or door in real
time while the event is happen-
ing and also integrate this with
video images to get access to visual
verification.
"And also, most companies
today face the problem that the
policies stating the access permis-
sions to different parts of a facil-
that the supplier offers not just a
product, but a complete solution
which is an important USP that
can end up being the reason why
the supplier will be chosen over its
competitors", he says.
Round the clock
Björkman points out that custom-
ers today normally have one or
several people who are responsible
for the security administration
such as providing access to visitors
when needed, or monitoring the
entrances. In some cases, these
tasks are performed by employees
who have other responsibilities
within the company.
"This all results in excess costs
for the customers, consisting of
the need for physical presence of
relevant competence and invest-
ments in different systems. If the
customers instead, take advantage
of SaaS and connect themselves to
"the cloud", they can hand over
the administration of, for example,
the access system to experts who
are available 24/7 and who can
focus on the monitoring and stor-
age of activities at the customer's
facility", he says.
Several uses
Håkan Björkman identifies four
main areas, other than 24/7
security-as-a-service /
access control
Being able to
handle new chal-
lenges seam-
lessly is crucial for custom-
ers. A key challenge is the
convergence of systems.
Yves Ackermann
SaaS is also a
good way for
the suppliers to
build long-term relation-
ships with their custom-
ers and a way of showing
customers that the supplier
offers not just a product,
but a complete solution
which is an important USP
that can end up being the
reason why the supplier
will be chosen over its
competitors.
Håkan Björkman
Access control and Security- as-a-Service
acombinationthatwillboostmarketgrowth
Håkan Björkman, director of Nordic
sales at Pacom, is really positive when it
comes to SaaS.
Yves Ackermann is the strategic growth
manager EMEA at HID Global.