Page 26 - Campus Security & Life Safety, November/December 2018

ACCESS CONTROL
offering billed on an annual or monthly-installment basis. The service model not only cuts multiple layers of program costs but also makes it easier for administrators to scale the campus ID card office to accom- modate future technology capabilities or changing volume demands.
Moving forward, cloud-based access control will also fuel a new way to look at campus design as the convenience of mobile apps is married to the power of insights derived from data analytics (from both loca- tion services and access control devices that are connected across the university and its many buildings, labs and other facilities and com- mon areas). The result: more intuitive and seamless service delivery, along with the benefits of remote access control hardware configura- tion as well as predictive system maintenance capabilities. This cloud model backed by analytics will also improve workflow planning across processes ranging from administrative services to time and attendance logging to booking labs, study areas and conference rooms, and pave the way for new capabilities such as campus wayfinding assistance and other innovations.
ENABLING A NEW CHAPTER IN
PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL
Millions of installed physical access control devices are poised to join a global cloud platform for trusted workplace innovation, which is good news for university administrators who want more choices for deploying access control solutions and more opportunities to improve campus life. These devices will be connected to the cloud and supported by software developer kits (SDKs) and open application programming interfaces (APIs) so that solution providers have everything they need to develop new offerings tailored to the special needs of universities.
To enable these connections to cloud-based services, IoT func- tionality will be embedded in access control panels as app extensions. With these IoT connections, access control systems will deliver real- time data to the cloud, which will facilitate remote diagnostics and a more predictive approach to system maintenance and help protect against emerging vulnerabilities. The complexity of reader configu- ration will be dramatically simplified: no longer will it be necessary to guess at the current reader configurations or make manual and time-consuming changes to them. Cloud-connected readers will enable remote inspection or changes to the reader configuration and updates to reader firmware.
These cloud connections will also enable access control systems to join advanced smart building solution sets through cloud-based mon- itoring applications that deliver robust analytics capabilities used to proactively pinpoint and troubleshoot potential system failures. The applications will also monitor secure connections between access con- trol peripherals and trigger firmware updates to address potential cyber threats.
With the cloud model, the industry will move beyond siloed secu- rity and workplace optimization solutions to the simplicity, scalability and universality of mobile apps that can be downloaded anywhere across a global footprint of millions of compatible physical access con- trol system endpoints that are all connected in the cloud and IoT.
AN EARLY ADOPTION PATH
Universities have been early adopters of cloud platforms for mobile access control, students, faculty and staff can use their smartphones to access parking garages, facilities, dorm rooms, and much more. These universities are providing real-life examples of where other campuses can take their mid- to long-range facility planning to streamline effi- ciencies and dramatically enhance the user experience.
For instance, students surveyed at universities where mobile access
has been deployed have cited convenience as the top attribute of use their phone for accessing buildings and campus services, since their smartphones are always with them and they are less likely to lose them as compared to an access card. Students further pointed out the benefit of using their phone as a backup in cases where their cards were lost or stolen. They also indicated they absolutely loved using easy gesture technology to open the garage parking gate as they drove up to the reader, including the convenience of not even having to roll down their window as they approached. In addition, they validated the efficiency and simplicity of installing and registering the mobile app, citing that it required five minutes or less to complete the process, and it was a self-explanatory and intuitive experience.
Campuses have reported using mobile access far beyond opening doors and gates, where students can now use their phones to check out library books and use campus computer labs as popular examples. Cloud-based access control that is used in this way is poised to help improve everything from registration and enterprise resource plan- ning to dynamically controlling lighting, temperature and other living conditions as administrators leverage the power of connected technol- ogy across more use cases.
Beyond the campus environment, co-working spaces are using cloud-based access control to serve entrepreneurs who need profes- sional, reliable office space to build their businesses. In Paris, Deskop- olitan uses HID Mobile Access to enable building occupants to access their co-working campus in the heart of Paris, conveniently and securely, expanding how occupants and tenants engage, interact and work in their more intelligent workspaces. Deskopolitan can easily provision or revoke mobile IDs, streamlining management with zero compromise on security.
In a similar example, the international property management group Skanska is using HID technology for secure access throughout its new office complex. The company selected HID Mobile Access due to the ease of integrating all of its building applications into a unified mobile experience, including secure access to its parking garage, virtual recep- tion capabilities, access to offices, and other IoT functionality. Today, employees and their guests can now move throughout the building with nothing more than a smartphone and enter restricted areas to which they have been given access rights.
ACCESS CONTROL OF THE FUTURE
Cloud-based access control platforms will give university administra- tors more information about how their campuses are used to optimize efficiency, provide new capabilities like wayfinding and improve the campus experience. They are also fueling new opportunities to dra- matically expand the choices universities have for getting the most out of their physical access control investments, giving them the backbone for adding new and emerging technologies, while improving how identity solutions are delivered.
A trusted, cloud-connected campus that leverages an ecosystem of millions of readers and other devices, applications and trusted mobile IDs will give universities greater flexibility to scale and enhance their security infrastructure while continuously improving efficiency. It will also usher in new opportunities to deliver seamless, even more secure and consistent user experiences, while tak-
ing advantage of flexible service subscription mod- els and a new way to look at campus design and facility planning.
Hilding Arrehed is the Vice President of Cloud Services, Physical Access Control at HID Global.
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