Page 76 - Security Today, March/April 2024

ACCESS CONTROL
DRIVING A MAJOR SHIFT MOVING FROM SILOED TECHNOLOGY TO PART OF AN INTEGRATED SECURITY SOLUTION
AUTHOR ROB DRUKTENIS IS PROGRAM MANAGER, ACCESS CONTROL, FOR AXIS COMMUNICATIONS.
IMAGE NATALIIA/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
T remendous changes have been happening in the realm of campus access control in recent years. With the shift to IP- based systems, new software, hardware and applications are emerging to simplify operations, enable integration with other physical security systems and enhance overall security awareness and response.
THREE DEMANDS: UNIFICATION, VERSATILE MANAGEMENT, MOBILE ACCESS
Whether the changes are happening at schools or hospitals, con- dominium communities or malls, the three areas most campuses are focused on are: integration, management, and access.
One of the driving forces for change has been the high de- mand for unified solutions. Users are asking their vendors for a way to manage all their security systems through a single interface, from a single pane. This has led to a flurry of software development to seamlessly integrate ac- cess control systems with video surveil- lance, intrusion detection, visitor man- agement, health monitoring, analytics with artificial intelligence (AI), and more. So, for instance, if a person swipes
their ID card at the door, a video pops up of the event and analytics can determine if there’s anyone tailgating behind the individual and automatically send an alert to security.
A second area where accelerated change is happening is in system management. Ever since COVID, users have looked for so- lutions that could be managed offsite. This has spurred adoption of new business models: access control in the cloud and employ- ing access control as a service (ACaaS).
There are several advantages to the cloud model. Cloud- based solutions eliminate the cost of maintaining servers at mul- tiple campus locations. Running on a single, centralized server in the cloud makes it easier to ensure that cybersecurity patches and software updates are implemented in a timely manner. And be- cause communication between the cloud and devices is encrypted, data integrity is ensured.
CURRENT TRENDS
Another management change that is trending has to do with the way campuses handle credentialing. The move to a unified security solution provides an opportunity to greatly streamline the process. With an integrated Microsoft Active Directory, it only takes a sin- gle entry to simultaneously provision and de-provision employee
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