Stop thinking of access control credentials as strictly physical devices, or cards. Today’s technology brings credentials into the realm of the digital.
For decades, the talk in the access control credential sphere has been smart cards and the (sometimes painfully) slow transition to them. The security industry is historically conservative when it comes to change, particularly when it comes to an item that can affect tens of thousands of users at a given location. However, for the first time in a long time there is a new technology generating so much excitement from the users themselves that the possibility of “leapfrogging” is real. Integrators and manufacturers alike report a strong interest in the talk of the technology world right now: near field communications (NFC).
“I think NFC is much more of a game changer than any innovation we have had in the access control industry in a while,” says Jeremy Earles, marketing manager for readers and credentials, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, Carmel, Ind. “From a user’s perspective, I think it will take off quicker than some of the other innovations because there is so much excitement around it. If you move from prox to smart cards, security increases but the user doesn’t see much of a difference. The smartphone is night and day for the user and so much more convenient. End users will drive this transition.”