A continuing strong economy, end user desires to do more with their access control systems and increasing interest in new technologies, integrations and models all led to a positive outlook in 2019 and a general feeling of optimism for 2020, with a few notes of caution.

There was a time not too long ago when choosing the card and reader for an access control installation consisted of which proximity reader style from a limited number of suppliers you liked and how many 125 kHz cards or fobs you needed to purchase.

They say that hindsight is 20/20. So as we go into the year 2020 it seems fitting to reflect back, while at the same time looking ahead at the most influential trends that shaped — or will shape — the security lock and door hardware market.

HID Global is collaborating with VMware to drive mass adoption of mobile access to digital and physical places by adding HID Mobile Access for opening buildings and doors to VMware Workspace ONE, an intelligence-driven digital workspace platform for managing any app on any device. The collaboration will make it possible for Workspace ONE users, for the first time, to more securely open doors with their smartphones as part of a unified mobile experience that also enables them to access applications, computers, networks, data and cloud-based services.

Calcagni Real Estate offers services from residential brokerage to new construction marketing and representation to commercial sales. Calcagni employs 120 agents who work from five offices in Connecticut.

As anyone who operates in the enterprise space already knows, enterprise-level access control is not just a bigger version of the SMB market.

Allegion, a leading provider of security products and solutions, introduced the Schlage Control mobile-enabled smart locks with Bluetooth mobile credential compatibility for multifamily properties. Kastle Systems and STRATIS, two independent multifamily ecosystem providers, are the first to have completed their integration to this new platform. This improvement was designed to meet the rising demand of today’s mobile economy while enhancing the experience for multifamily community residents, property managers and building service staff through seamless mobile access.

The access control industry is not known for its lightning speed adoption of new technology.

For decades the dominant story in access control has been that it was a victim of its own success: that is, customers were reluctant to change out what was still working — even 15 or 20 years on — and didn’t see the benefit in spending the money to upgrade, even for significantly new or different features.

The TRAC-Guard padlock is designed for authorized, secure access to virtually any remote site.