Mobile Access Control Unlocks a New Way to Work
In business and personal life today, digitization increasingly means moving to mobile devices. Mobile-first is becoming the norm across regions and industries. According to Statista, there are 459 million active smartphones in Western Europe alone, and only a fraction of these are currently used for digital access. This is changing fast: a projection from Researchdive predicts a mobile credentials’ CAGR of more than 22% over the next 7 years.
This rapid growth seems only natural: in terms of access management, it is more secure and more convenient, for both building users and managers, when the smartphone also becomes a key. From an organizational perspective, digitization helps to maximize the productivity of existing assets. By adopting a mobile ethos, in access and beyond, businesses increase convenience for their users and the security of their buildings. It is easy to understand why mobile device applications are, according to one analyst, “the dominant trend in access control”.
Using mobile keys for access helps building users to act faster, work smarter and collaborate better within teams. Similar convenience benefits have already made banks, travel agents, food delivery services and more into mobile-first sectors. With mobile access, staff and visitors no longer need to carry or keep track of keys, fobs, badges or cards. The convenience of replacing plastic key-cards with secure mobile keys is obvious.
From an access management perspective, mobile access enables the secure movement of people into and through premises – and simultaneously streamlines daily work for security managers. Mobile credentials are also more secure. Phones are almost never loaned to anyone else, and are harder for a user to lose. Mobile credentials are easier for security managers to amend or de-authorize than a mechanical key. Changes to anyone’s access permissions can be made over the air, without any need for dedicated readers or asking a user to check-in their credential.
“We were very quick to spot the benefits of mobile access for all kinds of stakeholders,” explains David Moser, SVP & Head of Digital Access Solutions at Assa Abloy Opening Solutions EMEIA. “So many of our access innovations provide the option to make access not only digital, but also mobile.” The company offers customers a choice of mobile access solutions, both within complete digital access systems and via devices that plug seamlessly into an existing security management solution.
Multi-residential housing is just one sector, among many, where the advantages of mobile access have seen its rapid growth. Fast-growing build-to-rent housing provider Becorp is just one that has benefited from its convenience. For a planned new development in Barcelona, they sought a digital alternative to mechanical keys. Becorp realized that a keyless solution would save property management time, which is often spent handling hundreds of physical keys. The burden on staff is especially great when properties are newly occupied or vacated, a regular occurrence in large build-to-rent complexes. Residents use secure mobile keys in their own SMARTair Openow app instead. “Physical key management for any large development puts severe pressure on operational costs,” explains Becorp’s Xavier Casals. “Choosing SMARTair wireless locks and mobile management via Openow helps us to minimize it.”
“We have several more mobile access solutions, providing customers with a choice to meet their exact needs,” adds David Moser. “CLIQ Connect is a mobile extension to Assa Abloy’s programmable key access solution. A keyholder no longer needs to update access rights physically in person. Their system administrator simply opens the CLIQ Web Manager – from anywhere – and updates it. The key-holder makes an encrypted connection between their programmable BLE key and the app on the mobile to instantly update permissions from the cloud.”
“Yet another mobile solution, CLIQ Go, is designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers easy access management from a mobile device, and makes it simple even for non-specialists to manage their own access rights, digitally and from the palm of their hand.”
Mobile access is also built-in to Assa Abloy digital devices that are designed for seamless integration with existing systems and hardware. Battery powered Aperio locks are compatible with both Bluetooth and NFC mobile wireless protocols. Aperio mobile access offers Seos-based, class-leading cryptography and authentication, plus privacy protection. Utilizing HID Seos technology, Aperio also supports employee badge in Apple Wallet, enabling quick, convenient entry to doors, cabinets, lockers, server racks and more equipped with Aperio wireless devices.
Abloy Cumulus is another keyless access solution, also part of the suite of connected Digital Access Solutions from Assa Abloy. With Abloy Cumulus, tailored access rights are issued directly on a user’s smartphone. Their personalized, encrypted mobile credential unlocks any authorized opening. In addition, the revolutionary Cumulus controller brings mobile unlocking via Bluetooth to any electric or electronic lock – from any brand. “We engineered Cumulus to help businesses increase their mobile capability to really get their access ready for what is ahead,” explains David Moser. “It can be completely customized, with APIs and SDKs for smartphone app development. Mobile becomes part of their business. Like all our mobile access solutions, we hope it helps our customers to open new opportunities in whatever they do.”
