What Should Modern Access Control Solutions Offer?

• Hybrid working
• Efficient use of multiple rooms and spaces
• Reducing energy consumption

These are just three among many challenges facing businesses of every type and scale. In an environment where change is a constant, security which is agile and futureproof helps to address them. A modern access control solution should offer a wide range of digital locks and credentials, allowing a business to manage their workspaces and workflows with maximum efficiency. Assa Abloy’s Incedo access control solution was designed for this purpose, with the option to upgrade to the cloud.

The challenges mentioned above are greater still for a small or medium-sized organization. When being ready to expand or pivot the use of space at any time is an advantage, flexibility becomes the key. And when a huge, diverse range of door hardware is available from one manufacturer, commissioning or extending control becomes more streamlined and cost-efficient.

Flexible control for security, agility and efficiency

When they choose Incedo, organizations secure almost any building access with autonomous electronic locks, or in real time with online devices. They issue users with credentials of their choice. And they manage everything from one place, via the flexible, scalable, and intuitive Incedo platform.
It is easy to get started with Incedo: Businesses can choose from a vast range of hardware. Doors, cabinets, gates, server racks and almost any other opening may be locked with a wireless or wired device. Building users gain access via smartcards, mobile keys stored on their smartphone, or battery-free smart keys. The range of credentials can be used across a vast choice of hardware elements. Incedo software manages this hardware and the security of users – in the cloud, if required. Hardware and software installations are easy, with no complex integrations required. The entire ecosystem is modular, designed for simple adoption and easy expansion at any time and in any direction. Incedo leaves business owners with more time to focus on their main task: the business.

Door Hardware to Suit Any Application

The heart of an Incedo system is the controller and its door reader modules. These combine to put a facility manager in total control – of a few doors or hundreds. Any Incedo system can include both wired and wireless locks, all natively integrated and covering almost any application. A vast choice of door and other hardware, to secure any type of opening, is available from a single manufacturer – Incedo controls everything. Wireless locking is provided by a range of Aperio devices with built-in readers: the Aperio wireless handle, escutche­on, ­cylinder, security lock and server rack lock. Aperio devices secure almost any interior or exterior door, whether wooden, glass or a fire door. Because Aperio locks are wireless, they are quick to install, without disturbing the fabric of the building. They consume up to 70 % less power during use than equivalent wired locks.
Also available in an Incedo ecosystem are Pulse key-operated digital cylinders. These are self-powered using energy harvesting technology, operating without wires or batteries. They consume no power when in use. The Pulse cylinder range includes door locks, cam-locks, furniture locks and padlocks which operate outdoors, even in harsh environments. Almost any mechanical or electromechanical cylinder can simply be switched for a Pulse device and connected to Incedo without wires or drilling.
Working seamlessly alongside wireless locks, Incedo can bring control to wired security doors, too. These can be equipped with Abloy maglocks and effeff electric strikes from the Assa Abloy portfolio. Hardwired or high-security doors can be managed via Assa Abloy Signo readers. These are powered by Seos, a credential technology with the highest encryption and authentication standards. Each one supports almost any credential and is mobile-ready when installed – for Bluetooth and NFC.

Unlocking by Smartphone, Smart Key or Smartcard

For almost all door devices, building users can carry almost any credential. All common RFID technologies are supported, including iClass and Mifare. Users can also unlock with an Incedo Mobile Key stored on a smartphone. A shared Seos backbone ensures all credential types can be deployed together in the same system, which makes gradual site upgrading easier.
Incedo Mobile Keys work on a broad range of mobile devices, including phones, tablets and smart watches. These credentials are simpler and safer to administer than fobs or smartcards. Mobile Keys are sent over the air to employee smartphones, removing the need to buy plastic cards or schedule time-wasting credential handover meetings. Updating, revoking or adding new access rights is practically instant.
For added convenience, each Pulse energy harvesting key is also equipped with RFID authentication technology. It can be inserted into a Pulse cylinder to generate power. The same key doubles as a standard credential, able to unlock doors via a reader. For users and building managers, this is much more convenient than keeping track of two separate credentials.

Incedo Cloud: Control From Anywhere

Different areas often have different security requirements. Where entrance doors or critical areas need real-time monitoring with alerts, some other areas in a building might have lower physical security requirements. Autonomous hardware can be installed faster and more cost-efficiently here, with no need for network cables or wireless hubs.
Incedo Cloud has the option to combine online and autonomous management, for example by controlling access to secure areas, such as entrances, labs and server rooms in real time, with online management. Adding autonomous devices alongside these enables the business to control access to areas that previously have been uneconomical due to their location, environment, or cost. It gives security managers even more choice and convenience. Because Incedo is built for flexibility, switching between online and autonomous management is always seamless for both users and administrators. The only difference is how credentials are managed: online or via updaters.

Here are three use cases that demonstrate where Incedo products and the Incedo Cloud solution have brought tangible benefits to business operations.

1. A Multi-Use Manufacturing Site Application Scenario

Securing the King Engine Bearings facility posed all the challenges of a mixed-use site. Their location in Kiryat-Gat is used for manufacturing, sales and distribution. To control access to offices, the warehouse and a packaging facility, they needed an integrated solution with a comprehensive device range suited to different rooms and zones at the facility.
As a company whose reputation is founded on engineering, King Engine Bearings understands the importance of manufacturing. Assa Abloy Opening Solutions’ Incedo access control ecosystem met their desire for a solution designed and built to “European standards and quality,” according to Koby Ben Hamu at King Engine Bearings. External and internal doors between various areas of the facility are secured and monitored with iClass R10SE readers. Incedo M50 controllers and DM5 door modules connect the hardware to Incedo software, with all devices working seamlessly within the same ecosystem. Incedo has a robust, field-tested solution for almost any opening. “Incedo gave us a perfect and fast solution for access control,” added Ben Hamu.

2. Cloud Access Management Enables a New Business Model

In the Czech Republic, Incedo Cloud’s remote management and scalability have helped Kolovna Bike Rental to reimagine their business on a national scale. Kolovna aims to make cycling more widespread by offering customers top-quality products, services and technical support, and by streamlining trip logistics. The company‘s solution is to open a secured bicycle container at popular cycling locations all over the country. Access to each container is filtered by electronic locks, so customers can safely park their own bike or rent one from the container.
The containers combine security with easy customer access, including the ability to unlock them via mobile keys on a smartphone. Kolovna needed an access control platform to achieve this that could multitask without additional technology, more software or extra staff. They chose Incedo, installing readers, a controller, and a door module in every container. Incedo connects all Kolovna’s security software and hardware within one seamless system while cloud management keeps their staff in control of their premises from anywhere – they can work in an office, at home or on the road.

3. Access Hardware for Diverse Flexible Workspaces

Clockwise is a provider of shared offices and meeting rooms in multiple cities. How flexible Clockwise deliver their service for clients is essential to thriving in such a competitive market, which makes door security and access control all the more important. Clockwise needs a broad choice of electronic devices to secure meeting rooms, private offices, communal spaces, and main entrances, which may not all require the same lock type. Because tenants come and go frequently, the company’s facility managers need the tailoring of user access rights to be as easy as possible.
The range of Incedo-enabled devices and door hardware – managed by simple software – convinced Clockwise to choose Incedo for all their premises. Incedo now connects security software and hardware within a single, seamless ecosystem, and the diversity of devices offers Clockwise the ideal lock for every opening. Internal private office doors, ‘zoom rooms’ and meeting rooms – as well as communal area doors and entrance/exits – are secured with devices from the Incedo range.