Johannesburg, 01 Feb 2019
Today, we live our lives in the cloud, often without even realising it. It's faster, it's more accurate and it's on our personal and business devices. This creates expectations around user experience. Yet some things are still done the way they've always been done. Take access control. The days of the uniformed doorman with a bunch of keys are long gone. Today, you need a card, a fingerprint or a code to get into a building. As well as permission, or authorisation.
Look at it from the business's perspective. Each and every user on an access control system has to be loaded and authorised. It's the only way to control who's inside the premises. People who leave the company have to be removed from the database. New people have to be added. It's a vital function, but who's responsible for it?
If the business isn't IT focused, it will lack the skills, infrastructure and people to manage access control. This means the responsibility is passed on to other people within the business, such as the IT person, while some tasks may fall on the company receptionist or HR person. It's none of their jobs and distracts them from their core focus within the business.
The answer to this complicated conundrum, according to Ernest Mallett, Regional Director for Africa at Johnson Controls, is integrated cloud-based access control. "The onsite server is replaced with a cloud host, which immediately saves costs on the server, the software and infrastructure maintenance. The cloud makes access control more secure, more efficient, operating in real-time and has the capability to add on more services. And it's cheaper.
"We're talking about access control that's hosted in the cloud and managed in the cloud, as a service. A hosted and managed system requires less technology to be installed on site, while also requiring fewer skills on site. An example of just one of the benefits of this type of solution is that should an employee resign, the service provider will update their details on the system so they no longer have access to the premises.
"The end-user doesn't have to do any of these types of administrative tasks. For the end-user, access control is a burden, it's not core to their everyday business, and while a larger corporate might have a dedicated IT person to oversee it, smaller businesses just can't justify that role. This results in someone else in the business taking on the role; it's not managed properly and, over time, just becomes an expensive solution that doesn't really work as it should."
The service provider in the cloud can enrol new staff, remove outgoing staff, keep the database clean, add fingerprints, produce cards and do reports, to list just a few of the functions that may be required.
Being in the cloud means no downtime, no software patches to worry about, and service level agreements ensure efficiency of service.
Another big plus is the ability to generate reports around employee time and attendance as well as visitor management. You can track who came into the building, how long they spent there, where they were in the building and when they left. This is especially relevant for industries that have occupancy rules, continues Mallett. "A laboratory, for example, may only permit a certain number of people for a specified period of time. Generating these types of reports can help a business ensure that it is compliant with such regulations. It can also help track that only properly qualified people are in certain areas to perform certain tasks. It's also possible to identify inactive users, such as people who aren't coming to work."
Gemma Forsyth, Business Development Manager for South Africa at Johnson Controls, elaborates on the benefits: "The hardware that enables access control is fairly standard, but the minute you move the application into the cloud, it enables the service provider to offer additional services. The user gets a guaranteed uptime because the partner is proactively monitoring the system. There are lots of add-ons for the customer's benefit because the system is able to automate so many functions."
It's no longer necessary to drive to the office to open a door, for example. This can be done remotely, using an application on a mobile device. This is just one way in which the cloud makes everything that much more accessible yet at the same time secure. Companies can manage their access control remotely from anywhere, including multiple sites in multiple geographical areas.
Forsyth says the ability to provide access control as a service in the cloud is good for the vendor too, in terms of customer retention, as the managed subscription model ensures constant engagement between the client and the provider. All too often, clients change providers simply because it's easier than trying to solve a problem with their existing provider as there's no relationship there.
She says in a tough economy, this type of solution provides service providers with recurring revenue. It also replaces expensive capital expenditures with a small, predictable operating expense, which makes the client's bottom line manageable and efficient.
It makes sound business sense to use a cloud-based partner like Microsoft Azure, Google or Amazon and charge for the space, continues Mallett. "All companies need access control but they don't want to employ people to do it, so it should be provided as a service.
"The biggest upside is removing the burden of managing access control from the end-user. Outsourcing to an expert who has all of the skills and resources available makes good business sense. If companies aren't in the cloud yet, they'll be left behind within the next two to three years, regardless of industry or sector."
Watch this video to find out more about cloud-based access control