One Access Solution for All

Unlocking Access to a Smarter World

The defining term for the 21^st Century so far is “smart.” The Smart City. The Smart Office. The Smart Factory. Smart Buildings. Smart Hospitals. All of these applications depend on user authentication and access control. Being able to identify individual users and control what each person has access to is fundamental to the Smart anything.

• Building tenants need access not only to the building itself but also to parking, EV charging ports, elevators, locker systems for package delivery, and amenities such as the gym and business center.
• Office workers need access to physical facilities as well as to business systems and data, devices such as multifunction printers or shared workstations, meeting space and other shared facilities, and worker amenities such as vending machines or the cafeteria.
• City dwellers may want to access public transportation, car shares, bike and scooter shares, and public amenities such as restrooms or smart locker systems.
• Specialized environments like hospitals, labs and manufacturing plants require controlled access to equipment, materials, machines and data.

But as access requirements multiply, so does complexity—for organizations, system integrators and end users. There are more than 60 RFID transponder technologies in common use worldwide, along with mobile authentication technologies using Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) and Near-field Communication (NFC). Within a single building or campus, there may be as many as 20 different technologies in use. That means end users may have a company ID badge to get in the front door, a different security token for single sign-on (SSO) to business systems and printers, and a multitude of apps to manage for time tracking and access to amenities such as EV charging and parking.

This is not only inconvenient and confusing for end users, but creates problems for organizations, too. Managing multiple access technologies is a lot of extra work for the IT department. New user setup or changes to existing user access levels must be completed within each system separately, multiplying the workload. And managing many disparate systems makes it harder to adapt to future requirements. For this reason, many companies are stuck with several isolated legacy solutions for different applications that do not work together, do not fully meet their needs, and are difficult to adapt for the future.

Why Simpler Is Better

Harmonizing access control across all systems and facilities simplifies access for both users and organizations. A unified system has many benefits.

• Convenience: Employees or tenants can use a single ID card, mobile credential or hardware token to access everything they need instead of juggling multiple cards and apps. A unified system is strongly preferred by end-users for this reason.
• Simplicity: A unified system reduces complexity for IT and system integrators. There are fewer systems to manage, which saves time, reduces training requirements and minimizes management headaches.
• Cost: Reducing complexity also reduces costs for management, maintenance and operation of access control systems.
• Optimization: Harmonizing access control systems enables harmonization of data across applications, so it’s easier to analyze and evaluate. Data harmonization provides better insight into metrics such as visitor flows, occupancy levels, printer use, and much more, so companies can understand and optimize their processes.
• Adaptability: A unified access system is much easier to scale and adapt for future needs—a critical consideration for growing companies and changing market conditions. For example, companies who are expanding into new geographic areas or introducing new access control applications can easily add locations, devices or systems to the total access solution. 

RFID readers provide a simple, secure and effective solution for both physical access control and access to devices, data and systems. With universal RFID readers, people have easy and convenient access to facilities, devices, data and equipment with the wave of an ID card, smartphone or hardware token—no passwords or PINs to remember and enter, and no headaches with multiple password systems. RFID and smartphone credentialing systems are secure, easy to manage and highly reliable. For high-security applications, they can also be combined in a multi-factor authentication system, including biometrics.

To make it all work together, a universal reader is needed that can be used for all applications, including both physical access control and digital access. That means:

• Flexible form factors for use in a variety of settings, from wall panels to vehicles to digital devices.
• Compatibility with all existing transponder technologies, so the reader can be used across geographic regions and organizations and is backward compatible with existing systems.