Mobile access control systems are transforming building access management and enhancing security. By using smart devices such as smartphones or smartwatches, these systems provide secure, flexible, and convenient access to buildings and properties.
But digital access systems aren’t only a clever departure from traditional keys and access cards—they offer numerous other advantages, such as centralized management, traffic flow optimization, and real-time monitoring. Let’s explore how integrating mobile access control with existing security systems can help you streamline building access, boost efficiency, and improve security—all while providing a seamless user experience.
Why Mobile Access Control Empowers Security On the Go
Property access management is complex, especially for commercial premises that house multiple businesses. Whether it’s employees, tenants, guests, clients, business associates, deliveries, or any other visitor, you must control who gets access to certain zones and grant visitors access to the right areas.
A cloud-based mobile access control system presents the ideal solution for managing access to different areas of a mixed-use commercial property by streamlining access points, improving security, and offering insights into facility usage. The usual solutions—keys, fobs, and key cards—are susceptible to damage, loss, and theft. A lost access card is a vulnerability to your business or facility. But a cloud-based mobile access control system eliminates the need for physical access cards or keys and can be managed from anywhere.
– Fact 1 – 17.3% of Cardholders report losing their credential AT LEAST once per
year.
– Fact 2- organizations with an average headcount of 40,000 people tended to
lose more than 10,000 credentials per year.
– Fact 3 – the AVERAGE time to replace a Credential is around 12.5 minutes.
Phil Coppola, HID, Business Development Director Mobile Solutions, Linkedin
Also, since people are less likely to lose a mobile phone, there’s less risk of access keys falling into the wrong hands. In the event of a lost phone, you can easily deactivate the credential remotely; in the same way, tenants can use their mobile phone-based access control system to grant and revoke guest access at any time. Authentication passcodes or facial recognition software also serves as another layer of verification backup for administrators.
Benefits of Mobile Access Control Systems
Improved User Experience
Mobile access control streamlines interoffice travel. Employees don’t need to email ahead of time and arrange in-person collection of access cards; with mobile credentials, visiting staff simply download an app or obtain a visitor pass via their email to receive access remotely.
Cost Savings
Mobile access control eliminates the need for costly security system installation and maintenance. In addition, there are no issuance costs to replace lost or fading access cards. The labor cost alone of issuing a physical card is over $50.00/User.
Consolidation of Access Management
Administrators can control access permissions through a secure management portal. The cloud server enables security managers to grant, disable and revoke access remotely, ensuring central management of licenses from any location. Organizations with multiple locations can easily manage access permissions for all buildings at once, making visitor management and flexible work plans effortless.
Building Usage Data
A robust remote access control system should offer data insights to see how and when tenants use the building. You’ll see door unlock times and entry and exit volumes, identify trends, and verify building occupancy levels. This data can help managers understand and optimize space utilization and energy usage.
What Features Do Customers Need from Mobile Access Control Systems
To ensure you choose a robust and fully secure mobile access control solution, look for the following key features.
Cloud-Based Management
Look for a secure, user-friendly cloud interface system that allows true remote management. You should be able to issue and revoke access from anywhere at any time—and set access credentials to expire within a certain time.
Enterprise Grade Security With 256-Bit Encryption
It’s still virtually impossible to hack this level of encryption with today’s computers. To ensure the security is end-to-end, look for ISO 27001-certified system architecture.
Workplace Experience Features
Mobile access control systems can go beyond security features and integrate with existing workplace apps to improve the workplace experience. For instance, employees can book meeting rooms in workplace apps on their phones and open doors with the same device. Visitors can also register before they arrive for meetings, automatically notifying their hosts.
Affordable Scaling With Your Needs
Make sure the company you buy from can support you through the system’s entire lifecycle—and that pricing options align with your budget. Some providers charge for every credential, even if only used for a few hours. Others base fees on the number of doors rather than users, allowing you to issue mobile access cards to every employee, vendor, and visitor as necessary.
The Value of Gathered Insights in Mobile Access Control
As businesses continue to rely on technology for security and efficiency, mobile access control systems prove increasingly valuable. Using these innovative systems, companies can gain important insights into security measures and make proactive improvements. In addition, they can optimize operational processes for smoother workflows.
One way companies can stay ahead of potential risks and create a safer and more efficient environment is through predictive analytics. Predictive analytics improves access control systems by providing detailed analyses of user behavior and detecting security threats, using machine learning algorithms to quickly spot irregular patterns such as multiple failed access attempts. This triggers alerts or actions to prevent security breaches. By predicting peak usage times and resource allocation, the system can also improve operational efficiency.
How Mobile Access Control Enhances Security Through Seamless Integration
Traditional silo-oriented systems can no longer compete with the integrated features of cloud-based solutions. Their ability to interoperate with other technologies helps significantly extend the capabilities of a single solution; by amplifying the features of each platform, workflows become automated, consistent, easier to manage, and more efficient.
Security professionals across industries are increasingly integrating alarm systems, tracking systems, and video surveillance with access control to form a unified and comprehensive security platform. In addition, intrusion detection systems enable the monitoring of alarms throughout a facility; during non-operating hours alarms will communicate to a central station, immediately dispatching security or emergency personnel as needed.
Visitor management is another key integration. It provides an active dashboard of visitors present in the facility, and allows authorized parties to issue visitors mobile credentials or QR codes to enter the facility. In addition, visitor management capabilities run reports on visitor activity over a defined period, helping to establish patterns and monitor inconsistencies.
Supercharge Your Facility Access Experience
Commercial buildings need strong security measures to safeguard businesses, tenants, employees, and visitors from theft, invasion of privacy, and other harm. Unfortunately, traditional building security methods pose numerous challenges, including unauthorized access due to weak access control, lack of emergency protocols, and high volumes of tenants, visitors, delivery personnel, and contractors entering daily.
But mobile access control is transforming facility access management for improved security, while providing convenience and an improved experience for employees and guests alike. A solution like Sentry Mobile Access offers cloud-based access control that does not require any new hardware to set up.
Sentry Mobile Access equips your facility with smartphone NFC door access and smart visitor management. In addition, the system provides valuable data insights—and integrates into many existing major access control brand systems.
Supercharge your facility access experience and property safety. Find out about the range of innovative features and capabilities available with Sentry Mobile Access—contact our experts today!
