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Campuses can now roll out mobile credentials faster and more cost-effectively than ever

From traditional keycards to smart devices: evolving campus security

From traditional keycards to smart devices, managing access control remains a pivotal aspect of campus security. As educational institutions increasingly look to adopt modern mobile access control solutions and future-proof their systems, it is essential they assess mobile credential interoperability with the current security infrastructure in use on campus to avoid costly investment losses.

The interoperability challenge

In today’s market, there are many smart and mobile credential solutions that only run through proprietary systems. Campuses operating multiple security systems may face limitations with interoperability and restrictions on hardware options if they choose a mobile credential provider that is closed and requires proprietary reader upgrades.

The advantage of open software solutions

Open mobile credential software, on the other hand, gives users flexibility to use what access control infrastructure they already have invested in across campus, and simply enhance it by integrating mobile access as a new campus-wide feature. Enabling smart mobile credentials to function across disparate physical access control systems and even within campus management software used by students and faculty.

Modernizing legacy access control hardware

Traditional campus building access control hardware can present security vulnerabilities due to outdated technology. Some reader hardware still in use on campuses is 10, 20, or even 30 years old.

Software, on the other hand, is dynamic, it can be continuously updated, with bugs identified and fixed without interruption or downtime. This is why companies like Sentry Interactive have leveraged this advantage by turning the user’s smartphone device into the active reader and credential, creating a mobile credential that doesn’t require any reader hardware to work. Instead of the user holding a passive credential, Sentry Interactive credential the door with their smart access tile, a wireless, battery-less, and passive NFC tag that is read by a smartphone app and cloud service.

Sentry Interactive recognized that a user’s smartphone is the most advanced and best-specified reader available. Rather than requiring costly “rip and replace” upgrades, they transformed the smartphone into a reader that never becomes obsolete. Any necessary security updates can be delivered seamlessly through a simple software update to the mobile application.

Seamless integration across campus

Readerless mobile credentials like Sentry Interactive’s that don’t require mobile-enabled reader hardware can be activated across a wide portfolio of existing access control hardware, without requiring upgrades to systems or readers. This provides a single mobile credential that students, faculty, and staff can use to access multiple doors and buildings controlled by different access control systems across campus.

If students, faculty, or staff aren’t ready to give up their traditional key cards, readerless mobile credentials integrate seamlessly with current systems, giving users the flexibility to continue using existing cards or enjoy the added convenience of mobile access.

Future-proofing campus access control

If you are looking to future-proof your campus access control security and gradually transition your students and faculty to mobile credentials for convenient and secure access, all without disrupting your current infrastructure or exceeding budget constraints, think outside the box to software innovation. 

Contact a member of the Sentry Interactive team today.

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William Bainborough

Board of Directors

William is an experienced British entrepreneur, founder, and accomplished board executive and advisor for a number of businesses. He is the CEO and co-founder of Doordeck, the world’s only true cloud-based access control aggregator. He is also the managing director and founder of Group Secure, a leader in providing security, CCTV, and access control solutions, products, and installation for high-net-worth individuals in the UK. 

William established his first business at just seventeen and brings 20-plus years of in-depth experience and industry knowledge. He has a proven track record for building businesses from the ground up—and then leading them to profitability and a successful exit across a myriad of sectors including hospitality, retail, security, telecommunications, and e-commerce. William’s leadership, vision, and experience in creating cutting-edge SaaS-based technology platforms will prove invaluable for Sentry Interactive moving forward.

Denis Hébert

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Hébert began his career at Honeywell International where he held several leadership positions including Managing Director for the Automation and Controls business in France and eventually President of the NexWatch Corporation from 1999-2002. Hébert led HID Global as President & CEO over a transformative 12-year period from 2002-2015, where he provided strategic guidance and grew the business tenfold through a mix of strong organic and acquisitive growth. Most recently, Hébert was President of Feenics Corporation which is a cloud-based access control company that was successfully sold to ACRE LLC at the end of 2021. Hébert also served on the Board of Directors for the Security Industry Association (SIA) from 2009-2020 and was nominated to be Chairman of the Board for SIA from 2016-2018. He is currently Chairman of the Board for Nightingale Security based in Newark, CA.

Stephen Taylor Matthews

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Stephen is a very accomplished attorney, member of the Texas State Bar, licensed commercial real estate broker, and an avid philanthropist. He is an experienced executive board member, serving in leadership positions for more than 20 community councils and corporate boards—ranging from Boy Scouts of America to the ABBA Business Leaders Council, and most recently the American Bank BOD, the Real Estate Council of Austin, and the Marbridge Foundation BOT. With more than 35 years experience, Stephen and his firm, Barrond & Adler, L.L.P. are devoted to eminent domain cases in Texas.

Jon Davis

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Mr. Davis is an Experienced corporate board member, having served on boards of public, private equity-backed, and venture-backed companies. Jon possesses deep industry expertise in dairy, food processing, food technology and manufacturing, and food, beverage, and entertainment services. 

During Jon’s tenure of 25 plus years, he’s led operations, research and development, and mergers and acquisitions. He’s served as CEO and has been the founder and active board member for many successful enterprises—from startups to billion-dollar corporations. While COO and CEO of Davisco Foods International, Jon built a state-of-the-art cheese plant which was awarded the United States Dairy processing plant of the year in 2005 by Dairy Foods magazine. Currently, Jon is active with several non-dairy projects, including investments in local real estate, the Wayzata Brewworks, and his latest venture the new CōV restaurant in Edina’s Galleria.

Joe Caldwell

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Joe is an American entrepreneur, investor, and accomplished executive. He has co-founded, founded, and led many successful businesses, including US Internet, a leading fiber internet service provider, Securence, a leading provider of email filtering software, and Ravon, an industry-leading digital voice communications service. 

It was Joe’s venture, Municipal Parking Services (MPS), that inspired him in 2020 to start Sentry Interactive, an advanced touchless and staffless detection platform.

Caldwell currently serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board for Municipal Parking Services (MPS), a global tech company based in Austin, TX responsible for inventing and patenting technologies that assist in parking and security enforcement.

Joe was named one of Minnesota’s 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders for the past two years—and is a seasoned corporate board member. He’s served on boards of public, private equity-backed, and venture-backed companies—and has deep industry expertise in all aspects of digital technology.

Jason Bohrer

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Jason Bohrer is one of the visionaries behind our mission to bring people back together safely and securely, in any environment, through Sentry’s advanced digital communications and detection platform. With over two decades of senior leadership experience, Jason’s track record of success spans across sales, operations, product innovation, strategy, and technology for domestic and global companies like Bexar Technology Partners, CPI Card Group, HID Global, and Motorola, Inc. Prior to launching Sentry Interactive, Jason was actively involved with several key technology transitions across multiple industries, including the contact and contactless EMV transitions in the U.S. payments industry and the adoption of smart card and mobile technologies in the global access and identity market. Jason was an inaugural member of the University of Chicago Executive Institute and holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He also serves as the Executive Director for two industry-leading not-for-profit organizations: the Secure Technology Alliance and the U.S. Payments Forum.
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