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How developments in software have displaced hardware upgrade solutions: A pattern that’s reshaping mobile access upgrades

The shift from hardware devices to software

For much of technology’s history, upgrading meant purchasing new hardware. But over the last decade, a different pattern has taken hold. Increasingly, software is displacing hardware as the primary driver of innovation to extend the ROI of initial investments.

We’ve seen it happen before. Smartphone’s became cameras, GPS navigation systems, music players, and more. Streaming eliminated the need for DVD players and music devices. Even payments followed the same path, as digital wallets and contactless payment solutions on smartphones reduced dependence on card terminals and the use of a physical bank card.

In every case, the story is the same: hardware becomes more reliant on software to do the heavy lifting, while software-only solutions deliver intelligence, flexibility, and user experience. The result is lower cost, faster upgrades, and far less friction when technology evolves.

The same transformation comes to mobile access upgrades 

A legacy built on reader hardware

Traditionally, mobile access upgrades have been built around installing new compatible reader hardware. If you wanted to add new unlocking capabilities such as with mobile credentials, readers would have to be upgraded to new models. This involves installation, labor, downtime, and significant capital expense. As mobile access gains momentum, many upgrade solutions keep new reader hardware at the center of the upgrade strategy.

Software innovation removing the need for reader hardware

However, developments in software to upgrade legacy physical access control systems for compatibility with mobile credentials have now provided a new approach to mobile access that doesn’t rely on reader upgrades. Giving businesses the ability to upgrade their employee, tenant, or member access experience, without the expense and disruption attributed to hardware replacements.  

Sentry Interactive is an example of one of these software development companies integrating their software with major physical access control systems to offer an easier more cost-effective path to mobile access that avoids hardware replacements, and it doesn’t matter what age, make, or model of readers are already installed. 

Sentry Interactive’s mobile credential software reflects the same technology shifts seen across other verticals: instead of replacing hardware, innovative developments in software use what’s already in place plus the power of the smartphone to upgrade capabilities. Rather than forcing organizations to swap out functioning legacy readers to support mobile access, Sentry Interactive uses the user’s mobile phone as the reader and credential holder and leverages the smartphones Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to enable a seamless NFC mobile access upgrade that leverages the existing legacy access control infrastructure that’s already installed.The impact is more than technical, it’s financially strategic. Mobile access no longer must wait for a major hardware refresh cycle. New features arrive through software updates instead of installation and maintenance visits. Costs come down, and organizations gain flexibility to evolve their mobile access strategy without being locked into yesterday’s hardware decisions. In addition, a software-first solution comes with endless possibilities to integrate with other platforms, for example if a business has their own experience application, mobile access can be added as a feature within it.

From hardware-defined to software-defined mobile access

Every major technology shift follows a familiar arc: hardware defines the experience, software enhances it, and eventually software replaces it. Mobile access has reached that stage.

Sentry Interactive’s mobile credential software isn’t just another upgrade option, it’s part of a broader movement towards a software-first future for mobile access, where capability matters more than equipment, and innovation no longer depends on what’s mounted on the wall. Real progress happens: not by adding more hardware, but by letting smarter software do the heavy lifting and extending the lifecycle.

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

CHAIRMAN & CEO

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

Board of Directors
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

Board of Directors

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

Founder and Chairman of the Board

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

Board of Directors

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.
Brent Terry

Brent Terry

Chief Operating Officer
Brent Terry leads the operations and solutions organizations at Sentry. This includes all product innovation, development, and operations management. A veteran in the technology space, Brent has more than 30 years of experience across a myriad of industries, like physical security technology and building automation, SAAS, hardware and software product development, internet, digital TV, interactive TV, digital media, telecommunications, and medical products and services. Prior to Sentry, Brent has spun up successful startups and led high-performing teams for some of the biggest global, Fortune 500 companies, including ARRIS, Conerco, Motive Communications, SeaChange International, and IBM. Brent holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana. He also is the committee Chairman and Program Director for a non-profit organization responsible for the rollout of smart cards for physicians and first responders.