Making Your Demands
The two things you should expect from your security provider
- By Robert Laughlin
- Mar 01, 2017
In today’s highly competitive environment,
it is extremely important that
providers have both the experience to
deliver the right solution and the ability
to deliver strong customer service.
In the security industry, one solution in high
demand is the use of mobile apps for critical
functions such as credentialing, remote operations
and alerts.
Mobile credentialing frees the user from
having to carry physical credentials such as
tokens or ID badges. Further, mobile access
control solutions are well-suited to applications
that experience numerous spontaneous
events such as lockdowns or weather related
emergencies, or with a frequent need to activate/
de-activate access card holders. Key
points include:
Security. Security has always been a fundamental
part of mobile operating systems,
and the encrypted security of smart credentials
and/or door management apps makes
them more secure and difficult to counterfeit.
Mobile devices often require multifactor
authentication while traditional access control
devices do not.
Convenience. Mobile users can control
their facilities and access timely information
from wherever they are. This is important
for emergency situations, and convenient for
other scenarios such as activating or deactivating
credentials.
Mobile credentialing provides even more
convenience, with new readers that can accept
both proximity cards and mobile credentials
speeding the transition to mobile
technology.
Increased integration. With mobile
technology, one credential allows access to
doors, data and cloud applications, with security
and tracking incorporated into every
user action. This high-level integration can
also be used to trigger automated tasks like
time and attendance recording.
Cost. Maintaining a physical and logical
access control system with disparate applications
can be costly, particularly when updates
are implemented and integration must
be performed across all systems. A physical
access control system with mobile credentialing
can be easily upgraded to add logical
access control for network log-on. For cardbased
credentialing, material costs must be
considered as well; digital credentials have
no material cost.
Still, users may not get the most out of
their system if the provider does not have a
customer-focused culture. At a minimum,
providers should offer flexibility, post-sales
support, availability, expertise and training.
Flexibility. Recognizing that off-the-shelf
solutions are hardly sufficient for addressing
the specific requirements of every installation,
customer-focused providers are willing and
able to accommodate customization.
Post-sales support/training. The reality
of access control systems is that—like
any solution—they require ongoing service,
support and training to provide customers
with the continuous, reliable operation they
need. One true measure of a vendor is what
they can—and will—do to address and accurately
fix any issues in a timely manner.
Post sales training is also key to assuring
the customer knows how to best manage
their system.
Availability. In today’s connected world,
customers have a wide variety of ways to
contact a provider, all of which are irrelevant
if they can’t actually connect with the vendor.
Delays compromise security, so customers
deserve a specific person they can rely on
when they need help the most, often when
something goes wrong and requires immediate
attention.
Expertise. The expertise and experience of
customer-focused organizations can help end
users make better and more confident decisions
about an access control installation.
When combined, customer service and
mobile technology offer tremendous potential
for maintaining the safety and security of
people, places and assets. Your chosen provider
should be able to deliver to you the latest
in mobile technology plus a commitment
to the best possible customer service.
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Security Today.