INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL

A Global Solution

How OSDP is changing the access control market

OSDP, or Open Supervised Device Protocol, is an access control communications standard designed to improve interoperability among access control and security products, and it’s becoming the new standard for access control technology. According to The Security Industry Association (SIA), the product is more secure than the most common access control communications protocol and supports high-end AES-128 encryption, which is required in federal government applications. In addition, OSDP meets federal access control standards such as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for Federal Identity Credential and Access Management (FICAM).

Paul Ahern, president and CEO of Cypress Integration Solutions, said that as this technology starts to become the standard, Cypress is finding ways to step into the market, primarily by reaching out to a global OSDP market.

Ahern has personally been working with OSDP for about eight years. The technology is not brand new, but it has recently started becoming more mainstream. When the market for key card access control systems grew rapidly, manufacturers did not have much time to focus on how to make the system as secure as possible, Ahern said. In the process, some of the security a physical key brought was lost, and now, OSDP is bringing that security back to the market.

While the technology is easily accessible in the U.S., there is a serious gap in the global OSDP market, according to Ahern.

“OSDP is a new standard in the industry that’s being adopted as a more secure way of communicating in access control of security systems,” Ahern said. “We’ve kind of taken a lead role in developing products that will allow that technology to go forward and allow end users, integrators and manufacturers to speed up adoption of that new protocol, or that new standard.”

In the past few years, Ahern has been traveling to global trade shows in an evangelizing mode to see if the market needed what the company had to offer in terms of OSDP. Based on those efforts, he said the company has been able to grow business significantly overseas, bringing them into the global market just by talking to individuals.

To continue these efforts and grow the success of the global market push, Cypress decided to exhibit globally at the IFSEC International Security Event & Conference in London this past summer. It was the first time Cypress exhibited outside of the United States.

”We thought, if we’re going to be serious about this, we need to let everybody know what’s going on,” Ahern said. “So, we decided this year was going to be our first year to do an international show.”

Many of the questions Ahern was asked at IFSEC were in regards to OSDP. Companies in attendance were wondering where Cypress saw the OSDP market going and how they could be more successful in implementing this protocol.

“I’m hearing more and more questions about [OSDP],” Ahern said. “People are starting to take it more seriously, and it’s something that we’re passionate about getting out to the market.”

With so many questions surrounding the technology, Ahern said it’s an excellent time to step into the market and address the concerns on a global level. To do this, Cypress is developing products to make it easier for organizations to adopt the standard globally.

Ahern said one of the steps the company has taken to ensure the products can be used internationally is to make sure the wireless frequencies they use on their wireless products are allowed in countries overseas. In addition, the company makes sure that it sources the connectors they ship overseas.

This is one of the primary goals of Cypress’ current research and development for future products. The company is continuously studying the development of OSDP and the adoption of the technology in hopes of discovering easy migrations paths from older technologies to OSDP. This will allow for easy transitions of technology for organizations and companies around the world.

“We’ve been successful in the U.S. market for 36 years, we’ve been somewhat successful in the European market for about eight years, and we’re just seeing a great opportunity now,” Ahern said. “We think it’s the right time to strike.”

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Allegion, Comfort Technologies Implement Mobile Credentials at the Artisan Apartment Homes in Florida

    Artisan Apartment Homes, a luxury apartment complex in Dunedin, Florida, recently transitioned from mechanical keys to electronic locks and centralized system software with support from Allegion US, a leading provider of security solutions, technology and services, and Florida-based Comfort Technologies, which specializes in deploying multifamily access control, IoT devices and software management solutions. Read Now

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.