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OCTOBER 2017 7 www.securitysystemsnews.com 2017 Access Control Source Book MOBILE see page 10 Mobile access: Opening doors and taking down barriers Peter Boriskin Phil Dumas Kami Dukes By Kenneth Z. ChutChian YARMOUTH, Maine—The doors blocking your entry are not going away anytime soon, and neither are access cards or keys. Nevertheless, mobile access control devices are breaking down barriers, figuratively and literally. Industry insiders say the use of phones and other mobile access devices is gaining steady momentum that sug- gests sustained market growth and opportunities for recurring revenue for integrators. "It really has become normative in the past six months" with the imple- mentation of credentials and other applications regarding mobile access control, said Peter Boriskin, product management vice president at ASSA ABLOY Americas, a global provider of access control products and services. Over the past 18 months, the trend has been to "use it as a tool for the deployment of apps and systems, managing locks and security systems." "The sky is the limit," said Phil Dumas, founder and president of UniKey Technologies, based in Orlando, Fla. UniKey describes itself as "an alternative access control company that designs and licenses keyless technologies worldwide." "The business world has tens of billions of doors offline," Dumas said. "If they are online, it's a whole new world in terms of accessibility." "The phone is easier to use than a badge and key," said Dumas—who, like others who are bullish on mobile access, uses the word "experience" to describe the process and mindset of an individual briskly entering a building, room, or wing by extending a hand that is not reaching for a wallet, card or keys. "Our vision is to replace the entire keychain with your phone, in a more convenient way than the key," Dumas said. His company "is focused on the experience, not just the access." The shift to broader, easier access represents a sea change in the way the security industry tackles one of the most basic security issues. Access control, Dumas said, traditionally has been about "keeping the wrong people out. We should be focus- ing on letting the right people in. Turn access control into an accessibility and opportunity, rather than a utility and liability." That, however, means getting a lot of parties on the same page—players who have similar objectives but different roles coming from different angles. Kami Dukes, director of business development at AMAG Technology, said there are pockets of hesitation in the industry regarding mobile access control. AMAG is a global manufacturer that is part of G4S, which has a presence in 100 countries. End users who have been using cards probably know that "those systems don't die out," even though they might be outdated, Dukes said. "There will always be a handful of people who are reluctant to buy into mobile access con- trol," she said. "One thing I hear is that security direc- tors like to see a badge around someone's neck," said Dukes. While that perspec- tive is understandable, phone access is not going away, she said. "Over that last year or even two years, mobile access control has grown leaps and bounds," Dukes said. "The industry is accepting and adapting to changes and impact." "When you look at the industry at large, companies need to think about enabling that tech- nology from an operational and user buy-in standpoint," Dukes said. The technology conversion and management of what Boriskin calls "a door-dense environment" comes with added benefits besides convenience/experience, as well as some challenges. Mobile access as a service can set up integrators with recurring revenue while keeping up-front transition and implementations for end users down to minimum. For many end users, said Boriskin, "It's easier to pay a little every month as operating expenses" rather than a lump sum. Access control as a service is especially attractive to companies that operate multi-family houses, large busi- nesses or assisted living complexes, he said. "That's a lot of doors," Boriskin said. "Most of those companies cannot afford [mobile access control] as a lump sum payment, but they can as a service." He compared the outsourcing to subcontracting for IT or payroll services. "Security is no different," he said. "It's about the end user not spending so much up front," Dukes said. "Too many times the barrier of entry is too expensive, and it inhibits the progress of what innovation was meant for. … If we can help them alleviate some fixed costs, we can take some of the sting off them trying to manage that service." Jim Dearing, senior analyst of access control and fire at IHS Markit, said mobile access as a service "has been a growing trend for five years," particularly in the United States. Dearing cited the affordability and accessibility of