Effective digitalization can retool businesses for what’s ahead, enabling people, processes and premises to adapt to a new generation of challenges with flexibility and intelligence. In access management, one obvious place to start is by introducing digital technologies to gradually replace mechanical lock-and-key security. Offering more than just enhanced control, digital access is also an enabler of many other important benefits from the digitalization process.
According to one report on building systems, “access control systems are often viewed as the starting point for a building to shift from operating in siloes, towards a more functional, connected and ‘integrated’ building management system.”
Industry analysts Omdia agree: “Access control equipment continues to play a crucial role in leading end users to consider a transition to interconnected smart building system architectures.”
“By creating new connections, stripping away siloes and streamlining all kinds of manual processes, digital access unlocks more of your organisation’s potential,” explains David Moser, SVP and Head of Digital Access Solutions at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA. “With so many businesses today exploring the benefits of digitalization, it’s important not to forget the building is the hub of operations and can be the starting point of a business’s digitalization journey.”
Monitoring and filtering who can go where — and at what times — ensures staff and visitors move safely into and around a site. Intelligent digital access management creates this flexibility, enabling smarter staff workflows.
Switching mechanical for digital access, then, helps organisations of every size and type to collaborate better and maximise the productivity of existing assets. Powerful, intuitive digital management enables security staff to react faster and more easily implement enhancements such as multi-factor authentication, for example.
In a complex setting like a large multi-residential housing development, digital access can streamline business operations and help multi-residence providers to improve their service and resident satisfaction. Mobile keys stored on user smartphones, for example, offer a seamless experience for the resident and become a reputation enhancer for the housing provider.
Digital access helps organisations benefit from innovations such as energy-harvesting technology. It provides a compatible platform for integration with increasingly powerful and customizable smart building systems.
The information generated by digitalizing access management can inform business decision-making, with analytics which provide an immediate, tangible ROI. If employees adopt hybrid work patterns, only attending the office for part of the week, a business could reduce its rental space and energy consumption. At World Trade Center Amsterdam, usage data generated by an ASSA ABLOY digital smart key access system helps maximize the efficiency of door maintenance schedules. It reduces their solution’s Total Cost of Ownership.
Durable digital devices can operate with minimal maintenance and help businesses to save energy and reduce carbon as part of an overall sustainability strategy, including by contributing credits to leading green building certification schemes. Efficient remote management frees security staff from their desks; the convenience of secure mobile keys enables building users and managers to work more flexibly, across multiple sites when required.
