Nov 27, 2022"Smart office" sounds like the future: hip technology companies and expensive new buildings. In fact, the first steps on the road to a smart office are easier than they seem. A good starting point is a modern access-control system. It ensures security and, in combination with smartphone-based ID solutions, more productivity in everyday work. Let's consider which aspects companies need to consider in order to make an implementation a success.
Sean Houchin
A good starting point to a smart office is a modern access-control system. ID cards and key fobs based on RFID have proven their worth in connection with access control. However, new solutions now also incorporate so-called mobile credentials. Digital smartphone credentials have clear advantages. For companies, they are easy to manage. For employees, they provide greater convenience by allowing a company's cell phones to be used as a universal identification medium: electric vehicle charging, time recording, access to meeting rooms, logging on to the computer with single sign-on, secure printing, paying in the canteen—it all works completely seamlessly.
Finally, employees save time that they can invest in value-adding activities. Simple access can be provided by an app that implements the appropriate authorizations on a smartphone. This allows iOS- and Android-based devices to communicate directly with RFID readers. Here are some tips to make a modern access-control system a success.
Tip #1: Go for a Holistic Consulting Approach
To ensure that the solution meets the expectations of users and operators, careful planning is key. In the run-up to implementation, a whole series of questions must, therefore, be clarified, such as: Should access control be introduced for a single building or for different properties and possibly even across national borders? Are several technologies and credentials already in use? Which applications are to be covered? Comprehensive pre-sales consulting thus includes an inventory and requirements analysis (with documentation of the results), a feasibility study, proof-of-concept, and a project and rollout plan. During the implementation phase, hardware and software integration, application development, configuration and all customizations, as well as testing and verification of protocols, should be covered by the solution provider.
Tip #2: Invest in Future Security
Requirements and IT infrastructures change over time—and so does the overall system. Technical support must, therefore, not end with the initial integration. Only with a flexible system that provides for optimizations, adaptations and upgrades are companies also on the safe side in the future. Solution providers should thus provide customers with a software development kit containing a range of tools that make it possible to easily adapt products delivered in a standard configuration to specific requirements—even via remote access.
Tip #3: Look for Flexibility
For companies with several office buildings, the introduction of a uniform access solution for all properties is worthwhile. After all, central remote maintenance of digital badges significantly reduces administrative effort. However, implementation can be a challenge, especially for companies with international operations. Often, different technologies are even in use from country to country. The solution: multi-frequency readers. Such devices are compatible with dozens of transponder technologies and certified for sale in many countries worldwide. Multi-frequency devices use RFID for authentication and access, as well as Near Field Communication (NFC) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technologies, to integrate mobile devices into access-control systems.
Tip #4: Make the System Secure
Access-control systems are designed to protect people and assets, so they must be secured against tampering. On the one hand, the physical security of the reader must be considered. On the other hand, the reader must support the credentials and encryption algorithms appropriate for the application's security level. For effective and holistic security, not only the reader but the entire system must be included in the security concepts.
After a consistent implementation of the above tips, all doors are open for a successful digital access-control solution. If you would you like to know more about this topic, you can find more insights in this white paper.
Sean Houchin is the product manager at ELATEC, in Palm City, Fla., and is part of the global ELATEC GmbH product-management team. He has more than 20 years of experience in product development, management and applications engineering. Sean is an expert in RFID technology, optoelectronic and fiber optic video, audio and data-transmission equipment for military and commercial applications and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
