An access control system is familiar technology to organisations of every size. Access control may operate as standalone electronic locking. It can also integrate with complementary business systems such as HVAC, time-and-attendance, in-house payments and more. What many businesses may not know is that, by restricting their access system with wires, they are not using its full potential.
In many companies’ access systems, only the most important doors and locks are wired to mains electricity. Software then filters and monitors traffic. It is a tried-and-trusted way to let the right people in — and keep everyone else out.
Yet the expense and disruption of wiring doors can stop electronic access control in its tracks at the front entrance. This leaves building door control in the hands of mechanical locking, which limits the flexibility and control of security, and its potential contribution to business success.
The answer is to unleash access control from its cables: Extending security with wireless devices — managing access around a building interior — benefits a business in at least three ways.
Make sure only authorised personnel open sensitive doors
Not everyone should be able to walk into the CEO’s office or open the server room. In real-world situations, where staff are busy, relying on manual lock-and-key technology often leaves doors unguarded. If a lock is somehow breached, a security manager will have no idea when, nor will they be able to identify the last person to open the door.
Cable-free electronic locking devices are available for all kinds of internal door, of every size and any material. At Luminy University in France, for example, wireless devices ensure only qualified and authorised staff open rooms where hazardous materials are stored*. They are controlled and monitored from the same system as the university’s wired doors.
Businesses can filter and track access to more than just rooms, too. Wireless cabinet locks add security to cupboards, cabinets and drawers — for employee personal items, controlled medicines or almost anything else. A wired system may find it difficult to reach these openings.
Battery-powered locks can add real-time control and monitoring to server racks, so IT staff know right away if unauthorised access has even been attempted. With the cost of a typical data breach estimated at $4.24m (€3.7m), an investment in wireless Aperio server rack locking could repay itself many times over.
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Media contact
Rebecca Morpeth Spayne,
Editor, Security Portfolio
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: [email protected]
