Emerging Trends and Technologies in Access Control

If you operate an organization with physical locations, physical security is likely a major focus in keeping your assets and property safe. But as it is with most other aspects of your enterprise, physical security is subject to change. New technologies, trends, and laws are emerging all the time, all of which can impact the efficacy of your current security systems. You want to make sure that you’re up-tof-date on all of these developments to ensure that you’re providing your enterprise with the most effective security coverage.

If you’re looking to update yourself on recent developments as well as emerging trends and technologies in access control to keep your organization on track and secure, let’s take a closer look at such developments in 2022 and those we expect to see in 2023.

Changes in Legislation Regarding Access Control

As an enterprise that relies on access control solutions in order to secure its organization, it’s critical to pay attention to laws surrounding these tools and how they may affect you moving forward. Privacy laws are starting to come into focus across the nation and may vary depending on the region. Monitoring these changes and ensuring that they support your organization and the solutions you currently use will make a major difference in your security protocol moving forward.

Leveraging Facial Biometrics in Access Control

When many think of physical security, they may first envision actual staff like security guards. However, our digital age is starting to produce modern marvels that may inevitably reduce the need for physical staff in the near future. One such technology is facial biometrics. Facial biometrics allows physical security solutions to better verify individuals trying to gain access to facilities as well as whether or not they’re adhering to specific safety protocols, like wearing a mask to protect both staff and guests. As facial authentication evolves to provide even more effective results over time, we can expect to see it more in access control solutions.

The Hybrid Cloud and You

Cloud computing and cloud storage have come into focus in recent years. Whereas physical security and access control previously required you to manage/access all of your data and assets on-site, the hybrid cloud approach now allows you to monitor your security from the cloud as well as on-site. What benefits does this offer? Hybrid cloud storage and access control use makes it possible for you to monitor the security status of multiple locations, which greatly improves your remote capabilities. Given that both cloud solutions and on-site security tend to provide their own unique range of benefits that modern enterprises want to take advantage of, having a hybrid system tends to work best for many organizations.

Touchless or Frictionless Access

The COVID-19 pandemic was behind the demand for and acceleration of a wide range of technologies. One such example of this in access control is touchless or frictionless access. In a world where physical security should both be tighter yet easier to maintain, there’s a growing demand to access security systems via mobile and to streamline the process of accessing facilities securely. Of course, this is a conversation that tends to lead into technologies we’ve covered so far as well as those we haven’t discussed yet. Facial biometrics makes it easier to address touchless or frictionless access. However, artificial intelligence (another trend in access control), will also make access control easier as it will allow systems to secure a location without the need for physical human involvement.

As access control sees new developments in the coming years, these will inevitably affect how organizations approach physical security. Use the trends and technologies above to help you better determine what matters in your physical security systems and how you can leverage these to support your enterprise.