Making Sense of it All
According to Future Market Insight’s North American Access Control Market Outlook Report (2023 to 2033) the 2023 sales revenue for the access control market is projected to be $4.75B. In the past few years, a lot has been written about cloud-based platforms within the security industry. One area that continues to grow in popularity is cloud-based access control.
In this article we will explore the benefits of cloud-based access control, why it’s good for you, why it’s good for your customers, and we will review potential risks to be mindful of when providing the service.
The Benefits of Using Cloud-Based Access Control
A majority of articles focus on the flexibility and scalability provided by cloud-based access control. While these are major benefits, there are other important advantages to consider for your customers.
- Less upfront capital expenses for IT infrastructure
- Reduction in IT responsibilities & training
- Remote system updates
Why Cloud-Based Access Control is Good for You
The benefits of cloud-based access control aren’t limited to your customers. There are advantages for you as a dealer as well. Cloud-based access control enables you to establish a service-centric business model and an option for managed services to generate additional RMR.
It also reduces truck rolls to perform on-site system updates allowing technicians to focus on new installs and eliminate backlogs. The ability to perform remote system updates also allows you to make immediate firmware updates, keeping your customers’ systems protected from potential cybersecurity issues and ensuring you remain a trusted provider.
Why Cloud-Based Access Control is Good for Your Customers
It’s likely that you are familiar with many reasons to provide cloud-based access control. We’ll focus on three that provide benefits for your customers.
- Integration with other business systems. A growing number of businesses are looking for the ability to enhance employee engagement by using a web-based, self-service employee portal where employees can do a variety of things from establishing security credentials to resetting passwords.
- Access to real-time user data and reporting. This is especially important for enterprise level customers. As a small business, it’s easier to know who’s in the office as you can see who comes and goes. For businesses who have multiple floors or locations, they rely on the ability to pull live data to review access credential usage. They also need the ability to immediately deactivate a user’s access if their credentials are lost or in the event of employee terminations.
- Simplified credentialing for floating employees. There is a desire to have a single credential for employees who need access to other sites beyond their primary location. Security providers who can provide customized access profiles based on groups of systems or authority levels will have an advantage.
The Potential Risks of Cloud-Based Access Control
Cybersecurity threats are the obvious concern many security leaders have for using cloud-based access control. Not only does the cloud provide more access points, but there is a concern that hackers will exploit vulnerabilities in system hardware to breach company networks or steal sensitive, confidential, or classified data.
Another concern is the need for dealers or their customers to stay up to date with the constant change in network and cloud security protocols.
Why You Can Trust DMP to be Your Cloud-Based Access Control Product Partner
DMP takes cybersecurity very seriously and the list of features implemented to ensure the security of cloud-based solutions is extensive. In addition, DMP control panels do not run any of the common services such as FTP, NTP, or Telnet that are found in PC applications. A port scan of a DMP control panel will show that only the ports specifically identified in panel programming will be open. This makes the system much less vulnerable to attempted cyberattacks. Many of the nation’s top banks and secure government facilities rely on DMP control panels and network reporting capabilities for their security needs. Protecting your reputation and keeping your customers safe is extremely important to DMP.
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