From wireless readers to mobile credentials to cloud solutions, innovations in access control systems are changing the physical security market as we know it.
Historically, access control end users are cautious and slow to adopt new solutions and technologies, remaining happy with their existing systems. But that’s starting to change. Access control manufacturers and security integrators are reporting a surge in interest and demand for new wireless security technologies like IP network systems, biometric readers and wireless locking systems.
The ongoing market shift from wired to wireless access control is forcefully backed up by a survey of senior security professionals. The share of respondents with a fully-hardwired access system has fallen below 50% for the first time, for example. Nearly two-thirds of respondents “have a more positive view of wireless than five years ago because the technology has improved.”
But how? How fast? And what factors will affect your business between now and 2025?
A new report by IFSEC Global, ASSA ABLOY and IHS Markit address these and other questions, presenting and interpreting freshly researched industry data.
Access control manufacturers and resellers can remain optimistic if the top-line market projections from “The Wireless Access Control Report 2018” are correct: it forecasts overall market growth at 7.9% CAGR by 2025.
“These [wireless] locks have fewer components plus they can be installed at any stage during construction, meaning they are a better fit for retrofit projects,” explains Jim Dearing, senior analyst at IHS Markit. Beyond the door Survey data from the report highlights some intriguing market trends. For example, responses back up the growth potential of wireless access control solutions for “non-door” applications like parking gates, server racks, lockers, cabinets and lifts.
The more applications that can be secured and unlocked with a single credential, the better for users
Beyond The Door
Survey data from the report highlights some intriguing market trends. For example, responses back up the growth potential of wireless access control solutions for “non-door” applications like parking gates, server racks, lockers, cabinets and lifts.
Real-world use cases are not hard to imagine. Wireless SMARTair® cabinet and locker locks are widely deployed in universities, healthcare settings and sports facilities. Battery-powered CLIQ® mechatronic padlocks are popular with critical infrastructure providers including utilities, who often have dispersed, outdoor sites where traditional cabled access control is not a realistic option. The boom in co-location for corporate servers makes the Aperio® server rack lock a popular choice for ensuring data security even when a physical storage facility is off-site.
“Partly it’s about convenience,” says Russell Wagstaff, director for commercial solutions at ASSA ABLOY EMEA.
“The more applications that can be secured and unlocked with a single credential, the better for users. Facility managers benefit from the wider scope of their access system, which gives them more control. In addition, because these ‘non-door’ devices are wireless, access control can easily extend outdoors. Padlocks for gates, machinery locks, storage lockers: with the right lock, these can all be secured within the same access control system as your front door.”
It is anticipated that market growth in this particular sub-sector will out-perform the overall market, with a projected CAGR of 12.9% to 2025.
Portions of this article are excerpts from Wireless Access Control in 2018, originally published on ASSA ABLOY’s Future lab. Click here to read the full article and/or download the full 22-page “Wireless Access Control Report” .