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Access control has come a long way since the days of locks, master keys, and sub-master keys. You used to distribute keys to people based on what kind of access they needed. 

For example, you might give some people keys that will open the front door, a storage room, or certain offices, but won’t open all the offices or more confidential areas.  This is how you would control access to various areas of the building.  People would walk around with multiple keys to get them into certain areas. It was a real pain. 

Not only did these keys have to be made each time new ones were needed, but what if someone lost their keys?  Or what if a person left the organization and never gave back the keys? You might decide to have all the doors re-keyed in order to make sure there wasn’t any unauthorized access.  And how do you know who’s been accessing which doors (unless you have video cameras everywhere)? 

These are the main headaches with the old way of doing things.   

Digital Access Control is the New Way

With digital access control, every authorized person is given a digital key. This can be a badge, key fob, smartphone, finger print, PIN code, or facial recognition. The best option can depend on the personal preference of the user. You can also require multiple keys. For example, you can require both a badge and a PIN code in order to gain access to certain doors.

Software controls which doors each person’s specific digital key will open. This benefits both the organization and the person assigned the digital key. 

Benefits of Digital Keys

• Digital keys can be assigned to many buildings or locations.

• It’s easy to revoke access if someone leaves your organization.

• Digital keys provide individual records of entry and exit by person. (This can be paired with a video surveillance system for additional protection.)

• Digital keys are easier to manage and cheaper to maintain.

• Digital keys improve your overall security because they can’t be copied.

• Digital keys are easy to temporarily issue for guests.

The Only Way to Go

For all of these reasons, we think a digital access control solution is the only way to go. 

There are many different types of solutions on the market.  We’ll be covering some of these systems in an upcoming blog post. In the meantime, if you’d like a no-obligation consultation, feel free to schedule a call with our team! They are happy to help.