Access all areas

New technology for access control systems has been available for some time. Peter Ward looks into how it is used and what lies ahead in this security sector.

Controlling entry and egress is vital for any business, and this works in both a physical and monetary sense. It is rare now to enter an office and expect to walk straight in without passing a security check first, and the most common form encountered is the access control system.

Bosch sales manger, access control Gaurav Mahajan states that the access control market is currently worth approximately US$50 - 60 million (AED 183 -220 million).

Compare this to the market value three years ago, US$15 - 20 million, and the rapid expansion is clear to see. Mahajan emphasises: "The market has almost tripled in the last three years and we see it increasing further, people are becoming more and more aware."

Market challenges

The market is not without its challenges, however. The first being fierce competition and the second a lack of understanding by customers of systems appropriate to their space.

That said, Genetec's Synergis product manager Jimmy Palatsoukas reveals the importance of being informed works both ways: "In terms of installing access control systems, I guess like everywhere in the world the challenge is understanding the local regulations.

In fact, when you start in an area you advise the integrator, ‘not to fall foul of local regulations'." He adds that a good understanding of how local companies operate and tend to use the systems is also important.

Access control is a changing industry, as with most technical sectors the market is constantly evolving and some products are rising in popularity while others fall.

The current trend in the Middle is card-based systems. Bosch's Mahajan estimates that 60 - 70 percent of systems sold in the GCC market are card-based and these systems can be split into two categories. Traditional cards which merely open doors are currently facing a downturn in popularity, as employers look to use smart cards instead.

These systems can track when an employee enters the office and what time they leave, providing human resources assistance as well as security. Intelligent Biometric Solutions chief operating officer Flavel Monteiro explains the thinking behind the systems: "You can actually track attendance; what time they left, what they entered and what time they returned. So it saves on salary accounting."

Future prospects

The future of the industry revolves around a concept that has been around for a long time, but has needed both popularity and perfecting over the last few years: biometrics.

As Mahajan points out, you can steal a card but you can't steal someone's finger - very easily. And it is this that inspires the biometric solutions already seen in some offices.

Biometrics uses fingerprints instead of cards, making it much harder for a non-employee to enter an office. Intelligent Biometric Solutions offers the iGuard system which combines both biometrics and a smart card access control, offering time and attendance features.

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM