Justin Clark, Head of Sales for the Americas at DoorBird tells SJA Editor, Victoria Hanscomb, why innovative access is essential for offices and corporate spaces.

In an age of hybrid workplaces

“In any commercial space, you want your access control system to be secure, but also convenient,” began Clark.

He noted that any office will have some level of turnover and the rise of hybrid work means there are increasing numbers of employees that will be in one day but not the next, with some even coming in as little as once a month.

This therefore requires a system that can bridge the convenience-security gap.

Additionally, finding a way to integrate various security systems across access control, surveillance and perimeter security presents another key challenge for office and corporate spaces.

Clark highlighted that finding solutions which are able to integrate with others on the market is essential for offices that want to remain future proof.

Ensuring access in the workplace

“In the commercial space, you want to keep your employees safe but ensure that at the same time, you aren’t hindering their productivity,” said Clark.

He added there are solutions available that can help by knowing exactly when someone is supposed to be in a workplace or not.

By having a timetable built-in, these solutions enable employees to present their credentials and conduct an automated cross-check against their schedule, providing an extra layer of protection from people that shouldn’t be allowed in.

Furthermore, video feed can be taken from the access point, to authenticate the employee.

Thinking of the future

Clark revealed that the rise of mobile credentials will continue in the office and corporate space sector, due to ease of use.

“More and more organizations are looking to adopt mobile credentials for their employees,” he said. “Typically, people do not lose their phones or forget them; they are always with them.

“So, we’re going to see increasing numbers of access control systems that are compatible with this technology as time goes on.”

Clark predicted that the current use of the hybrid workplace model for offices will be continued for years, if not decades, to come.

As such, the off-site ability remotely screen and audit the people entering a physical premises will provide organizations with the visibility that they need to be secure.

“Knowing who is coming into the office, even when you are not there, and who is being authenticated using non-traditional forms of security like mobile credentials or biometric methods like fingerprints or facial recognition will become increasingly adopted by organizations as they seek ever more secure systems,” Clark said.

He also highlighted that having an intercom that can be connected to remotely means that staff are not tied to their desks – for example, a receptionist can look at who is calling and requesting access from anywhere in the building, or anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection.

Additionally, the focus on sustainability in the workplace has strengthened the trend for plastic-free access control systems.

Clark added that while key fobs or access cards will still be in use, there is a growing emphasis on preventing the use of extra gadgets.

The alternatives are biometric options, PIN codes or smart devices.

This can also make it easier for building management to rescind access approval when required, such as when an employee leaves a business as it is more centrally controlled.

A key fob or access card is harder to keep track of and particularly to get back on someone’s last day.

Improving the industry

“At DoorBird, we recognize that the intercom is a peripheral device that’s added on to a complete access control system,” Clark commented.

“So being able to work with others and be a part of a larger, integrated system is crucial because some access control companies work very differently.”

Clark revealed that DoorBird integrates with all the major network video recorders (NVRs) and even works with companies that can take its video feed and run analytics on this information, to build up their data.

“Additionally, DoorBird now has built in fingerprint readers,” he added.

“We actually use this in our office here in Jacksonville, Florida and it works fantastically.

“When employees come and go, they can gain access to the office with something that is completely unique to them that they can’t (typically) lose.”

Clark emphasized that this enables every aspect of security in the workplace to be maintained and in other situations, can be customized to fit the needs of the end user.

For example, a building may have a fingerprint reader, but if some employees often wear gloves, then the organization may also want to have a keycode option to allow entry.

This article was originally published in the November edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.