Reimagining Electronic Access Control

Cloud-based platforms are becoming more mainstream across many industries and throughout our own lives. So, many of us now demand easy-to-use, affordable technologies for our work and home that do our bidding at the press of a button or a click of a mouse.

For locksmiths and other security pros who deal with electronic access control (EAC), new cloud-based solutions open a world of opportunities. Although you likely have installed an EAC system on a main entrance or smart locks on residential units, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to where cloud-driven EAC can be applied.

Let’s take a look at some unexpected places where locksmiths and other security pros might seek their next revenue-building opportunity.

Medical Cabinets

Hospitals and large healthcare facilities pose an abundance of EAC opportunities. If you aren’t in the business of providing enterprise-wide access management solutions, you might believe that these organizations are out of your reach.

But did you know many hospitals use mobile medical cabinets to secure supplies they bring supplies into unrestricted areas? Although manufacturers hold the majority of this niche business, savvy security pros easily can bring a cloud-based EAC solution to these types of cabinets.

One Indiana hospital learned that it would have to purchase new cabinets — to the tune of almost $100,000 — to keep current with a manufacturer’s most recent smart locks and EAC software. By shopping around, the hospital’s inventory manager found a cloud-based EAC provider and a local security pro to retrofit these existing cabinets with the latest smart locks and a software subscription that was much more affordable. The result is the hospital saved a bundle.

Easy Rider Rental users can access e-bike locks by using a code sent by the company’s reservation system.

Rental Lockers

These seem to be popping up everywhere these days. Retailers and grocers, not to mention giants such as Amazon, use lockers to provide customers with secure, contactless deliveries and returns.

A progressive-minded entrepreneur in Utah saw an opportunity with an e-bike rental shop after the pandemic hit. He had planned to operate a brick-and-mortar store for his e-bike rentals but quickly pivoted to an automated model in spring 2020.

His bike lockers are secured with state-of-the-art software and algorithmic locks that can be managed even where there’s no network connectivity. The platform easily integrates with the owner’s reservation system. So, customers choose a location, reserve their e-bikes online and then access the bike lockers by using a code that’s generated from the EAC software during their rental window.

Retail

Retail businesses have some obvious requirements when it comes to access control, such as securing entrances and creating employee access and delivery schedules. But a Japanese bookstore put a new spin on its access control. By using a cloud-enabled EAC solution, Naramachi Bookspace created a contactless, self-serve experience for visitors.

Naramachi Bookspace is a self-serve bookstore in Japan.

The store works on a membership system, so users who become members receive a self-expiring PIN for each visit issued by the EAC platform. They use that PIN on the smart lock at the bookstore’s entrance, and after they’re inside, they’re free to stay and shop for as long as they wish. When a member is ready to buy, they use the tablet in the store to make the purchase. This model has allowed the owner to eliminate on-site staff and significantly reduce labor costs.

Reservation-based Services

For many organizations, room reservations are becoming a critical part of operating efficiently and making revenue. A national chain of travel stops has 550 locations in 41 states. It provides professional truck drivers and motorists with 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase fuel, travel items and snacks. In addition, the company offers reservable bathrooms that have shower stalls to travelers. The service is made possible by — you guessed it — the latest EAC software and hard-wired doors that are integrated with an online reservation system.

Libraries and other community spaces also are likely candidates to benefit from these solutions. Libraries often have meeting and coworking spaces available to their communities. Through a contactless booking system and cloud-based EAC, libraries across the nation can facilitate streamlined booking of these spaces and charging for the use, which drives additional revenue.

Have you seen sleeping pods in any airports lately? The pod hotel concept actually began in Japan in the 1970s but has gained traction recently because of the emergence of contactless booking and EAC software. Travelers typically reserve these private, secure pods by the hour or even overnight through a smartphone app. The app integrates with a modern EAC solution, which allows travelers to reserve and unlock the room and control its features. Travelers thus enjoy a seamless, on-demand retreat between flights.

Added Security

After realizing that its server rooms weren’t secured properly and often were misused for lunch breaks, a Fortune 100 retailer started to look for ways to beef up its security to these highly sensitive rooms. The company wanted a solution that could prevent would-be squatters from sneaking into the server room while still providing a way for essential employees and third-party contractors to gain entry when authorized.

The retailer opted to keep its hardwired enterprise-wide EAC system in place and instead layered in wireless smart locks along with a cloud-based access management solution to control access to its server rooms. The open and modern interface of the cloud-based solution allowed the retailer to integrate its access control requirements for these specific doors directly into its workflow-management software. So, when an IT ticket was created for a store branch location, a temporary, self-expiring PIN code would be generated and sent to the appropriate third-party contractor or internal IT team member, so they could access the server rooms for the required service.

By installing this new layer of EAC parallel to its existing hard-wired system, the retailer was able to ensure that access to the server rooms was controlled tightly by being tied to a ticketing software program. The solution also further deterred bad actors from accessing sensitive data and misusing the space.

Get Creative

Security pros who have customers in industries from healthcare to recreation should realize the business opportunities cloud-based EAC technology can bring. Better yet, they can build their businesses without having to tackle complex, enterprise-wide challenges. Small-scale projects can add up and deliver significant recurring monthly revenue opportunities.

Medical cabinets, bike lockers, a self-serve bookstore, shower facilities — all of these unexpected applications show that cloud-based EAC solutions truly can work for any door, anywhere. Locksmiths and security pros can provide nimble, cloud-based solutions that: