Access Control Without Software

As I discussed in this previous blog post, there are easier ways to manage your card access control system.  In that previous post, I discussed an option for managing your access control system with just a web browser instead of having to use a Windows-based software package for the management of your system.

In this post, I want to share with you another option for operating your access control system.  Managed or hosted access control platforms are now available which allow you to outsource the management of your access control system.  With a managed or hosted access control system, the door control hardware still resides inside your facility but any changes are made by a third-party company like ours that hosts and manages the access control software for a monthly fee.

So, what are the advantages of going with a managed access control solution?  The biggest advantage of this approach is that you no longer have to learn how to use access control software because someone else is doing it for you.  If you don’t use access control software every day (which is a likely scenario), you can easily forget how to perform certain functions.  For example, a holiday group is usually updated once a year.  Will you remember how to make the changes to your holiday group when the time comes?  Also, when you need a specific report from your access control system, do you know how to get it?  If you have an access control expert managing your access control system for you, getting that report is as easy as making a phone call or sending an email.

The second advantage to going with a managed access solution is that you no longer have to manage the server that contains the access software.  So, you don’t have to back up the server, you don’t have to install Windows updates to the server, and you don’t have to worry about viruses and other malware infecting the server when you no longer have to manage it.  We have customers that have had their access control server crash without a current backup file and they had to spend a lot of money to rebuild the server and completely re-program it.  With a managed access control solution, the third-party company that hosts your access database takes care of the server so you don’t have to worry about it.

The third advantage of a managed access control solution is that you automatically get new features when they are available.  So, a managed access control system is essentially a cloud-based solution so that you don’t have to pay for new software to get the latest software upgrades.  The third-party company that manages your access control platform would update the management software when a new version is available so that new features automatically become available.

So, as you can see, there are some great benefits to having someone else host and manage your access control system.  It is a worry-free way to make sure you are maximizing the use of your system and getting the performance you need.

Feel free to email me with any questions at scotth@verifiedsecurity.com.

-Scott Hightower, Verified Security