Open platform access control solutions

Geoff Seddon, Access Control General Manager at Abloy Security, explores benefits that non-proprietary TCP/IP access control solutions offer integrators, end-users and specifiers

Historically, some manufacturers used to embed their own access control solutions within closed operating systems, making it very difficult for customers to go anywhere else when they needed additional products or wanted to upgrade their access control system.

This is now no longer the case, as more open, less vendor-dependent products are being developed by manufacturers striving to optimise product and system life cycle costs, while also offering much greater levels of flexibility.

The resultant emergence of open platform TCP/IP access control solutions has brought a wide range of efficiency and security benefits.

Open platform security systems also make installation much simpler and cheaper, and open up the possibility of combining products from different manufacturers into a single, fully integrated solution.

Based upon true TCP/IP communication, the Abloy Security ARX Access Control system utilises security mechanisms and protocols commonly found in internet banking.

This high level of data security is particularly important to end users such as global corporates and educational establishments, and means the system can be administered safely and securely on a network or over the internet.

Easily scaleable, ARX is versatile and can be used to control access to doors, areas and sites within simple, single-site commercial buildings through to large-scale applications incorporating many buildings and thousands of doors.

As access control evolves towards more IT biased solutions, IT departments have increasingly become involved in the system specification process.

Abloy Security's use of a vendor-independent base operating system (Linux) and programming language (Java) within the ARX access control system simplifies its compatibility with existing networks and systems, which is a major advantage from an IT perspective.

Moving forward, the focus will be on integration and modular, non-proprietary security solutions based on open standards.

This allows faster adoption of third party products and enables cheaper, faster and more efficient adaptation to changing client requirements.

Back to top