ACCESS CONTROL
Mobile access unlocks a new way to work and a whole range of possibilities
» IN BUSINESS AND PERSONAL LIFE today, digitalisation increasingly means moving to mobile. Mobile-first is becoming the norm across regions and industries. In Western Europe alone, there are 459 million active smartphones * and only a fraction of these are currently used for digital access. This is changing fast: one projection suggests mobile credentials’ CAGR of more than 22 % over the next seven years.**
This rapid growth seems only natural: in terms of access management, it is more secure and more convenient, for both building users and managers, when the smartphone also becomes a key.
From an organisational perspective, digitalisation helps to maximise the productivity of existing assets. By adopting a mobile ethos, in access and beyond, businesses increase convenience for their users and the security of their buildings.
It is easy to understand why mobile is, according to one analyst,“ the dominant trend in access control”.***
Making life easier and enabling mobility for users and facility managers
Using mobile keys for access helps building users to act faster, work smarter and collaborate better within teams. Similar convenience benefits have already made banks, travel agents, food delivery services and more into mobile-first sectors. With mobile access, staff and visitors no longer need to carry or keep track of keys, fobs, badges or cards. The convenience of replacing plastic key-cards with secure mobile keys is obvious.
From an access management perspective, mobile access enables the secure movement of people into and through premises – and simultaneously streamlines daily work for security managers. Mobile credentials are also more secure. Phones are almost never loaned to anyone else, and are harder for a user to lose. Mobile credentials are easier for security managers to amend or de-authorise than a
mechanical key. Changes to anyone’ s access permissions can be made over the air, without any need for dedicated readers or asking a user to check-in their credential.
Furthermore, when a security administrator cancels a mobile key, it vanishes immediately. No more time-wasting handover meetings are scheduled when a tenancy, employment contract or authorised visit ends. Remote access management via smartphone and a secure cloud saves facilities staff time and hassle. They work smarter and more flexibly, benefitting both their well-being and their organisation’ s productivity.
“ At ASSA ABLOY, we were very quick to spot the benefits of mobile access for all kinds of stakeholders,” explains David Moser, SVP & Head of Digital Access Solutions at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA.“ So many of our access innovations provide the option to make access not only digital, but also mobile.”
28
JUNE 2026
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