ACCESS CONTROL
4. See mobile devices as
essential access points
of your infrastructure
On the cusp of 5G networks, we
need to change the way we perceive
our mobile phones. We have to stop
seeing our phones merely as toys or
even tools. Instead, we need to view
them as important extensions of whole
infrastructures. After all, the phone is
actually a wireless network access point,
a router that practically everybody is
carrying around. Phones should be seen
as an essential part of the network.
That’s what 5G is all about: mobile
connectivity.
In this development modern mobile
locking solutions, like our new BEAT, are
highly relevant.
5. Meeting every need –
be it security or safety
Let’s also not forget that locking
solutions are not only for the security
against unwanted visitors, but also for
the health and safety of people. Power
substations, for example, pose a danger
of electric shocks.
With proper access control you
can avoid that uncertified staff or
subcontractors end up in wrong places
where they could get hurt. And as said
earlier, it’s also wise trying to foresee
potential future needs, for example any
health measures to prevent disease
infections in time to come.
6. In mature markets: meet the
standards and avoid fines
In the United Kingdom, utilities are
the oldest critical infrastructure sector
Abloy has been serving. Electricity North
West, Northumbrian Water, South Staffs
Water and Welsh Water are only a few
examples of utility companies we are
securing.
Here, where the security market in
utilities has grown mature, physical
security and meeting all standards are
the top priorities that our customers
consider when they invest in new access
solutions. Regulators, such as Ofgem
and Ofwat, and standardisation bodies
heavily regulate and monitor the utility
operators in the market – especially in
energy and water. Failure to comply with
the regulations may result in substantial
fines.
7. In less regulated markets:
specifications are key
Whereas physical security and
standards are priorities in mature markets
like the UK, our utility customers in Latin
America primarily want their access
solutions to be flexible and easy to use,
and key management to be uncomplex.
The utilities market here is not that heavily
regulated, in terms of security. Instead,
technical specifications are the most
important factors. That’s why we work
very closely with our customers so that
the solution we provide will meet their
specific security needs.
Argentina, for instance, is
geographically enormous. To deliver
a physical key from the head office of
a utility company in, let’s say, Buenos
Aires to some peripheral site in the
southernmost Patagonia is by no means
fast or cheap. With fully digital keys
that you use with a mobile app, like our
new BEAT solution, you avoid these
challenges.
We at Abloy are carefully listening
to our customers’ ever-changing
requirements. The needs listed here
above are features that we consequently
have taken into account in the keyless
ABLOY BEAT solution and all other
options in our digital portfolio, including
electromechanical (PROTEC2 CLIQ)
and mechanical (ABLOY® PROTEC2)
solutions.
www.abloy.co.uk
JUL/AUG 2020
29
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