The integration of CLIQ and Security Center has introduced new benefits for ASSA ABLOY and Genetec customers.
In April 2021, two of the biggest vendors in global security, Genetec and ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions, announced a brand new product development. The companies revealed that ASSA ABLOY’s CLIQ wireless locking technology has been integrated with Security Center from Genetec.
This new integration helps Security Center users to broaden their access control capability, administer locking more efficiently and better protect all kinds of premises from increasingly sophisticated and diverse threats.
Any organisation using Genetec Security Center 5.7 can now deploy CLIQ key-operated wireless locks and padlocks at their premises. The integration via CLIQ Web Manager software extends the access control possibilities of Security Center, enabling programming of CLIQ’s intelligent, battery powered keys with fine-grained access rules from a single, familiar interface. As a result, organisations extend access control and solve their lost key problem. And because CLIQ is a wire-free solution, installation is simple.
Staff and other site users are not inconvenienced: they can keep their original credentials, while administrators may assign rules for cardholders granting additional access via CLIQ devices. Security managers customise access schedules on site or remotely.
CLIQ’s advanced key management capability mitigates organisations against security threats from lost keys. Battery-powered CLIQ keys are reprogrammable, so can be disabled by the system as soon as they go missing. CLIQ saves the expense of physically rekeying locks, too, since “rekeying” is done electronically: a Security Center system administrator can quickly amend an existing key’s access permissions or issue a new programmable CLIQ key.
The CLIQ cylinder range extends beyond door locks to many other applications, with wireless cylinders for cabinets, cupboards, lifts, machines and gates, plus hardened steel padlocks for outdoor use. Installation of these programmable locking cylinders and padlocks is wireless and simple. Management within Security Center is seamless.
Simple and secure
Speaking exclusively with Security Journal UK, Steve Green, Business Development Manager at Genetec believes that this new integration will help all organisations to enhance their security, especially those with remote sites.
He said: “When you look at scenarios such as workers trying to access electrical substations, water treatments works or roadside cabinets, these are typically managed with brass padlocks and keys. The problem with this is that you have absolutely no audit trail detailing who has been there and what they have done.
“Through this integration, we have linked CLIQ to Security Center in order to simplify the access management. The intelligent keys are enrolled into Security Center as a credential and the lock cylinders or padlocks appear as doors. The beauty of this is that the user is doing this through the standard functions of Security Center, making it even more simple and cost-effective.”
There is also a video security function, adds Green: “If there is a camera in the same location as the CLIQ padlock, as soon as an individual presents the key to the lock, it triggers the camera. This can then be saved to the recording log and provides an audit trail with accompanying video evidence of who has been at the location.”
According to Green, the ability to provide that audit trail is one of the biggest benefits of the technology. He explained: “It makes everybody more accountable and makes the whole process a lot simpler. Our ClearID visitor management portal also has a big role to play in this.
“It is an online portal which enables the administrator to allow access to certain individuals at certain times. So, instead of all employees being able to gain access at all times, the administrator can ensure that specific locations are only accessible during designated periods. The engineer would only need to send one request for access, the relevant people would receive the request, action it and ClearID authorises the CLIQ key for that date and time.”
Moving to the cloud
Integration is certainly the prevailing trend within access control right now, with its obvious cost and time saving benefits. When asked where the industry is heading over the coming years, Green also pointed to cloud migration as well as utilising access control as a business intelligence tool.
“We are already seeing a large number of organisations using access control in the cloud and I expect that to continue increasing. They still have the access control hardware on site but the software is hosted in the cloud, this works really well when a business has a large number of disparate sites. It also enables businesses to utilise a subscription model for their security, similar to how individuals pay for mobile data usage.
“I also think that the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the use of access control as a business intelligence tool. Businesses can use the access control credentials that employees carry to manage how many people can enter their site and where they can go. This will help to enforce social distancing guidelines and maximum occupancy limits.”
For more information, please visit: www.genetec.com
This article was originally published in the May edition of Security Journal UK. To read a free digital copy of the magazine, click here.