Axis Communications Launches Access Control Product

In what is likely to prove the biggest story from ASIS 2013, Martin Gren reveals Axis Communications’ are entering the access control market.

Available initially in the North American market, the new access control products are all PoE and — because it’s Axis — fully IP. The new Axis A1001 door controller is described as a “the first non-proprietary and open IP-based access controller on the market” and can handle any type of door lock.

Click here to view Figure 1.

The new door controller is being launched alongside new web-based software — Axis Entry Manager — and will undoubtedly make integration with Axis’s video products easier. Axis Communications are also set to announce partnerships with existing VMS providers to ensure that integration across the systems is simple.

Speaking yesterday morning exclusively to IFSEC Global about the launch — set to take place officially at ASIS 2013 later today — Axis Communications’ co-founder Martin Gren told us that he hoped the new products would be successful. He added:

There have been rumours that Axis is going to be doing this for some time. We have been testing and testing and testing. Our US HQ has been running this for quite a while.

Speaking about how the company expected the access control market to be tough, Gren said that the company has not set any “big targets” for their foray into this new market. The video surveillance market is “very conservative”, he said, while “the access market is even more conservative.”

Martin Gren, who was named as the most influential person in security and fire by IFSEC Global in January this year, helped invent the world’s first network surveillance camera, the Axis 200, which made its debut at IFSEC in 1997. Since then, the company has grown to become the leading surveillance camera manufacturer in the world, and pretty much the only manufacturer who only make IP cameras and no analogue cameras.

Will their entry into the access control market — which despite growth has been slow to move on from keys as the preferred method of entry — shake the industry up significantly?

Assa Abloy

The move is significant for competitors including Assa Abloy, whose chief executive believes that “most people will go digital” when it comes to door entry. Johan Molin told Reuters at the weekend:

I think most people will go digital. People will rely more on a secure identity than a physical key, provided over the net into your mobile phone.

The rise of near-field communication (NFC) technology is driving a new wave of innovation around access technology. With users able to send a “spare” key electronically to a colleague or family members’ phone, the practicalities of digital key-management make much more sense than that of the traditional key.

But consumers are likely to be cautious towards new methods of door entry. Just look at the reaction to Apple’s new iPhone and its biometric fingerprint scanner — last weekend a US senator asked serious questions over the privacy and security of fingerprint data stored on the device, underlining a reticence in consumers to new ideas around security technology. Unless it can be proven that NFC technology is secure, vendors could struggle to push ahead in this new market.

Avigilon and RedCloud

Meanwhile, Avigilon’s recent purchase of RedCloud means they will also be competing in this space with Axis and have already been givein a leg up on the competition. Security consultant, and IFSEC blogger, Colin Bodbyl said he thinks it will be interesting what, if any, unique value they can add. He continued:

With Axis now jumping into the ring it will be interesting to see what, if any, unique value they can add. Obviously without knowing the structure of their access control product it is difficult to say how competitive it will be. My guess however, is that they will offer it as a SaaS product. It seems like a logical decision as Axis is still trying to get traction with their hosted video services and access control is much better suited to the cloud. Unlike Avigilon, Axis has never been a strong competitor as a VMS provider so I can’t see them entering the access control market with a server based solution.

My verdict: It’s a good move for Axis but only if it is offered as a cloud service which will strengthen their current SaaS offering. At the same time this will widen the gap between Axis and Avigilon creating healthy competition for our industry as we all continue the cloud vs. server debate.

The global electronic access control market is estimated to be worth around $6 billion by 2015. With Axis’s rapid growth in the video surveillance market from nowhere in the mid-90s to No. 1 today, access control leaders Assa Abloy, HID, and Salto, among others, will be watching closely to see what the Swedish-based manufacturer can do.

Axis Communications will be exhibiting at IFSEC Istanbul next week. Register here to speak with them about their new door access controller.