Strategic Insight: Cloud-Based Access Control
Decentralization, Quality, and Differentiator
Cloud computing is growing rapidly and we’re seeing an increased demand for cloud managed access as the need to adapt to the workforce’s structural transformation continues. The current COVID-19 pandemic is driving businesses to increase scalability, enhance business continuity, and seek more cost-efficient solutions to on premise software solutions and cloud managed access is at the forefront of this change.
Although currently accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this isn’t a new phenomenon. For quite some time we’ve worked with both small and large organizations collaboratively analyzing the viability and effectiveness of flat structures and decentralization of managed access control. One of the characteristics of this strategy is decentralizing hierarchy to a subjective degree, assigning decision-making to individual teams, and empowering them to take action on their own. In a flat decentralized organization, team-based decision making happens more rapidly and at a much lower level. This approach emphasizes individual empowerment which can produce major results when a company deploys the correct level of decentralization for its operations and non-core business functions.
At an increasing rate, businesses are looking to cloud technologies to increase business agility and flexibility and improve accessibility which places cloud-based platforms center stage. With the workplace’s decentralization and exploding remote-operational demands, optimization for improved business performance is focused on leveraging cloud technology to remain competitive. Cost efficiency and enhanced business continuity powered by cloud technology is driving organizations to accelerate their digital transformation strategy and is an essential component of the flat decentralized model. Deploying a decentralized model requires a cloud strategy that eliminates or greatly reduces costs associated with the administration and or management of old on premise software solutions. The outsourcing of this responsibility coincides with strategic use cases of decentralized work forces. There are several advantages of this strategy:
- Business Agility: Decentralized organizations have a great deal of flexibility compared to centralized ones. Additionally, the flexibility to remotely manage their platforms from anywhere provides enhanced business agility.
- Improved Efficiency: End users can efficiently manage multiple platforms; security being one of those, cloud-based access control can integrate other life safety solutions which simplifies security management from one single always-up-to-date application in real-time.
- Reduction of Risk: Cloud-based access control, as well as other cloud-based solutions, hands the responsibility of server maintenance, backups and upkeep to professionals who ensure their data is safeguarded. With operational sustainability for mission critical facilities achieved, the value of risk mitigation cannot be overstated.
- Cost Measures: Utilizing cloud-based solutions is a critical component when deploying a decentralization strategy. With an inherent lower cost of entry and lower cost of ongoing costs of ownership associated with cloud-based solutions, cost savings can be significant. Cost savings achieved; additional financial resources can be allocated to vehicles which may provide an impactful ROI.
Once a cloud strategy is formulated, how to deploy that strategy is a conversation that should immediately follow. A critical topic of that discussion is the quality of the underlying hardware of your cloud managed access solution. Too often, a cloud solution will fail due to an underlying hardware failure or hardware that is inadequately specified. Once this occurs, an organization’s costs to analyze and resolve this issue can become an expensive capital expenditure. Costs of analysis and resolution can be exacerbated by the impact of the down-time of the managed access control solution to the organization. An analysis must be made to pinpoint the cause of failure. Since hardware is usually the last suspect, this process can consume an inordinate amount of resources, both financial and lost productivity. As we continue through the digitalization and virtualization migration to cloud, we’re now managing infrastructure via software. Cloud computing has enhanced this process over the last decade and end users now expect someone else to worry about hardware. This suits IT administrators who can now focus on more important tasks, all of which amplify the importance of utilizing the highest quality hardware possible.
The quality of hardware for life-safety solutions is no exception. There are a few metrics that can serve as indicators of quality. How many years has the manufacturer been producing hardware? What type of warranty comes with the hardware? Has the hardware been tested and proven? What is its durability? Is the hardware responsive? Scalable?
As an example, the hardware which the hattrix platform utilizes is manufactured by Kantech, not through an OEM or repurposed and comes with an industry leading five-year warranty. Kantech touts 35 years of experience, which has been forged by a diligent commitment to excellence cultivating quality. At 35 years, that would make Kantech the fifth oldest electronic access control company on the planet. Combine that with a hattrix Five Diamond Data Center with a 99.999% uptime guarantee, specified SSD drives with disaster recovery and automated fail-over, redundancy, in real-time, and you’ve just created one of the highest standards for cloud-based access control in the world. This ensures your hardware measures up to your standards.
Estimates and current models still forecast cloud-based technology will comprise more than 50 percent of all access control sales for the access control segment by the end of 2027. Given this trend, it’s a natural assumption that research and development resources will shift to cloud-based technology for access control because it will provide the greatest return on investment. As a result, end users are now asking about cloud-based access control differentiators.
pro·duc·tiv·i·ty — the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.
If a cloud strategy and the deployment of a cloud-based solution is step one for end users, utilizing a fully managed cloud-solutions is step two. If you are able to realize a lower cost of entry and a lower cost of ownership with cloud-based access control, taking advantage of a fully managed solution enables end users to increase focus on core business tasks.
Acme Widget Corporation sells widgets. Acme went into business to manufacture, market, and sell widgets. Acme didn’t go into business to become an access control administrator. This is the mindset that is driving hattrix end users to choose the fully managed solution. This is the natural evolution of Access Control as a Service (ACaaS) and our industry will eventually follow suit. A fully managed ACaaS solution is an incredibly valuable offering for both the reseller and the end user, end user’s demand will eventually drive our entire industry to adopt similar offerings. The managed offering from hattrix makes up the majority of our current end users and one of the fastest growing cloud-based access control platform on the planet. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The hattrix platform has insight into current workplace trends and leverages the collective wisdom of all hattrix partners. Being a part of hattrix provides a collaborative mindshare which positions you to succeed. The quality of the hardware which powers all hattrix solutions are among the most reliable in the industry. Our rich history of 35 years speaks to our commitment to excellence. hattrix is not only a product offering differentiator or powerful cloud-based access control solution, hattrix is also a business partnership delivering sales enablement tools, resources, marketing, and brand awareness dedicated to the growth of your business. hattrix empowers its partners to leverage forward focused innovation to expand their marketplace presence while accelerating growth through transformative recurring monthly revenue. We make everyone safer and smarter - be a part of hattrix!
