Access Control is a security system which ensures that only an authorized person can enter, view, use, or have access to a restricted environment. Physical access control refers to the practice of restricting entrance to a building, office or a room to only the authorized persons – employees, visitors, vendors etc. Access control can be done by various means – human intervention such as a guard or a receptionist, mechanical means such as lock and keys, or technology such as Access Control System in India like truMe.
Most enterprises use role-based access control system to provide their employees with varying levels of access based on their roles and responsibilities. This is called differential access and can be easily achieved with advance technologies like truMe.
Type of Access Control System in India
- Role-based Access Control
Role of employee in an organization defines her level of access. Different roles have different and the same role have same level of access. For example, all the IT engineers can access the server room while sales team cannot. Access is based on the level of privilege/ authorization, so employees of various departments/ seniority can only access what they need to.
- Discretionary Access Control
In this model, the business owner has control over who has access to each entry point. Each door is mapped with a list of authorized users, set by the business owner, and only these individuals have access to that building or area. This type of differential access is used in hierarchical organizations.
- Mandatory Access Control
Mandatory access control is the most restrictive. In this case, a policy, software or hardware component restricts access without exception. Mandatory access works for larger organizations where a head of security determines the rules that grant access. For example, employees may need to do a face scan or a QR scan or key in a password/ pin into a keypad to enter a building/ room. This is ideal for companies with lots of specific security needs, such as tech companies. It allows a centralized authority to make policy decisions about who can access what areas. It also enforces standardized security policy across distributed office network/ locations.
Elements of Access Control
- Identification: For access control to be effective, it must provide some way to identify an individual. Typical identity attributes are name, face, phone number, designation/ role, finger biometrics etc.
- Authentication: An identity needs to be authenticated before the person can be allowed access. Authentication can be done through OTP verification of phone number, face scan, finger biometric scan, QR scan, RFID reader etc.
- Authorization: Once an identity is authenticated, the system will check the authorization associated with that identity. Authorization can be embedded in a QR code or RFID card or may be stored on the system itself, which can be unlocked through a face scan/ finger biometrics scan etc.
Why Access Control?
For a secure, peaceful and productive work environment, some kind of access control is a necessity. Access Control System can protect employees and give administrators visibility on who accesses the premises. It helps enhance productivity through a differential access regime where no unauthorized person is entering a room/ block and the authorized employees can carry out their work in a peaceful and secure environment.
Similarly, access control keeps unwanted visitors at bay, while authorized visitors get instant access to the place/s they are supposed to reach.
Present Challenges
While access control has evolved a great deal in last few decades and fairly sophisticated systems are available for the same, there are many challenges as well that are crying for disruption of Access Management space. Prominent among them are as under:
- High Cost
Most Access Control Systems have very high cost and high maintenance. Moreover, the rate of obsolescence of these systems is rather high as well. The legacy systems have high overheads and are under constant pressure to generate more revenue from the existing deployment. They routinely make their own system obsolete at regular intervals by bringing in new versions and forcing customers to switch to the new one.
- Limited Visibility
Legacy Access Control Systems are mostly standalone and do not talk to the similar system deployed in another building of the same organization. As such, the visibility on access events is fragmented and the administration does not get central visibility over all the offices/ buildings.
- Limited Interfaces
Most legacy systems use RFID readers/ cards or finger biometrics as default interface for access control. Such interfaces are unhygienic, costly and cumbersome (employees keep losing cards). Besides, interfaces like RFID card are not secure and can be easily misused.
Pandemic has highlighted the need to have digital, contactless interfaces such as QR code, face recognition, BLE etc. for access control and the related solutions.
- Limited differential Access
The legacy systems do not have very nuanced differential access regimes. They can cater to certain level of differential access but are found wanting when it comes to really sophisticated, multi-level authorization.
Advantages of truMe Access Control System in India
truMe is a state-of-the-art IoT platform that offers multiple products in Access Management space, such as Attendance Management, Visitor Management System, Meeting Room Management, Hot Desking, Parking Management. For each of these products, truMe offers an Access Control layer on top.
truMe is disrupting the Access Management space like never before. It is liberating the access ecosystem from the shackles of physical identity and legacy technologies. Physical identity makes access control cumbersome, creates friction and may result in breach of privacy. Legacy technologies mean very high cost, high maintenance and high rate of obsolescence.
truMe, on the other hand, has made digital identity and IoT as fulcrum of its vision to take access ecosystem from friction and high cost to contactless, seamless and pleasant entry experience at much lower cost.
What adds to truMe’s appeal is that several IT products are available on one platform. The same platform that facilitates employee attendance or visitor management or meeting room management or hot desking etc. can take care of the need for larger Access Control as well – at reception lobby, across different floors, buildings, and even campuses spread across the globe. With one integrated platform, it becomes so easy to operate that admin can change access rules, adjust settings, or even turn on specific features from her dashboard instantly. The changes in the access rules are executed across hundreds of different locations instantly.
Some of the benefits of truMe Access Control System are as under:
- Keep Track of All Access
truMe’s Access Control System in India gives you data on who enters and exits a building or floor or room and when. You can ensure people are working when they are supposed to be. If theft or an accident occurs, you know exactly who accessed a specific area at the time of the incident.
- Keep Unwanted Visitors Out
truMe’s Access Control System in India ensures that unauthorized people just cannot get in. Since doors need verification of authorization before they open, only those you’ve given credentials to can access the area. With truMe, you can be sure everyone in your building is supposed to be there, whether you know them or not.
- Flexible work-time for Employees
truMe’s Access Control System in India, lets employees enter whenever they are authorized to. People can come in early without waiting for someone to unlock the doors, and managers don’t have to stay late to lock up at the end of the day. You’ll have the ability to offer flexible schedules for your employees. With the admin dashboard, you can also check all the entries and exits without being there yourself.
- Protect Your Data
truMe’s Access Control System in India restricts access to server rooms to only those who are authorized. This ensures that not only the stored data is protected, but responsibility can also be fixed in case of a breach.
- Create a Safe Work Environment
truMe’s Access Control System in India lets trusted individuals inside and keeps others out. You have the freedom to do background checks and keep out anyone without the right credentials.
Also, truMe Access Control System in India can keep your employees safe in case of an emergency. Doors with lock-and-key mechanisms remain locked, which can be unsafe when a fire or other emergency requires a swift escape. truMe protocols ensure that doors unlock when the power is cut, so that all people can exit a building swiftly without the need to look for their keys.
- Get Central & Real-time Visibility
truMe is an IoT platform that gives central, real-time visibility to an organization, over all the office locations across the globe. Real-time reports and analytics helps in informed decision making.
- Highly Nuanced Differential Access
With truMe, organizations get an advance differential access regime. You can map employees to a building/ floor/ room for all kinds of variations of time/ day.
- Multi-Factor Authentication
truMe offers multiple choices in terms of interfaces one can use for access control. For higher security, organizations can choose multi-factor authentication as well, say a combination of QR, face recognition, finger biometrics and RFID.
- Prevent Theft & Accidents
You can protect your company’s assets, expensive equipment or even office supplies by controlling access. You can restrict access to supply closets and computer banks, so only trusted individuals can access them. Employees know their arrivals and departures are tracked, which deters theft.
Also, to prevent accidents, you can restrict access to only those who know how to follow safety protocols while using sensitive equipment.
- Mapping employees to Multiple Locations
Traditional key-based security gets complicated in areas with multiple locations. A school with two campuses might have some faculty members that teach at both and some that teach only at one. A hospital with two buildings might need to grant different levels of access to people who work in each building or on each floor. A national or regional company might set security policies at their headquarters to be followed at each branch.
Each of these situations can be managed with truMe access management system in India as it allows for mapping of employees with one/more locations.
- Compliance Made Easy
There are many regulations for data security that need restrictions on physical access to data. Anyone in the healthcare industry must comply with HIPPA, but most organizations are subject to these regulations as well. If an employee or student requests a medical leave, records of the individual’s illness must be kept secure. In the world of commerce, customers’ financial information must be kept safe, and IT Departments must restrict access to servers and digital data.
With truMe it’s easy to comply with safety standards, regulations and protocols.
Customer Speak
truMe Access Control integrates seamlessly with several truMe solutions such as:
Visitor Management System
Any modern business park/ office needs a digital, contactless visitor management system, both to give its visitors a pleasant entry experience and to maintain relevant data for informed decision making. truMe is a state-of-the-art VMS that ensures security, privacy and convenience for the visitors, timely information triggers for the host and real-time, relevant data for the building/ office.
Contactless Attendance Management System:
Traditional methods of Attendance Management, primarily based on one or the other type of finger biometrics are passé. These are costly, inefficient systems, with very limited capabilities. truMe, on the other hand, brings to you digital, contactless, state-of-the-art Attendance Management System, which cater to all kinds of work scenarios -work from home, in field or in office. No upfront cost, no hardware, pleasant digital interfaces and advance analytics make truMe’s Attendance Management the best in class.
Meeting Room Management
Enterprises which have multiple meeting rooms spread across locations, need a Meeting room Management system that can integrate with their existing mail client, help their employees book, access and use meeting rooms seamlessly and give admin central visibility over usage of all the meeting rooms spread across locations.
Hot Desking
Covid-19 has irrevocably changed the way we work. More and more companies are now choosing hybrid work as way of life. As such, organizations need a certain number of their employees to come to office for a few days a month/ week. This calls for an elaborate system of workstation booking, access and usage. truMe offers an advance solution for Hot Desking – booking of resources like workstation, parking slots, lockers, vehicles and such.