by Shane Henson — September 28, 2012—Smart cards and near-field communication (NFC) will be a boon to the $400 million global access control credential market, according to a new report published by IMS Research, a provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry. Smart card credentials, which represent approximately 40 percent of the global credential market, are expected to lead the next generation of credentials used for physical access control and secondary applications such as electronic payment, identity management and access-on-a-card, says IMS Research.
In the report, Electronic Physical Access Control – World – 2012, the company notes that the next generation of access control credentials is expected to do more than provide door access. Given this, FMs and building managers who plan on using smart cards to control building access and enhance security should ask themselves three key questions:
- For what purpose or purposes will the credential be used? The credential environment is changing, with many end-users wishing to use the same credential for not only access control but also to access health records, hold electronic funds, and gain access to workstations.
- How are rights managed? Being able to use the credential to update access rights at various door readers and electronic locks is becoming increasingly popular. Known in the industry as access-on-a-card, the smart card credential chip utilizes its read/write function to receive the most up-to-date access permissions from an online door lock or reader; the card in turn updates the other readers located in the building. By having the access rights on the card versus the reader, security managers are able to install more near-online readers within a building at a lower price compared to a fully online system.
- Are there any competing technologies? Amid the changing role of the credential, the industry is expected to be further complicated with the rise of near field communication (NFC) used in mobile phones. While still in its infancy, the number of NFC-enabled handsets is expected to rise over the next five years. IMS Research estimated that 2.3 percent of cellular handsets, or 35.4 million, shipped in 2011 were NFC-enabled. In 2014, the NFC attach rate is projected to reach around 20 percent and in 2016, 44 percent. This equates to shipments of 377 million NFC-enabled handsets in 2014, and 918 million in 2016, says the company.
- How are rights managed? Being able to use the credential to update access rights at various door readers and electronic locks is becoming increasingly popular. Known in the industry as access-on-a-card, the smart card credential chip utilizes its read/write function to receive the most up-to-date access permissions from an online door lock or reader; the card in turn updates the other readers located in the building. By having the access rights on the card versus the reader, security managers are able to install more near-online readers within a building at a lower price compared to a fully online system.
