News Opinion
Four reasons to implement a mobile credential solution

Brandon Carino, Allegion Canada

Mobile technology has steadily built momentum over the years for a myriad of reasons.

More and more organizations are getting on board and deploying mobile credentials to ensure a secure experience for visitors and employees. The demand continues to rise for access control that offers mobile credentials as part of its solution. In fact, mobile credentials are the fastest growing segment in credentials with a five-year category growth rate of +79 per cent. Within this span of time, mobile credentials is projected to increase its market share of credentials from four per cent to nearly 25 per cent of issued credentials – a six-fold increase. By 2022, mobile credential downloads in the Americas will cumulatively surpass 100M+. (Source: IHS Markit, 2019 Access Control Intelligence Service, Americas, New Credential Sales/Downloads, units).

As security policies typically vary from organization to organization, having a mobile access credential that requires a password will ensure your facility is truly secure. With most people carrying a phone with them daily, mobile credentials are a perfect way for organizations to save on the purchase of a physical credential. Here are four key benefits that organizations are seeing by implementing a mobile credential solution:

1. Reduced costs – On occasion, an employee or visitor can lose their physical ID cards and key fobs which are costly for companies to replace over time. By implementing mobile credentials, organizations can benefit from becoming eco-friendly and yielding lower plastic waste costs. In addition, they are also seeing significant cost savings by not having to print out ID badges internally and invest in costly ID card printers.
2. Convenience – It is commonplace for employees to forget to bring their ID Badge or key fob to work. However, since people tend to care more about their own phones, employees are less likely to forget or lose their mobile credential. It helps create seamless access when employees can just swipe into the building with ease and not worry about using key fobs to enter the premises. Plus, mobile credentials can be easily issued to visitors, delivery services and contractors remotely and can be programmed to expire as needed.
3. More secure environment – A mobile device can be a far more secure option with many more features to be leveraged. A key fob or ID badge can easily be lost and get in the hands of an unauthorized individual who can now gain access. In most cases, there is no protection when an employee loses a key or ID card. A huge benefit for organizations is that mobile credentials remain protected behind a smart phone’s security parameters, such as biometrics and access PINs. Once a biometric, PIN or password is entered to access the phone, the user automatically has set up a 2-factor access control verification, making it almost impossible for the wrong person to use the phone and gain access.
4. Efficiency – Mobile credentials are a type of digital key stored on a mobile phone that can be reused, transferred, and remotely deactivated. For administrators, mobile credentials are easier and a much more efficient way to issue and administer credentials because there is no physical card involved. The entire process of issuing credentials and deactivating a former employee can even be handled remotely, making it a truly convenient solution for everyone.

Mobile technology will continue to grow in popularity as more and more companies see how easy it is to implement at their organization. The use of mobile credentials does not exclude other credential form factors from being deployed as well. In fact, it is not atypical to see both a mobile and physical credential issued to the same user, with the physical credential also using a means of visual identification. In today’s world, companies are looking for a true touchless experience to help increase safety and provide a more secure environment. It has allowed users to take the convenience of their mobile phone to the next level and turn access control into a routine part of their day.

Brandon Carino joined Allegion Canada in 2019 as the marketing manager for commercial electronics. Now the commercial marketing lead for Canada, he oversees marketing efforts spanning Allegion Canada’s commercial mechanical and electronics portfolios, including the Schlage, Von Duprin, and LCN brands.