The most obvious attraction for most people is the adaptable and scalable nature of cloud-based systems.
With the internet becoming an integral part of modern life, cloud-based solutions are gaining momentum. Many offices these days have their documents, calendars, and other data stored on the cloud. Ease of accessibility has become a standard requirement in the globalized world.
Some access control companies argue that cloud-based solutions should be used to manage entry and access to your organization as well. Maximilian Schuetz, COO and Co-founder of Kisi has listed up to nine reasons for this in a
blog post on the company’s website. Here we take a look at some of the major points that you may need to consider.
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Flexibility
The most obvious attraction for most people is the easily adaptable and scalable nature of cloud-based systems. This is critical to many companies or organizations that are keen on growing and expanding. In the modern-day work environment, where freelancers and part-timers are also becoming more and more significant, this flexibility offers companies a simpler solution compared to their traditional counterparts.
“The more employees collaborate with external partners and freelancers the greater the need to have a watertight access control system in place,” Schuetz writes. “Before cloud systems workers had to receive and eventually hand back access cards. Sooner or later you end up with chaos where people still have access to your offices but are no longer affiliated with your company. This is a huge risk for your business and your employees.”
Centralized storage of access control data provides the option to manage entry privileges from anywhere in the world, making things faster and simpler for everyone.
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Automatic updates
Post digitalizing security solutions,
cybersecurity has become a nightmare for many companies. With news of ransomware, hacking attempts, and DDoS attacks continuing to pour in, ensuring your solutions are updated, across the site, with the latest patches from vendors is critical. Cloud-based solutions can take this stress away by offering automatic updates to their servers that are off-site.
“Greater than the loss of expensive equipment is the loss of sensitive data which puts your company at risk,” Schuetz points out. “Updating the access control system from anywhere gives you the agility to update or delete access rights immediately. Furthermore, you can synchronize floor access rights with your HR database.”
Of course, there are some who may question the
security of data stored on the cloud and managed by a third party. This is where choosing a reliable partner becomes relevant.
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Low Capex
Budget is the single main deciding factor when it comes to choosing a solution in many companies. Despite the seriousness of security threats, many companies simply don’t have the financial capacity to make adequate investments in solutions. Cloud solutions can come as a relief in such a situation because you will not have to invest in expensive hardware and subscription-based solutions will give you the option to pay as you go. This low-cost option could be attractive especially to startups who need to consider budget-constraints often to remain competitive.
“Cloud access control systems are real-time and allow you to act faster than on-premise systems,” Schuetz said. “Moving to the cloud with your access control gives you access to enterprise-class technology for all your locations. Remain lean and nimble while having an access control system of the big boys.”
Finally, cloud-based access control solutions may also make it easier to get periodic statements of entry logs because you would just have to log in to a website and download it, unlike traditional systems where you will need to get it transferred from onsite. This can be a useful feature if you need to submit logs for compliance purposes.