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The access control industry is in the midst of a transformation. This transformation is the difference between a $10B industry, which focuses just on security, and a $100B+ total addressable market.
This piece is the first in our quarterly series on the intersection of access control and smart buildings, in partnership with Lee Odess. In this piece, Lee breaks down the transformation underway in the access control industry.
Lee writes the monthly Access Control Executive Brief and is offering 10% off for Nexus Pro members with a discount code at the end of the piece. Also at the end of the piece, Lee profiles 4 companies—Brivo, Salto, Sharry, and SwiftConnect—that are leading this transformation (Pro members only).
When I say "physical access control," what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Historically, and for a good reason, most people think of "cards," "key cards," or "security." All true, but like many industries, the physical access control industry (let's call it the access control industry) is in the midst of a transformation. Some may even call it an evolution. Maybe even an industry molting.
This transformation is the difference between a $10B industry, which focuses just on security, and a $70B industry which enables many more business outcomes for end users. Add an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) focus on the S, and the access control industry is looking at about $100B+ total addressable market.
How? Let’s start at the beginning.
When I write and speak about the access control industry, I usually frame it in two ways. First, there is the pre-1973 and post-1973 access control industry. The pre-1973 access control industry is typically considered the "mechanical era." Post-1973 is better known as the electronic access control era and nowadays just called access control. I am now documenting this era to get to the origin story, and so far, all signs point to Southern California. A handful of companies there were focused on bringing computerization to the head-end mechanical units and introducing plastic cards with some "smarts" for government buildings, airports, and high-tech lab use cases.
Sound familiar? Even in 2022, correct? Although internal to the industry, there have been advancements, innovation, and change, for most outside of the industry, it looks and sounds like the same story for the past 30 years. Trust your instincts.
See, as an industry, we've had one job. We have been laser-focused on that one thing: keep bad people out. Frankly, we have been damn good at it too. So good most people in nations, states, cities, and buildings considered safe don't even think about the access control they interact with. Yes, there are plenty of horrible examples and reminders worldwide that we can point to where we have failed to deliver on our promise. Still, when you consider how many places, offices, gyms, airports, hospitals, and government facilities we have products and services installed in worldwide, the access control industry’s score of delivering safety and security is pretty high.
But like many industries, as technology has evolved, the expectations on the access control industry have evolved from a single horizontal value proposition to one of many nuances and many results. Suddenly, what has been the main feature—keeping bad people out—has become a bug for use cases beyond high security. But many are seeing this change as a massive opportunity and working to flip the perception and reality of the industry on its head.
Whereas delivering safety and security alone is a $10B industry, access control can jump to a $70B industry by capturing the additional value generated beyond keeping bad people out: enabling the building to delight tenants, visitors and guests, and allowing them to achieve their highest potential. With that shift, access control quickly moves out of the basement and is no longer “just a utility.” Access control companies can achieve this by automating workflows, predicting needs, and allowing building owners to study how they're using the building via the data they produce when interacting with it.
But that’s not the only opportunity. The $100B opportunity is the ability to tell a larger impact story on the industry's influence on society (the S in ESG). The ultimate customers, enterprise and commercial real estate developers/operators, are focused on ESG or will be soon. The few companies in the access control industry that focus on ESG are too focused on the materials they use, how they interact with their suppliers, and their corporate governance. This narrow focus misses a massive piece of the story the access control industry should be telling. When the access control industry tells a product and solutions story, they focus on the technical and total cost of ownership (TCO) but miss the return on investment (ROI) story that ESG supports.
Truthfully, the access control industry has a beautiful 'S' story. You can draw a very straight line to the security industry's impact on those who are/feel safe and those who are not/do not feel safe. The areas where people are safe see results of higher innovation, GDP growth, stability, increased education, and more. Couple that with the use cases that enable occupants to reach their highest potential and there’s a compelling story indeed. No other industry has the same level of permission or prospect that they do when it comes to societal impact.
With these shifts, access control has gone from a $10B, high-security cottage industry where it flexes its security muscles and know-how, selling fear TO a $100B, mainstream, mainstreet, vertical customer-led (for instance: multifamily, commercial real estate, life sciences), convenience, user-experience, AND high-security industry where we sell the results and added value afforded to all of us by being safe. That is what many miss with this story. Access control needs to focus on the results of being safe.
It is time for the access control industry to command the space it occupies, for the ecosystem to expect more from the access control industry, and for the general public to be aware of the impact the access control industry is making on society.
As a result, this new access control industry opportunity is being pursued by a few incumbents but predominately by companies that have been viewed as up-and-comers, startups, or the larger ecosystem. These new breed of access control companies are driving the access control industry's future forward and are ready to meet the market where it is at.
So how do you know what this new access control industry looks like? What are the traits that you should look for? Like other industries, especially legacy utilities, there are many attributes and ways the new upstarts differentiate from the incumbents. However, here are three that stand out to me.
First, I would look at the language and vocabulary being used. The access control companies correctly positioned for today and the future are enterprise software focused versus security specification applicators. As a result, they speak less about architecture like "mobile" or "cloud" and more about operational efficiencies, revenue generation, and value creation. Sure, the new needs to be able to speak to the traditional security expectations, but the beginning and end of the conversation are very different.
Second, take a look at how they approach the greater ecosystem. Do they have well-documented APIs, SDKs, and a partner or ecosystem program that goes beyond just technical needs (such as market development funds and service level agreements)? Do they not only take commands from other systems but also provide data as a good citizen of the building? Do they lead by working with others to deliver complete customer solutions? Do they have a clear understanding of data models? Do they understand where and how they fit within the ecosystem? Or do they check a box around integration and treat it as a bullet point versus a core principle on how they serve the market?
And third, do they have a clear point of view on their business, the models, the channel strategy, roadmap, and how that differentiates from the traditional access control industry? The traditional industry ecosystem was simple and linear and isolated:
Whereas the new industry ecosystem is transformed with 3rd party software applications, software platforms, system integrators, and more:
What I find with most of the companies who are half in and half out but have yet to commit to this new access control opportunity entirely is that their articulated plans, if any, make their commitment very clear that they are thinly participating and primarily being opportunistic. So steer clear from those who cannot show you how they plan to tackle today's and tomorrow's market needs.
In summary, the access control industry is susceptible to digital transformation and change like most industries. But don't be lulled to sleep because the access control industry is known to be slower to change. We are actively amidst this change and far enough along that you can expect and demand more from your access control system. A large group of access control systems, new and old, will be waiting to meet you there.
—Lee Odess
P.S. Let me know what you think and connect with me on LinkedIn. If you want to learn more, get insights, and engage deeper with the access control market, please sign up for the monthly Access Control Executive Brief.
In November, I broke down the ESG+R opportunity the access control industry has as well as the call to actions by those companies, their customers, and the general public. This month, I broke down the unbundling and re-bundling happening in the access control value and technology stacks.
For Nexus Pro members, I am offering an exclusive discount of 10% to the Access Control Executive Brief, plus two examples of incumbent companies (Brivo & Salto) that have changed their strategy and how, as well as two examples of startups (Sharry & SwiftConnect) that have entered, become relevant, and dig into how.
Check it out below 👇
Access Control Executive Brief discount code: Upon checkout please use the discount code NEXUSLABS10.
Now let's dig in on the strategies of Brivo, Salto, Sharry, and SwiftConnect 👇
Traditional access control company founded in 1999 as the first to bring cloud architecture to the industry. When they first launched, their go to market strategy was through the traditional dealer with a value proposition as a better version of the onsite old school access control systems.
The transition since then has evolved both technically (from being IaaS to PaaS, mobile, and IP based devices) and business (recurring model, enterprise software pricing, and a large ecosystem play).
The change was very public when they did two things (1) Brivo purchased a multifamily software company called Parakeet. At this point they verticalized their solution. Before the Parakeet acquisition they were a horizontal access control product. After, they were a multifamily access control system. (2) Brivo released a new set of dashboards, APIs, and programs centered around data. With this focus and the way they are communicating to the market, Brivo understands that in order to be a true Enterprise Software company, they need to act and be an Enterprise Software company.
After a failed SPAC, Brivo recently secured a $75M credit facility to help fuel their continued growth. Brivo also continues to hire from outside the access control and security industry bringing in new talent that supports their future growth strategy. Putting aside that I worked there for 8 years, I believe the future will continue to be bright for Brivo as they morph from a small to medium sized solution to an Enterprise and full building solution.
In 2001 SALTO Systems made waves with the introduction of a well designed electronic “smart” lock that included their SALTO Virtual Network SVN data-on-card technology and advanced battery-operated wireless capabilities. They have leveraged their European roots by doing things a bit differently and from then have not looked back.
It is clear that Salto is striving and being successful at making themselves a leader in the access control space. Salto is setting an example for creating sustainable and future-forward products. There is a clear focus on R&D. Salto appears to be a great partner as they show great customer service initiatives such as hosting monthly training webinars on their technology, public testimonials, and an effort to properly communicate externally.
When Salto was the new upstart, they blazed trails with design, innovative business models, technology forward acquisitions, and a new and interesting message. They recently introduced an example of leveraging their software and hardware capabilities with Homelok, their multifamily software offering. On the surface it looks a lot like everyone else’s. But the parts about Homelok that are not well known are two fold. First they separated their entire back end from the front end. The result is a well documented and progressive set of APIs. The benefit for Salto and the rest of the industry is the ease of which anyone can integrate and create vertical solutions. The second is the introduction of the end user as a stakeholder. The dirty secret of all access control and smart lock companies is that the products were built for integrators and system administrators. Systems were never intended for end users to be a stakeholder. End users were just cards. With this subtle development, we will start to see user experience be a centerpiece of Salto system and solution design. This development may not seem like a big deal, but it is a transformational step as the industry moves from keeping bad people out to also let the right people in.
Sharry represents a software company with great resilience, story, and leadership. It is rare to see a company from Europe, let alone Prague, make such an impact in such a short period of time in the North American access control market like Sharry has. The key differentiating factor for Sharry was, first, the early decision to focus the time and resources on integrating with a large number of legacy access control systems. The second decision was to partner early with Apple on their recent introduction of bringing the Apple Wallet to market where you can open commercial doors with your phone. Beyond that, Sharry has done an excellent job of leveraging social media and making key hires in the markets they work. What Sharry represents more than anything in our industry is the unbundling of the legacy business and a re-bundling of the new way the mainstream market wants their access control systems to operate - mobile first, focused on user experience, and leveraging old infrastructure. They are truly a platform company. It will be interesting to see how Sharry grows and what the future holds for them. They are a strong acquisition target for many legacy companies.
“Comin in hot” would be the theme of SwiftConnect. Known commercial real estate and tech industry players, Chip Kruger and Matt Kopel, have wasted no time making waves by landing key customers, partnerships, awards, and funding. SwiftConnect is a middleware company that helps tech products and solutions come together and uplevel their functionality. They play into the legacy businesses inability to move fast and function as a software company. They are quickly becoming the go to enablers and System Integrators many commercial real estate firms are coming to for mobile and integration capabilities. I would suspect you will continue to see them work with others while introducing their own products. This formation mirrors what we have seen in other Enterprise Software markets like CRM, with Salesforce, or Workflow Management, with ServiceNow. They are a true enablement platform, System Integrator, and potential Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
Access Control Executive Brief discount code: Upon checkout please use the discount code NEXUSLABS10.
Now let's dig in on the strategies of Brivo, Salto, Sharry, and SwiftConnect 👇
Traditional access control company founded in 1999 as the first to bring cloud architecture to the industry. When they first launched, their go to market strategy was through the traditional dealer with a value proposition as a better version of the onsite old school access control systems.
The transition since then has evolved both technically (from being IaaS to PaaS, mobile, and IP based devices) and business (recurring model, enterprise software pricing, and a large ecosystem play).
The change was very public when they did two things (1) Brivo purchased a multifamily software company called Parakeet. At this point they verticalized their solution. Before the Parakeet acquisition they were a horizontal access control product. After, they were a multifamily access control system. (2) Brivo released a new set of dashboards, APIs, and programs centered around data. With this focus and the way they are communicating to the market, Brivo understands that in order to be a true Enterprise Software company, they need to act and be an Enterprise Software company.
After a failed SPAC, Brivo recently secured a $75M credit facility to help fuel their continued growth. Brivo also continues to hire from outside the access control and security industry bringing in new talent that supports their future growth strategy. Putting aside that I worked there for 8 years, I believe the future will continue to be bright for Brivo as they morph from a small to medium sized solution to an Enterprise and full building solution.
In 2001 SALTO Systems made waves with the introduction of a well designed electronic “smart” lock that included their SALTO Virtual Network SVN data-on-card technology and advanced battery-operated wireless capabilities. They have leveraged their European roots by doing things a bit differently and from then have not looked back.
It is clear that Salto is striving and being successful at making themselves a leader in the access control space. Salto is setting an example for creating sustainable and future-forward products. There is a clear focus on R&D. Salto appears to be a great partner as they show great customer service initiatives such as hosting monthly training webinars on their technology, public testimonials, and an effort to properly communicate externally.
When Salto was the new upstart, they blazed trails with design, innovative business models, technology forward acquisitions, and a new and interesting message. They recently introduced an example of leveraging their software and hardware capabilities with Homelok, their multifamily software offering. On the surface it looks a lot like everyone else’s. But the parts about Homelok that are not well known are two fold. First they separated their entire back end from the front end. The result is a well documented and progressive set of APIs. The benefit for Salto and the rest of the industry is the ease of which anyone can integrate and create vertical solutions. The second is the introduction of the end user as a stakeholder. The dirty secret of all access control and smart lock companies is that the products were built for integrators and system administrators. Systems were never intended for end users to be a stakeholder. End users were just cards. With this subtle development, we will start to see user experience be a centerpiece of Salto system and solution design. This development may not seem like a big deal, but it is a transformational step as the industry moves from keeping bad people out to also let the right people in.
Sharry represents a software company with great resilience, story, and leadership. It is rare to see a company from Europe, let alone Prague, make such an impact in such a short period of time in the North American access control market like Sharry has. The key differentiating factor for Sharry was, first, the early decision to focus the time and resources on integrating with a large number of legacy access control systems. The second decision was to partner early with Apple on their recent introduction of bringing the Apple Wallet to market where you can open commercial doors with your phone. Beyond that, Sharry has done an excellent job of leveraging social media and making key hires in the markets they work. What Sharry represents more than anything in our industry is the unbundling of the legacy business and a re-bundling of the new way the mainstream market wants their access control systems to operate - mobile first, focused on user experience, and leveraging old infrastructure. They are truly a platform company. It will be interesting to see how Sharry grows and what the future holds for them. They are a strong acquisition target for many legacy companies.
“Comin in hot” would be the theme of SwiftConnect. Known commercial real estate and tech industry players, Chip Kruger and Matt Kopel, have wasted no time making waves by landing key customers, partnerships, awards, and funding. SwiftConnect is a middleware company that helps tech products and solutions come together and uplevel their functionality. They play into the legacy businesses inability to move fast and function as a software company. They are quickly becoming the go to enablers and System Integrators many commercial real estate firms are coming to for mobile and integration capabilities. I would suspect you will continue to see them work with others while introducing their own products. This formation mirrors what we have seen in other Enterprise Software markets like CRM, with Salesforce, or Workflow Management, with ServiceNow. They are a true enablement platform, System Integrator, and potential Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
Access Control Executive Brief discount code: Upon checkout please use the discount code NEXUSLABS10.
Now let's dig in on the strategies of Brivo, Salto, Sharry, and SwiftConnect 👇
Traditional access control company founded in 1999 as the first to bring cloud architecture to the industry. When they first launched, their go to market strategy was through the traditional dealer with a value proposition as a better version of the onsite old school access control systems.
The transition since then has evolved both technically (from being IaaS to PaaS, mobile, and IP based devices) and business (recurring model, enterprise software pricing, and a large ecosystem play).
The change was very public when they did two things (1) Brivo purchased a multifamily software company called Parakeet. At this point they verticalized their solution. Before the Parakeet acquisition they were a horizontal access control product. After, they were a multifamily access control system. (2) Brivo released a new set of dashboards, APIs, and programs centered around data. With this focus and the way they are communicating to the market, Brivo understands that in order to be a true Enterprise Software company, they need to act and be an Enterprise Software company.
After a failed SPAC, Brivo recently secured a $75M credit facility to help fuel their continued growth. Brivo also continues to hire from outside the access control and security industry bringing in new talent that supports their future growth strategy. Putting aside that I worked there for 8 years, I believe the future will continue to be bright for Brivo as they morph from a small to medium sized solution to an Enterprise and full building solution.
In 2001 SALTO Systems made waves with the introduction of a well designed electronic “smart” lock that included their SALTO Virtual Network SVN data-on-card technology and advanced battery-operated wireless capabilities. They have leveraged their European roots by doing things a bit differently and from then have not looked back.
It is clear that Salto is striving and being successful at making themselves a leader in the access control space. Salto is setting an example for creating sustainable and future-forward products. There is a clear focus on R&D. Salto appears to be a great partner as they show great customer service initiatives such as hosting monthly training webinars on their technology, public testimonials, and an effort to properly communicate externally.
When Salto was the new upstart, they blazed trails with design, innovative business models, technology forward acquisitions, and a new and interesting message. They recently introduced an example of leveraging their software and hardware capabilities with Homelok, their multifamily software offering. On the surface it looks a lot like everyone else’s. But the parts about Homelok that are not well known are two fold. First they separated their entire back end from the front end. The result is a well documented and progressive set of APIs. The benefit for Salto and the rest of the industry is the ease of which anyone can integrate and create vertical solutions. The second is the introduction of the end user as a stakeholder. The dirty secret of all access control and smart lock companies is that the products were built for integrators and system administrators. Systems were never intended for end users to be a stakeholder. End users were just cards. With this subtle development, we will start to see user experience be a centerpiece of Salto system and solution design. This development may not seem like a big deal, but it is a transformational step as the industry moves from keeping bad people out to also let the right people in.
Sharry represents a software company with great resilience, story, and leadership. It is rare to see a company from Europe, let alone Prague, make such an impact in such a short period of time in the North American access control market like Sharry has. The key differentiating factor for Sharry was, first, the early decision to focus the time and resources on integrating with a large number of legacy access control systems. The second decision was to partner early with Apple on their recent introduction of bringing the Apple Wallet to market where you can open commercial doors with your phone. Beyond that, Sharry has done an excellent job of leveraging social media and making key hires in the markets they work. What Sharry represents more than anything in our industry is the unbundling of the legacy business and a re-bundling of the new way the mainstream market wants their access control systems to operate - mobile first, focused on user experience, and leveraging old infrastructure. They are truly a platform company. It will be interesting to see how Sharry grows and what the future holds for them. They are a strong acquisition target for many legacy companies.
“Comin in hot” would be the theme of SwiftConnect. Known commercial real estate and tech industry players, Chip Kruger and Matt Kopel, have wasted no time making waves by landing key customers, partnerships, awards, and funding. SwiftConnect is a middleware company that helps tech products and solutions come together and uplevel their functionality. They play into the legacy businesses inability to move fast and function as a software company. They are quickly becoming the go to enablers and System Integrators many commercial real estate firms are coming to for mobile and integration capabilities. I would suspect you will continue to see them work with others while introducing their own products. This formation mirrors what we have seen in other Enterprise Software markets like CRM, with Salesforce, or Workflow Management, with ServiceNow. They are a true enablement platform, System Integrator, and potential Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
The access control industry is in the midst of a transformation. This transformation is the difference between a $10B industry, which focuses just on security, and a $100B+ total addressable market.
This piece is the first in our quarterly series on the intersection of access control and smart buildings, in partnership with Lee Odess. In this piece, Lee breaks down the transformation underway in the access control industry.
Lee writes the monthly Access Control Executive Brief and is offering 10% off for Nexus Pro members with a discount code at the end of the piece. Also at the end of the piece, Lee profiles 4 companies—Brivo, Salto, Sharry, and SwiftConnect—that are leading this transformation (Pro members only).
When I say "physical access control," what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Historically, and for a good reason, most people think of "cards," "key cards," or "security." All true, but like many industries, the physical access control industry (let's call it the access control industry) is in the midst of a transformation. Some may even call it an evolution. Maybe even an industry molting.
This transformation is the difference between a $10B industry, which focuses just on security, and a $70B industry which enables many more business outcomes for end users. Add an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) focus on the S, and the access control industry is looking at about $100B+ total addressable market.
How? Let’s start at the beginning.
When I write and speak about the access control industry, I usually frame it in two ways. First, there is the pre-1973 and post-1973 access control industry. The pre-1973 access control industry is typically considered the "mechanical era." Post-1973 is better known as the electronic access control era and nowadays just called access control. I am now documenting this era to get to the origin story, and so far, all signs point to Southern California. A handful of companies there were focused on bringing computerization to the head-end mechanical units and introducing plastic cards with some "smarts" for government buildings, airports, and high-tech lab use cases.
Sound familiar? Even in 2022, correct? Although internal to the industry, there have been advancements, innovation, and change, for most outside of the industry, it looks and sounds like the same story for the past 30 years. Trust your instincts.
See, as an industry, we've had one job. We have been laser-focused on that one thing: keep bad people out. Frankly, we have been damn good at it too. So good most people in nations, states, cities, and buildings considered safe don't even think about the access control they interact with. Yes, there are plenty of horrible examples and reminders worldwide that we can point to where we have failed to deliver on our promise. Still, when you consider how many places, offices, gyms, airports, hospitals, and government facilities we have products and services installed in worldwide, the access control industry’s score of delivering safety and security is pretty high.
But like many industries, as technology has evolved, the expectations on the access control industry have evolved from a single horizontal value proposition to one of many nuances and many results. Suddenly, what has been the main feature—keeping bad people out—has become a bug for use cases beyond high security. But many are seeing this change as a massive opportunity and working to flip the perception and reality of the industry on its head.
Whereas delivering safety and security alone is a $10B industry, access control can jump to a $70B industry by capturing the additional value generated beyond keeping bad people out: enabling the building to delight tenants, visitors and guests, and allowing them to achieve their highest potential. With that shift, access control quickly moves out of the basement and is no longer “just a utility.” Access control companies can achieve this by automating workflows, predicting needs, and allowing building owners to study how they're using the building via the data they produce when interacting with it.
But that’s not the only opportunity. The $100B opportunity is the ability to tell a larger impact story on the industry's influence on society (the S in ESG). The ultimate customers, enterprise and commercial real estate developers/operators, are focused on ESG or will be soon. The few companies in the access control industry that focus on ESG are too focused on the materials they use, how they interact with their suppliers, and their corporate governance. This narrow focus misses a massive piece of the story the access control industry should be telling. When the access control industry tells a product and solutions story, they focus on the technical and total cost of ownership (TCO) but miss the return on investment (ROI) story that ESG supports.
Truthfully, the access control industry has a beautiful 'S' story. You can draw a very straight line to the security industry's impact on those who are/feel safe and those who are not/do not feel safe. The areas where people are safe see results of higher innovation, GDP growth, stability, increased education, and more. Couple that with the use cases that enable occupants to reach their highest potential and there’s a compelling story indeed. No other industry has the same level of permission or prospect that they do when it comes to societal impact.
With these shifts, access control has gone from a $10B, high-security cottage industry where it flexes its security muscles and know-how, selling fear TO a $100B, mainstream, mainstreet, vertical customer-led (for instance: multifamily, commercial real estate, life sciences), convenience, user-experience, AND high-security industry where we sell the results and added value afforded to all of us by being safe. That is what many miss with this story. Access control needs to focus on the results of being safe.
It is time for the access control industry to command the space it occupies, for the ecosystem to expect more from the access control industry, and for the general public to be aware of the impact the access control industry is making on society.
As a result, this new access control industry opportunity is being pursued by a few incumbents but predominately by companies that have been viewed as up-and-comers, startups, or the larger ecosystem. These new breed of access control companies are driving the access control industry's future forward and are ready to meet the market where it is at.
So how do you know what this new access control industry looks like? What are the traits that you should look for? Like other industries, especially legacy utilities, there are many attributes and ways the new upstarts differentiate from the incumbents. However, here are three that stand out to me.
First, I would look at the language and vocabulary being used. The access control companies correctly positioned for today and the future are enterprise software focused versus security specification applicators. As a result, they speak less about architecture like "mobile" or "cloud" and more about operational efficiencies, revenue generation, and value creation. Sure, the new needs to be able to speak to the traditional security expectations, but the beginning and end of the conversation are very different.
Second, take a look at how they approach the greater ecosystem. Do they have well-documented APIs, SDKs, and a partner or ecosystem program that goes beyond just technical needs (such as market development funds and service level agreements)? Do they not only take commands from other systems but also provide data as a good citizen of the building? Do they lead by working with others to deliver complete customer solutions? Do they have a clear understanding of data models? Do they understand where and how they fit within the ecosystem? Or do they check a box around integration and treat it as a bullet point versus a core principle on how they serve the market?
And third, do they have a clear point of view on their business, the models, the channel strategy, roadmap, and how that differentiates from the traditional access control industry? The traditional industry ecosystem was simple and linear and isolated:
Whereas the new industry ecosystem is transformed with 3rd party software applications, software platforms, system integrators, and more:
What I find with most of the companies who are half in and half out but have yet to commit to this new access control opportunity entirely is that their articulated plans, if any, make their commitment very clear that they are thinly participating and primarily being opportunistic. So steer clear from those who cannot show you how they plan to tackle today's and tomorrow's market needs.
In summary, the access control industry is susceptible to digital transformation and change like most industries. But don't be lulled to sleep because the access control industry is known to be slower to change. We are actively amidst this change and far enough along that you can expect and demand more from your access control system. A large group of access control systems, new and old, will be waiting to meet you there.
—Lee Odess
P.S. Let me know what you think and connect with me on LinkedIn. If you want to learn more, get insights, and engage deeper with the access control market, please sign up for the monthly Access Control Executive Brief.
In November, I broke down the ESG+R opportunity the access control industry has as well as the call to actions by those companies, their customers, and the general public. This month, I broke down the unbundling and re-bundling happening in the access control value and technology stacks.
For Nexus Pro members, I am offering an exclusive discount of 10% to the Access Control Executive Brief, plus two examples of incumbent companies (Brivo & Salto) that have changed their strategy and how, as well as two examples of startups (Sharry & SwiftConnect) that have entered, become relevant, and dig into how.
Check it out below 👇
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