When they digitalize access, businesses make their buildings safer and more secure – and work becomes more efficient for everyone who uses the sites. Connecting related systems and technologies unlocks one major value of the digital transition: joined-up thinking and working which helps organizations to maximize their effectiveness and efficiency.

In terms of convenience, reliability, energy efficiency and more, digitalizing access not only boosts security, but also brings a concrete ROI that businesses can turn into a competitive advantage.

ASSA ABLOY’s digital security experience and expertise is now widely available across the EMEIA region to help organizations make the leap and reap the benefits of digitalizing access. Across multiple projects, sectors and geographical locations, ASSA ABLOY experts have noted five common themes which are crucial when they specify and implement digital access.

Five strategic factors in a successful switch to digital access

Security should never be taken for granted. Building users and managers need the reassurance of a secure access management system to go about their working day productively and with peace of mind. As security converges, moving beyond traditional physical access and cyber ‘siloes’, the right digital access solution enables building management teams to define exactly who goes where, and when, across their site or sites. Leaning on ASSA ABLOY’s access expertise has helped all kinds of organizations in almost every industry to digitalize with confidence.

Convenience is about much more than just small-scale savings in time and effort. When employees, contractors and temporary visitors can come-and-go with ease, operations for building and security managers are streamlined. For this reason, ASSA ABLOY’s most recent Wireless Access Control Report found the #1 factor driving the switch to mobile digital access was convenience. At the WTC Amsterdam office and retail complex, for example, an ASSA ABLOY digital access solution streamlined the management of access for contractors and suppliers.

Reliability of any digital access solution has both financial and security implications. Robust hardware and secure software ensure that access solutions require minimal maintenance, for example. Access solutions are an important investment not only for the organization’s present, but also its future. Customers need to have trust in the solution provider and in their knowledge of regional standards and emerging security trends or threats.

Innovation in the choice of solution does not simply mean picking a system with the widest range of features and functions. Choosing a digital solution manufacturer with a track record of innovation, however, gives organizations the confidence that their solution will always prepare them for what’s ahead – not just ‘the now’. Systems should embrace digital openness and customizability, which in turn provide the flexibility to genuinely future-proof access management. Digitalizing access also enabled Becorp, a Barcelona-based housing provider, to innovate and rethink their business model with mobile keys.

Sustainability as an ethos should be embedded within any future-proof digital solution. Motives for implementation go beyond just altruism and corporate responsibility – though of course, these are important. Incorporating sustainability into an access strategy can directly benefit the bottom line: demand is growing fast for premises with green building certifications, for example. Both the business and the environment benefit from reducing power consumption with access solutions which consume less energy across the building life-cycle and innovations such as energy-harvesting technology. As Olympia Dolla, Head of Sustainability Program EMEIA, explains, sustainability, product design and innovation are intertwined as ASSA ABLOY creates access solutions built for the future.