Proximity technology is giving way to contactless smart cards; access control software is modular to let end users integrate access control, digital video, visitor management, fire and security, and other systems into a single platform; systems run on the company network; and the security director can dial-in to the system from anywhere in the world to see what activities are occurring. Technology allows all of this to take place cost-effectively and with relative ease.
We continue to hear about the convergence of physical and logical security. This convergence phenomenon initially began at the card level. Simply put, end users wanted one card to function as a photo ID badge, control access to both a building and a PC, provide funds for lunch or the vending machine and automate the time and attendance. Although this seems to be an easy task, this aspect of the convergence process is still a work in progress.