A company recently lost access to all of its buildings because its on-site access control servers got hacked. It took over two weeks to recover from the ransomware attack, which meant employees could not get in the building early in the morning or late at night unless a guard was present to verify their identity and open the door for them.

On-premise access control solutions are a step above traditional lock-and-key solutions. They provide more features, functionality, and automation. These solutions require that an IT person maintains and updates the servers where the software lives. Unfortunately, this also requires that the administrator is well-versed in cybersecurity to ensure that the servers don't get infected by cyberattacks.

On-premise access-control solutions typically do not provide remote access to the system, meaning that most system changes must be made locally using a dedicated PC connected to the servers. Anytime you need to add a new door or grant access to a new person, you must make the changes on-site, limiting the flexibility of this solution. Just like lock-and-key security, on-premise security has limited scalability. Aside from multiple sites requiring multiple servers, on-premise software requires constant manual data backups and firmware updates, resulting in wasted time, money, and resources.


Here are 9 Reasons Why Cloud-Based Access Control is the Better Security Solution

  1. Cloud access control allows for complete control from anywhere in the world
  2. Employees are able to open doors with their phones, eliminating the risk of lost or stolen keys and keycards
  3. There are no servers to maintain, and the software is updated automatically to protect against cyber threats
  4. Collect real-time data about traffic in and out of the building
  5. When key cards are lost or stolen, cloud-based solutions make it possible to revoke access immediately
  6. Cloud-based access control allows for unlimited scalability - doors, offices, and users can be added at any time
  7. The ability to open and secure doors remotely eliminates the need to hire additional on-site staff for gatekeeping
  8. Video surveillance integrated with cloud access control provides an additional layer of security
  9. API integrations available for software applications, such as HR, visitor, and membership tools


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