The transition to digital access solutions remains a rewarding venture for end-users, security professionals, and strategic pioneers, as documented in a recent report by ASSA ABLOY.
Convenience stands out as the chief benefit, facilitating seamless entry and exit for employees, contractors, and visitors, which in turn enhances operational efficiency and reduces costs for building and security managers.
Advantages of wireless solutions
Wireless access solutions are gaining traction due to their cost-effective and easy installation. These systems are well-suited for mobile-first environments and simplify the implementation of touchless entries, remote management, and real-time access control.
The adoption of wireless access systems is informed by the need for streamlined integration and reduced retrofitting expenses.
Return on investment and digital trends
Digital keys programmed to security systems negate the need for expensive rekeying
ASSA ABLOY's report highlights the concrete return on investment offered by digital access, notably by addressing "hidden costs" like workflow inefficiencies. Digital keys programmed to security systems negate the need for expensive rekeying when keys are misplaced.
Moreover, remote access management reduces the necessity of on-site personnel, while automated audit trails lower the expenses associated with manual compliance checks. The overall shift towards digital and wireless access, including a focus on mobile digital solutions, is deeply explored in the report.
Mobile access on the rise
Mobile digital access has moved beyond being a novelty and has become an expectation across sectors. ASSA ABLOY's comprehensive range of digital systems, such as the Openow app, CLIQ for mobile workforces, and the ABLOY CUMULUS platform, support this transition.
Currently, 17% of respondents in the survey operate fully mobile credential environments, which marks a significant increase from prior years. This shift demonstrates widespread acceptance of the security and agility offered by mobile credentials, with fewer physical keys in circulation and the ability for over-the-air management updates.
Biometric solutions gaining ground
Biometric technology is expanding into commercial settings and not just confined to sensitive facilities, backed by solutions like the iDFace reader from Control iD. According to the survey, 91% of professionals recognise biometrics as a valuable access and authentication tool, with over half already implementing them.
The familiarity with biometric systems, initially fostered through their use in smartphones and banking, has facilitated their acceptance, offering a secure and cardless access solution for personnel and visitors alike.
Emphasising sustainability
ASSA ABLOY's 2025 report underscores the role of digital access solutions in energy reduction
With buildings accounting for nearly 30% of global energy use, ASSA ABLOY's 2025 report underscores the role of digital access solutions in energy reduction. For 27% of survey respondents, sustainability is the prime factor when upgrading access management capabilities.
Wireless solutions are viewed as more environmentally friendly, with energy-efficient products like the ABLOY PULSE contributing to lower energy consumption. The demand for green certifications, like BREEAM and LEED, continues to rise, with upcoming EU regulations requiring Environmental Performance Declarations as part of product marketing from next year.
Hybrid security: A growing priority
The landscape of cyber and physical security is rapidly evolving, with new regulations pressing organisations to enhance their digital access solutions. A majority (84%) of surveyed organisations are focused on compliance with these emerging regulations.
As cyber security becomes a regulated risk, the emphasis on coordinated security across digital networks and physical environments—the "cyber–physical ecosystem"—is intensifying. This is illustrated by the NIS2 directive which mandates comprehensive safeguarding of both digital systems and their physical counterparts.
End-users, security professionals and C-suite strategists continue to see significant rewards in access digitalisation. The most important factor, according to ASSA ABLOY’s survey data, is convenience. When employees, contractors and temporary visitors can come-and-go with ease, operations for building and security managers are made more efficient, including cost-efficient.
Wireless solutions are often the fastest, simplest way to digitalise. Adopters cite reduced installation costs, easier retrofits, and integration-readiness as just a few of their advantages. Wireless is also popular in mobile-first environments, making it easier to support touchless entry, remote management, and real-time control.
ASSA ABLOY’s new report
Digital access provides a concrete ROI which can be turned into a competitive advantage. In particular, it can help to tackle the “hidden costs” of workflow inefficiencies. Programmable digital keys eliminate costly rekeying when someone loses theirs, for example.
Remote access management can help businesses reduce on-site headcount and overheads. Automated audit trails and access logs cut the cost of manual compliance checks. Within this overall access landscape – digital and wireless – ASSA ABLOY’s new report analyses a number of trends, among them the following four.
1 Mobile
Mobile digital access is no longer a novelty. Increasingly, it is an expectation. Adoption has boomed, as widely forecasted. ASSA ABLOY’s broad range of digital access systems incorporates several mobile solutions, including the OpenowÒ mobile app (for SMARTairÒ wireless locks), CLIQÒ and eCLIQ Connect for mobile workforces, and the ABLOYÒ CUMULUS mobile key platform.
Fully mobile credential environments are now in operation at 17% of all survey respondents’ organisations – more than triple the rate measured in the 2023 edition of their report. The benefits of mobile are increasingly recognised by organisations across almost every sector and include more streamlined access management, with fewer physical credentials in circulation and the instant deactivation of any lost mobile key. This provides adopters with security peace of mind. Operational agility is enhanced when rights updates and other management functions can be done over-the-air from anywhere. Interestingly, the number of respondents who rule out mobile altogether continues to shrink from edition to edition of the ASSA ABLOY report: just 19% of survey respondents now reject the idea of going mobile, down from 31% in 2023.
“Many early adopters have already transitioned: mobile digital access is for the now, not just something for the future,” says Richard Sharp, VP & Head of Product Unit Wireless Locks, DAS at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA. “Where our 2023 report captured strong momentum towards mobile access, the 2025 edition finds increasing market maturity. As so many organisations modernise their security infrastructure, digital access systems are becoming standard, with a clear shift to mobile credentials.”
2 Biometrics
Biometric access is emerging as a serious, scalable option in physical security, not just for sensitive facilities, but increasingly for general commercial settings. This broader reach is helped by the launch of powerful solutions like the iDFace reader from Control iD at accessible price-points.
Survey data showed that a vast majority of professionals (91%) view biometrics as a useful access and authentication technology, with more than half of respondents (58%) already deploying it to some extent.
Biometric systems benefit from increasing user familiarity: people are already using them to unlock smartphones and validate mobile banking. For facilities managers, biometrics reduce the administrative burden of managing cards or fobs and eliminate risk from misplaced credentials. With no risk from lost credentials and a frictionless user experience, biometrics enable streamlined, secure access for staff, visitors and contractors.
3 Sustainability
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), buildings consume approximately 30% of global energy. The 2025 ASSA ABLOY report confirms suggestions that, increasingly, end-users and security professionals are identifying concrete ways in which digital access can help to reduce unnecessary energy use. For many security managers, sustainability has gone beyond just a consideration: for 27% of survey respondents, it is the top factor when considering investments to enhance access management reach or capability.
“For many organisations, across multiple sectors, sustainability is moving from a supporting role to a strategic driver,” says Richard Sharp. “Wireless systems, which reduce the need for cabling and complex infrastructure, are often seen as a ‘greener’ alternative. Battery-powered and energy harvesting devices like ABLOY PULSE generally consume much less energy than equivalent wired locks. We also see fast-growing demand for green building solutions and documentation, such as Environmental Performance Declarations (EPDs) which count towards several green certification schemes we support, including BREEAM, LEED, WELL and others.”
From next year, construction products in Europe will integrate the results from an EPD as part of the CE Marking process – and therefore, essential to sell a product or solution to the European market. Full implementation of the revised European Performance of Buildings Directive, from 2027, will enforce disclosure of carbon footprint of products via EPDs in the residential sector, too. From 2030, the same regulation requires all new-builds to declare total whole-life carbon, including embodied carbon. This mandate will most likely expand to apply to renovations from 2030 onwards.
4 Cyber/physical security
Another fast-evolving regulatory picture concerns cyber and hybrid physical/cyber security performance. This is a major focus for anyone upgrading or updating an existing digital access solution. The vast majority of 2025 survey respondents (84%) felt their organisation was either already compliant, or in the process of ensuring compliance, or that these regulations were not relevant to their situation.
“Cyber security is quickly becoming a regulated risk for companies, either directly or indirectly, requiring boards to address cyber-security risk management or risk civil and/or criminal penalties,” notes Cyber-Security Governance Expert Andy Watkin-Child of Veritas GRC in the report.
NIS2, for example, takes an “all-hazard” approach to security, which means protecting not just digital networks and systems, but also the physical environments in which they operate – the so-called “cyber–physical ecosystem”.
