As demands for security, cost-efficiency, and regulatory compliance intensify, building managers are turning towards smarter digital access solutions.
A recent whitepaper delves into how programmable keys and compatible cylinders can aid facility managers in handling access management efficiently in a fast-changing environment.
Flexible access management needs
With organisations rapidly scaling or reducing operations and acquiring new sites, flexible access management by facility managers is essential. The rise in service contracting necessitates that third-party providers have secure access to perform essential tasks.
Concurrently, new security solutions must justify their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by offering tangible Returns on Investment (ROI).
Challenges in security and access control
The traditional mechanical locking systems struggle to keep pace with the dynamic demands of various sectors. Compounding these challenges are increasing physical and cyber threats, alongside stringent regulations such as the EU’s NIS2 guidance and the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
Compliance with these complex laws is crucial, particularly in sectors significantly impacted by NIS2 obligations, like infrastructure, finance, healthcare, and ICT facilities.
Advantages of programmable key access
ASSA ABLOY’s CLIQ system enables personalised access rights tailored to specific authority levelsMechanical keys are familiar, yet digital solutions present advantages such as allowing time-specific access permissions that can be easily modified. Digital credentials, like smart keys, can be reprogrammed swiftly, minimising security risks associated with lost keys and the costs tied to altering locks.
Digital systems also connect different safety functions, enhancing user safety.
Benefits of a smart key system
“Of course, switching from mechanical to digital access management is not as simple as flicking a switch,” remarks Jochen Wizemann, Head of Business Development for Key-based Digital Cylinders at ASSA ABLOY. He notes that budget constraints often require a gradual implementation of digital systems.
A programmable smart key system facilitates this transition, enhancing access management flexibility across organisations without structural alterations.
Implementing ASSA ABLOY’s CLIQ solution
ASSA ABLOY’s CLIQ system enables personalised access rights tailored to specific authority levels. It generates straightforward audit trails, streamlining compliance with regulations such as NIS2 and CRA. The CLIQ ecosystem, comprising various cylinder and padlock types, can address diverse access needs.
“Adaptability, scalability, security, convenience, and trust are just some of the reasons CLIQ is embraced in demanding environments,” adds Jochen Wizemann. Renowned organisations, including the London Ambulance Service and Amsterdam’s World Trade Center, trust CLIQ for secure access management. As demonstrated in the whitepaper, CLIQ offers reliable security and a measurable ROI, accompanied by practical advice for transitioning from mechanical systems.
Ease of use with CLIQ systems
Operating CLIQ systems is straightforward: users insert programmable CLIQ keys into cylinders, granting access if authorised. Administering keys with access rights is simple through CLIQ’s software, allowing updates via remote updater or Bluetooth®. The system requires no wiring or structural changes and is powered by a long-life battery.
CLIQ's software options cater to varied management needs: CLIQ Local Manager for PCs, CLIQ Web Manager for online access, and the CLIQ Go app for small businesses, ensuring a seamless transition to secure digital access control.
Security, cost-management, and compliance demands placed on building managers have grown significantly.
The key to meeting them all without increasing workload and costs could be the strategic implementation of smarter digital access, as a new whitepaper explores.
Facility managers to manage access of locations
As organisations upscale, downsize or onboard new locations faster than ever, facilities managers must be able to manage access flexibly and to adapt on the fly. The boom in service contracting means many essential building functions are now handled by third-party providers rather than employees: they need access to complete their work while keeping the premises secure.
At the same time, new access and security solutions must battle for budget and justify their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), producing real Returns on Investment (ROI) in the process.
Security and access management
Mechanical locking was never designed for this kind of demanding, dynamic environment. Yet it is becoming the ‘new normal’ in many sectors.
In addition, physical, cyber and ‘hybrid’ physical-cyber security threats loom larger than ever, as do strict regulations designed to protect critical sectors from these threats, including the EU’s NIS2 guidance and forthcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)1. Clearly, compliance within a complex regulatory landscape and the implementation of joined-up security and access management are critical challenges, particularly in sectors on which NIS2 obligations fall most heavily: infrastructure, finance/banking, healthcare, energy, transport, and ICT sites such as data centres.
Programmable key access management
One valued benefit of the mechanical key is its familiarity. In many cases, a mechanical locking system with patent-protected cylinders and keys may be the appropriate solution. However, unlike mechanical security, a digital solution offers the ability to allocate time-based rather than blanket access authorisations, and to amend them quickly and flexibly.
A digital credential, such as a smart key, can be programmed or de-authorised in seconds, negating the threat of a lost key in circulation, not to mention the cost of changing cylinders and re-keying. The ability for building technology to connect solutions for access, fire protection and escape routes, for example, may also enhance user safety and facilities management.
With a digital solution, audit capability is automated for each lock and user, benefitting compliance efforts; manual access tracking with mechanical keys is either time-consuming or, in many cases, impossible. Tracking and tracing access is one requirement of NIS2 regulations.
Smart key system
“Of course, switching from mechanical to digital access management is not as simple as flicking a switch,” says Jochen Wizemann, Head of Business Development for Key-based Digital Cylinders at ASSA ABLOY. “Many organisations have large systems which they cannot change all at once, so digital systems must be scalable gradually over time as budgets allow. The right programmable smart key system can offer this.”
Smart key systems are the fastest, least disruptive way to switch mechanical security for intelligent digital access. They immediately upgrade the flexibility of access management in organisations of every size and type. Electronic or electromechanical locking cylinders simply slot into place instead of the legacy mechanical devices, without door damage or wiring. Intuitive software and programmable digital keys issued to authorised site users gives facilities management teams granular control over the movements of staff and contractors.
The major advantages of ASSA ABLOY CLIQ®
With a key-based digital access management system like ASSA ABLOY’s CLIQ solution, it becomes straightforward to grant access rights which are personalised to an individual’s precise needs and level of authority. Because every access event is logged by the system, audit trails can be generated with a few clicks in the software control panel – streamlining compliance obligations with the latest generation of regulations such as NIS2 and the CRA. The CLIQ ecosystem includes more than 60 different cylinder and padlock types, ensuring almost any need can be met with a CLIQ solution.
“Adaptability, scalability, security, convenience and trust are just some of the reasons CLIQ has been adopted in some of the most demanding environments for access management,” adds Jochen Wizemann. “CLIQ is trusted to manage access and protect secure spaces by the London Ambulance Service, at Düsseldorf’s 55,000-capacity stadium, at sensitive and dispersed water and electricity utilities sites, in Amsterdam’s World Trade Center, and at small offices, hospitals and schools all over Europe. It provides reliable, flexible security and can deliver a concrete ROI, as modelling in the new whitepaper illustrates, alongside advice and checklists for decision-makers looking to upgrade from mechanical to digital access management.”
How to use CLIQ systems
CLIQ systems are simple for everyone. A user inserts their programmable CLIQ key into a cylinder. If the key is authorised, the lock opens. CLIQ is equally easy to administer. To programme a key with access rights, to a door or group of openings, takes a few clicks in the software.
Update and revalidate the key using a remote updater or the optional Bluetooth® functionality, and it is ready to use. Because the power is inside every key – a single, standard battery with a lifetime of up to 10 years for standard user keys – there is no wiring or broken walls during installation, and no expensive mains electricity consumed during operation.
With a choice of software for managing on a local PC (CLIQ Local Manager) or online from anywhere (CLIQ Web Manager), plus the CLIQ Go app for small businesses who wish to manage access for themselves, CLIQ simplifies the switch from mechanical to flexible, secure digital access almost anywhere.
