Farpointe Data, Inc. - Experts & Thought Leaders

Connected Technologies is partnering with Farpointe Data, San Jose, California, expanding Apple and Google Wallet credential support to include CONEKT® mobile-ready readers - delivering a solution that’s more cost-effective than most other NFC wallet providers. Mobile access control is becoming ubiquitous with secure physical identity management. The Connect ONE® wallet card solution utilises the phone’s native wallet app to help dealers migrate users to mobile credentials. NFC access badges “Going beyond just a competitive cost, Connected Technologies' integration with Farpointe's CloudCONEKT® benefits security integrators by deploying NFC access badges – Apple and Google, to end-users with a simple, quick, and repeatable solution that requires minimal planning,” said Francisco Alcala, North American Sales Manager, Farpointe Data. Connect ONE’s unified, intelligent cloud platform eliminates app downloads and physical badges. Wallet cards can be dealer-branded, so every access user sees the dealer’s company name/logo every time they use their credential. Existing customer infrastructure “Mobile credentials offer dealers a highly desirable way to attract and maintain customers while supporting new RMR opportunities,” said Dan Simon, Technical Director, Connected Technologies. “The partnership will enhance and expand the possibilities for dealers to deploy mobile credentials across a growing range of readers and manufacturers.” Connect ONE’s NFC Wallet Cards work with any access control system, preserving the existing customer infrastructure. With Connect ONE, dealers are not locked into a single reader manufacturer, giving them the flexibility to choose the reader that’s the best fit for the application. Connect ONE integrates with existing infrastructure to enhance capabilities without costly replacements, unifying access, video, intrusion, fire, and environmental systems into a single platform that improves visibility and streamlines operations.

Smart R Distribution has appointed Mark Russen as the Business Development Manager for its extensive range of Access Control and Intruder Detection Solutions.   Extensive work experience  Mark Russen, who has worked within the electronic security industry since 1986, is a highly experienced sales professional who has performed senior sales management roles for some of the biggest names within the sector. These include Europlex Technologies, Siemens Security Products, and Vanderbilt, (recently re-branded as Acre Security), where he provided national and international sales support for the distribution channel and key accounts.   Intruder detection “Our sales of access control systems have consistently grown year on year and with the addition of carefully selected Intruder Detection products to our product line the time is now right for us to employ a dedicated Business Development Manager to ensure we continue to offer the highest levels of pre-sales support,” said Neill Williams, Director of Smart R Distribution. He adds, “We are therefore delighted to welcome Mark to our team and we look forward to putting his experience and extensive product knowledge to very good use.” Roles and responsbilites Mark will be responsible for developing relationships with existing and potential customers Mark will be responsible for developing relationships with existing and potential customers in the process. This will help them grow their businesses by identifying new sales opportunities for the Access Control and Intruder Detection solutions supported by Smart R Distribution, including those from manufacturers such as ACT, ACRE, Authenticard, Comelit-PAC, Dahua, Farpointe Data, Fermax, HID, Intratone, Safetrust and STiD.  Advantages of the innovative technology  “I am excited to be joining a distribution company that has such an enviable reputation for its sales, logistical, and technical support,” said Mark Russen. He adds, “I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the company’s ongoing success by helping installers and system integrators ‘put the right pieces together’ and take full advantage of the innovative technology built into the very latest generation of products and systems.”

Connected Technologies LLC, maker of the award-winning Connect ONE® cloud management platform, is celebrating its 15th year in business – attributing its ongoing success and continually evolving product to listening to its dealers and bringing valuable services to their customers. Co-founded in 2008 by Managing Partners Mike Simon and Dan Simon, the father-son duo set out to develop an interface that would allow dealers to grow their recurring monthly revenue (RMR) while providing services to encompass as many projects as possible – from residential to an industrial manufacturing plant and everything in-between. Multiple streams of information Connect ONE offers intrusion, access control, video surveillance, weather and environmental monitoring, energy management and fire alarm reporting, leveraged through one platform and a single interface. As part of the anniversary and its goal to continue to add services, the company released a fresh new look As part of the anniversary and its goal to continue to add services, the company released a fresh new look, design and tagline – Unified Intelligence™. Connect ONE today brings actionable information, i.e., intelligence from multiple sites and systems, unifying it into one simple-to-use interface. “When you consider the Connect ONE platform which analyses multiple streams of information and joins them together, the best way to describe the outcome of this process is unified intelligence,” said Dan Simon, Managing Partner. Mobile access control Dan Simon adds, “In other words, one interface that brings together multiple technologies so that users can make informed decisions about the people and facilities they manage. Going forward our goal is to continue to bolster the unified intelligence principle and provide even more value for dealers and their customers to support their efforts in managing the safety and efficiency of their buildings.” Connected Technologies also believes in continually evolving its product as dealers’ needs change – and will continue that mission. For example, most recently it rolled out an integration with Bluetooth-reader based Conekt mobile credential by Farpointe Data. In addition, it often collaborates with the dealer on new features and capabilities. In one recent example the company developed a task integration feature for mobile access control for marinas to use with boat slip renters. Frictionless entrance control Connect ONE works with Bosch B and G, DMP XR/XT, ELK M1 and Honeywell Vista Turbo security and access control panels. It also integrates with ASSA ABLOY Aperio® wireless locks as well as Digital Watchdog, OpenEye, ExacqVision, Eagle Eye Networks and Hanwha video technologies – plus many other supporting products and services.  With the Safe Passage module for access control user authorisation and ScanPass® mobile credential for frictionless entrance control, dealers and their customers have the latest services to manage multiple locations through a single Connect ONE user interface. “I’m excited about our ongoing transformation from access control to all these different services that dealers can use to increase their customer base,” says Mike Simon, Managing Partner, adding “We knew that dealers needed to offer more than just security and started down our path of helping make dealers more profitable through easy add-on services. Having information and intelligence on their buildings is important to our dealers and their customers. Customers need knowledge of their facility and its activities through reports and other data so they can keep their buildings safe and secure.”

Supply chain issues have plagued the economic recovery during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the problems show every indication of persisting for months or even years to come. Supply chain challenges have impacted the security marketplace in many ways, reflecting the breadth and variety of products needed to secure people, facilities, and assets. Wondering about the specifics of that impact, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How does disruption of the global supply chain of components impact players across the security industry?

There is a broad appeal to the idea of using a smartphone or wearable device as a credential for physical access control systems. Smartphones already perform a range of tasks that extend beyond making a phone call. Shouldn’t opening the door at a workplace be among them? It’s a simple idea, but there are obstacles for the industry to get there from here. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the challenges and benefits of mobile access control solutions? 

In the past few weeks, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel has brightened, providing new levels of hope that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Dare we now consider what life will be like after the pandemic is over? Considering the possible impact on our industry, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Which security technologies will be most useful in a post-pandemic world?