SMART Access & identity 2024

MOBILE ACCESS CONTROL

SMART Security Solutions looks at the pros and cons of mobile credentials and their uptake in the market.

The promise of mobile credentials

W hile the use of cards and fobs as access biometrics (mainly fingerprint or facial) to replace cards, except in specific high-security installations. Today, we have another credential growing in popularity: mobile credentials. Mobile credentials take a different approach by installing the access ‘card’ onto a smartphone app, using NFC or Bluetooth to verify the user’s access credentials. While the uptake of mobile credentials has not been as swift as vendors would like, there is a greater drive to push these credentials out to market. Mobile credentials offer several advantages over traditional credentials, such as key cards and fobs; including convenience and security. These credentials can be managed, enabled or disabled with the click of a button, even from a smart device, making granting temporary access or removing it, simple and almost immediate. They can also be matched with the user’s biometrics on their device, adding automatic multi-factor authentication, while keeping the ingress and egress process simple. SMART Security Solutions approached three companies operating in sub-Saharan Africa and asked them to tell us about the current state of mobile credentials and how they see the market changing over the next year or two. Our questions went to: • Ilze Blignaut, Regional Sales Manager, HID Global. • John Lakin, Sales Director, sub-Saharan Africa, STid. control credentials are still widespread, some companies have chosen

• Walter Rautenbach, MD, neaMetrics (Suprema distributor in Africa).

whopping 94% of their customers will deploy mobile IDs.

SMART Security Solutions : What has your experience been of the uptake of mobile credentials locally? Will the use of these credentials grow significantly over the next few years, or are we still seeing other credentials claiming the majority of the market share? Blignaut: South Africans have embraced mobile technology, with more than 90% of the population owning a smartphone, according to the 2022 census. That, combined with shifting methods of work following the COVID-19 lockdown, saw an acceleration of digitisation across the board. For the security industry, the changing requirements of access control systems have been more dramatic than ever before. Digitisation has brought convenience and security closer, but hybrid work models have also added prominence to building efficiencies and contactless solutions. Our 2024 State of Security and Identity Report , published annually by HID at a global scale, clearly describes this trend. Customers state they are increasingly interested in using digital identities such as student IDs, employee badges, and other corporate credentials. The HID survey found that two-thirds of organisations (64%) reported some level of mobile ID deployment, with that number expected to increase to almost 80% within the next five years. Industry partners are optimistic in their outlook, stating that a

Lakin: The uptake of mobile credentials has been significant in the last few years, with forecasted growth expected to be exponential in the coming years. Increasing numbers of entrants into this market, beyond the traditional market leaders, is a sign of this interest proving too significant to ignore. They will still be the minority offering, with PVC remaining the most dominant product for a while longer. Still, mixed populations are likely to become more common as the older reader installations are upgraded with ‘mobile ready’ devices. Rautenbach: Currently, we provide mobile credentials to our clients not as a core service, but as an added measure of security and convenience instead of cards and expanding application reach. Measuring the uptake of mobile credentials should be done with care, depending on the application and provider. Specialist providers with mobile credentials as part of their core business surely have seen an increase in our mobile-centric society. The app offering in converging physical and logical security is one of the drivers for this growth. Shifting to mobile credentials makes sense, considering that you always carry your mobile with you, and it is not something you would likely lend to someone; it is, therefore, more convenient and secure. Looking at the local biometric access markets, not having to

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