The Truths About Access Control Systems Digitization

The mainstream conversation around digital transformation has been in play for more than three decades. Digital transformation for businesses began with the computerization of processes and, more recently, includes the Internet of Things (IoT), social media, mobility, cloud, augmented reality, big data, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs. Most industries have felt the massive impacts of digital transformation. For those that were at the beginning of this transformation, the pandemic has accelerated the impacts.

Following the Digital Footprints

As per Wikipedia, the definition of digital transformation is "the adoption of digital technology to transform services or businesses through replacing non-digital or manual processes with digital processes or replacing older digital technology with newer digital technology."

While researching this topic, I came across a robust  report, “72 Vital Digital Transformation Statistics: 2021/2022 Spending, Adoption, Analysis & Data” where FinancesOnline summarized statistics that relate to this third stage of cloud computing:

●    67% of companies said they were more advanced in using technology than their peers before the crisis, and 56% said they were the first movers to experiment with digital technologies (McKinsey)

●     In 2019, 51% of digital transformation efforts stem from growth opportunities. (Altimeter)

●     In 2018, 60% of executives say the Internet of Things will play a critical role in their digital business strategy. (IDC)

        ○     the leading technologies already implemented include big data/analytics (58%), mobile technology (59%), and APIs, and embeddable tech (40%).

●     In 2018, executives said that digital transformation's top benefits include improvement of operational efficiency (40%), faster time to market (36%), and meeting customer expectations (35%). (PTC)

        ○     less than 30% of technology vendors are active partners in organizations' digital transformation initiatives (PTC).

The good news? There is an enormous amount of opportunity in this third wave of cloud computing. The bad news? It was going time yesterday. If you believe you can't, or won't, or you take a "seen it and done it" approach to this transformation based on legacy mindsets, the changes will drastically impact you and your business negatively.

The security industry is not immune to the impacts of digital transformation, advancements in technology, or customer demands. We are amid this digital transformation, and the decisions organizations make right now centered around change and action will bring immediate results and set the company up for long-term success.

We have been somewhat, not shockingly, late to the game within the physical security industry when embracing and discussing its long and short-term impacts. We have had the luxury of keeping these conversations at a high level, with a macro point of view; but that has all changed. The fact that I am writing this article is a glaring example of how we have been asleep at the switch.

To be clear, it is my point of view that the security industry has been in the midst of a digital transformation for years and it is starting to feel, see, and deal with its actual impacts right now.

“But Lee, my business is growing, my customers are not asking for it, and when I read my favorite blog, I am not hearing about it. Seems like more of the same.”

I hear you and you are not wrong. What you are hearing and doing is true, but so is the point of view that it is happening. And here is why:

The Truths About Digital Transformation

Due to the specific period of transformation that we are in, market confusion is prevalent because two truths exist. This period is the definition of a phase change. Our two truths, the phase change, can be categorized as "the old" and "the new." It creates confusion because both truths exist and are genuine. You have old ways continuing (e.g., high security selling prox cards and hearing from their dealers and end-users that mobile is a fad) and new truths introducing themselves (e.g., independent software vendors, also known as ISVs, entering into the high-security market and being a viable channel for our industry. For instance, companies managing identity for enterprises).

The benefit of having two truths is that we as an industry get to work out this new normal being exercised. The bad news of having two truths is that it can create a false sense of confirmation bias where you start to believe your truths and even worse, have an echo chamber also confirm these for you (you hear this when people use the words won't and can't).

Before I get a finger pointed at me as someone who is trying to divide our industry, let me address a couple of things:

1. When I say "old," I do not mean "bad." When I say "old," I speak to the historical and traditional ways we've done things as an industry.
2. When I say "new," I do not mean "always good" or "better than." When I say "new," I speak about how we will do things as an industry.

I believe the most significant impact of these changes on our industry, both now and tomorrow, is the transmutation of our industry with a mix of old and new, called the "new normal." You hear the term "new normal" used a lot right now when people discuss what work and society will look like when we get on the other side of the pandemic. There are many similarities here. The pandemic has done many things, mostly terrible, but one of the most influential byproducts of the pandemic has been the acceleration in the adoption of new ways of doing things – especially in the security sector. At the same time, there has been the confirmation of some of the old ways - things that will either stay the same or have become augmented to be even better than they were prior to the pandemic. A good example is the movie industry - I believe that being able to watch newly released movies in my home at the same time as the movie is in theatres is an excellent blend of the old and new - ultimately giving the end-user, in this case, me, more choices to craft my experience.

Reality Will Drive “New” Truths

With all of that said, I do not believe we will throw out all the old and shepherd in only new. What I think more likely will happen is this:

• Some old truths will die and make way for new truths. For example, our only mission to keep bad people out by being restrictive and binary has forever been changed to also "letting the right people in." This fundamental shift in what we do as an industry challenges how we approach the market, the tools and systems being used, and the mindset needed to deliver for our customers.
• Some old truths will be augmented and made better by new truths. For example, visitor management was a sleepy technical add-on to most access control systems. Post pandemic, it has turned into a dynamic interface and is now more about workflow automation and an identity management solution. Another example is how the definition of safety has changed to include wellness. The changes described result in the increased dependency to apply new technology to old truths to deliver a satisfying solution. In short, most old technology cannot deliver on these new use cases, so you either need to iterate off of the old or innovate new.
• Some new ways are introduced as mainstream solutions, go-to-market strategies, or ways to do business—for example, account-based marketing and selling and access control as a feature of a more significant value proposition. These two new ways of doing business have yielded mainstream investments of more than $500 million, making this no longer a cottage industry focused only on high security. If you believe "it" won't, "it" can't, or that you've seen this before, I recommend revisiting that mindset. This fundamental shift is different.
• Some new ways are introduced but either need more time to marinate or may not come to be realized. A good example here is robotics, touchless solutions, and artificial intelligence at the edge are still being worked out. We are 100% better than yesterday, but there is still work that needs to get done.

 For end-users and integrators, I recommend you do the following:

• Challenge yourself to use this pandemic as an opportunity to change your approach, conversations, expectations, partnerships, talent, and technology solutions. Don’t fall victim to the belief that you’ve seen this before and it too shall pass. Chances are, what you selected, installed, and set up five years ago is outdated and not going to meet the new     use-cases you have. If your partners or sources of expertise are telling you all the ways you can’t, are using yesterday or even today feedback as the compass to where the market is going, and you feel as though you are getting bad advice, trust your instincts.
• Look forward to where the market is going. While the security industry is doing its best to catch up to cloud computing, the rest of the enterprise technology world has already shifted to a multi-tech architecture that includes onsite, at the edge, and in the cloud computing and is focused on the value creation part of the business. Our industry will follow suit here. We have reached a point where it is no longer about architecture. It is about what the architectures do to support the use cases and needs you have as well as the value they create.

        I would stop having architecture conversations and start having conversations about what you want your systems to do. Then match the architecture that         makes sense to support it. But do not stop there. Look for hardware solutions that support software and choose more dynamic solutions that go beyond         the single note for yesterday's needs. It is a lot easier to change your software and adjust support to a changing environment if your key features are not         reliant on the hardware type.

• Consider resetting the expectations of the type of work you do as a security integrator and as an end-user the work you are looking for your security integrator to do. The scope of work a security integrator is being asked to deliver is changing along with the digital transformation. Gartner predicts that 85% of large organizations will engage external service providers to migrate applications to the cloud (up from 43% in 2019). As Chris Barbin states in his eBook, “[those that will lead the third wave] will also need to possess different skill sets, go-to-market strategies and labor and delivery models that fit this new digital era.”

Summing It All Up

I personally feel it is impossible to argue that things are not changing. The more productive conversation is around what impacts are the changes having and a discussion around the timing of changes. Then we can talk about what to do about it. The pandemic only accelerated what was happening up to 2019, why not also accelerate our conversations?

What side of this transformation are you going to be on? The one where it happens to you or the one where you help make it happen? I am choosing to embrace the change and am doing my best to help make it happen. I feel that when the dust settles that will be the right side of history.