Brivo's Access Control Solutions Enhance Physical Building Security

Commercial buildings are putting a strong emphasis on new, modern amenities that attract tenants, such as lounges and outdoor spaces. One feature that remains top of mind for landlords and tenants alike, however, is a reliable safety and security system.

Since about 25% of businesses saw an increase in security incidents last year, physical security, convenience and user experience have become even more important. 

Commercial tenants and their employees deserve to feel safe and secure with technology that is easy to use and supports their business objectives, said John Szczygiel, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Brivo, a mobile cloud-based access management company. 

For greater peace of mind, buildings must enhance their security measures, and the first step to achieve this is to adopt modern access control technologies.

“Access control systems can deliver value beyond opening doors,” Szczygiel said. “These systems have evolved to enable employees to safely work on any schedule while helping organizations automate security operations and analyze facility usage.”

Access control traditionally involved low-security physical access cards that could be easily lost or replicated. Over the past few years, however, this has evolved into digital credentials hosted on secure mobile platforms and face credentials derived from ID badge photos, Szczygiel said.

“Cloud, mobile and AI technologies have rapidly evolved physical security to be one of the most capable and widely used enterprise platforms we have today,” he said.

Szczygiel added that access control has been dubbed one of the greatest assets in today’s security industry. The access control market is expected to grow 8% annually over the next five years, according to Frost & Sullivan, and Brivo’s suite of cloud-based access control solutions is leading the charge. 

With Brivo Wallet Pass, employees and residents can receive their access credentials on their mobile devices such as Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and simply tap their phone by the door's access reader to gain access.

The mobile device is replacing the plastic badge to gain access to the building. This is especially useful as younger generations enter the workforce and expect a seamless and convenient user experience, Szczygiel said.

“Most everyone uses their mobile wallet,” he said. “A mobile credential enhances the experience even more.”

Tenants and residents aren’t the only ones who benefit from mobile-based access control, Szczygiel said. Facility administrators, property managers and landlords also reap the benefits of cloud-based access control technology. 

“These new developments are helping facility professionals automate access to their facilities while maintaining high visibility to what is happening,” Szczygiel said. “With Brivo Access, they gain a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on inside and outside their building, from anywhere, on any device, increasing their efficiency and addressing any events that could inconvenience or endanger their workforce.”

Brivo Access allows building administrators to remotely monitor what’s happening in a building or across properties, facilities or sites. They can create new users, suspend or reinstate credentials, set up door schedules, or lock and unlock doors with the click of a button. 

The Brivo Door Station also combines access control with facial recognition technology and a digital intercom. A person can easily open a door using their face as a biometric credential matched to their photo.

“Brivo Door Station is a hands-free experience that uses your face as a biometric credential,” Szczygiel said. “You can easily walk up and the door will unlock. It also supports traditional cards and Brivo Wallet Pass, along with providing a two-way intercom for guests.”

Administrators can also use Brivo’s Data Explorer tool to seamlessly analyze the data collected from their building’s access control system to identify potential security issues, create customer reports or improve business inefficiencies, he said. 

“Brivo uses AI to process access event data to uncover trends that can identify security risks or how much a building space is occupied and being utilized,” Szczygiel said.

Facility administrators and/or building owners can select the pace of modernizing their existing systems since Brivo Access supports many types of existing readers, credentials and control panels. The company’s solution couldn't come at a better time, Szczygiel said, as 40% of security professionals lack confidence in their current systems.

Due to Brivo’s extensive innovation in this field, Frost & Sullivan’s Frost Radar report has recognized the firm as a leader in access control solutions.

“Brivo captures a growth leadership position [in this analysis] due to its service to commercial realty and multitenant customers that seek access control solutions for multiple facilities,” the report says. “It manages high credential turnover while offering a seamless end-user experience, all at a more affordable price than traditional access control vendors.” 

Brivo Access already has Near-Field Communication, mobile access credentials and its own branded smart readers. However, “integration with biometric readers or vendors to integrate that capability into the portfolio” will be the next step forward for the firm. 

“Brivo's vision is to have physical security unified with an open platform to integrate other physical security systems and data,” Szczygiel said.

Review the full Frost & Sullivan report.

This article was produced in collaboration between Brivo and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.