Access Control Executive Brief #47

Welcome to Brief 47, a grab bag of thoughts and updates. I start with the updates on all the activations we have going on right now and then share my thoughts on Genetec, why I think the future of the industry will be data drive and asset-light companies, a discussion around the idea that we are already at peak cloud, and that have entered in a period of noise around "channel centricity" and "proprietary vs. non-proprietary."

Since that is a lot, I will get right into it.

As always…If, for any reason, I am not meeting your expectations, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you!

PS: I am sure some of you may forward this on but please do so sparingly and encourage others to sign up here. Thank you!

ACS24 Europe to Take Place in Zurich in Collaboration with Google

As announced in Brief 46 on February 20, we are excited to announce that ACS24 Europe will be taking place in Zurich on 5/29 (networking reception at night) and 5/30 (all-day conference) in collaboration and hosted by Google. Building off of ACS23, which was in October in Washington DC, where we had 166 executives from all over the globe join us, we can't wait to bring this executive-level thought leadership summit to Europe and focus it on the "power of the ecosystem."

Please let me know if you are interested in speaking at the event or attending. There will be a combination of 1:1 fireside chats and panels discussing various topics focused on today and tomorrow of the access control and smart lock industry. There is no other event like this, and you want to attend.

For more information or to sign up, please go to the landing page for the event here. Again, please get in touch with me directly if you or your leadership team are interested in speaking. I am actively putting the agenda together as we speak. There are limited speaking spots and only 250 tickets, so act fast.

ACS at MIPIM: Ecosystem Breakfast cohosted with Brivo on 3/14 at 8am

If you will be at MIPIM (Europe's largest real estate show) in Cannes, France, and free on 3/14 at 8 am, please let me know as we will be cohosting an ecosystem breakfast at the same fantastic beachfront spot we did last year. We have 30 spots available and are at 32 RSVPs right now 😊. I am happy to open up more space for those interested. Here is the link to register.

SIAcademy on Access Control Modalities Deep Dive, March 5-21, 2024 (Tuesdays/Thursdays 3:00–4:00 pm ET)

The Security Industry Association (US), aka SIA, asked us to help organize a virtual series they call SIAcademy LIVE! The series is on Access Control Modalities Deep Dive and will dive deeply into identity management, credential issuance, mobile applications, and choices surrounding access control system (ACS) technologies.

This live, online program is a great way to learn about new developments and capabilities in ACS, as well as scalability considerations and deployment challenges to discuss with your clients and channel partners. Per SIA, "We recognize how busy security integrators are nowadays, so we record each session for added convenience. If you cannot attend the live discussion, you'll have access to the recording OnDemand for 90 days." To sign up, please use the discount code "ACS2024" to receive $50 off registration!

Registration: https://mysia.securityindustry.org/Meetings/Meeting.aspx?ID=17304

Series Info:

Dates: March 5-21, 2024 (Tuesdays/Thursdays, 3:00–4:00 pm3:00–4:00 pm ET)
Individual Access: $199 SIA member/ $299 non-member
Corporate Access: Contact education@securityindustry.org

ACS at ISC West: ACS Quest + In Booth Activations

ACS Quest: Get ready for a unique experience at ISC West! ACS Quest is not your ordinary scavenger hunt, as we highlight companies, people, and the community within the access control and smart lock industry. We've limited the "hunters" to 500 people, engaged with industry influencers and manufacturers, and offered real prizes and engagement like never before. Our top prizes are $25,000 💰 🤑 😎 for the winners on Wednesday and another $25,000 💰 🤑 😎 on Thursday. Want to be a hunter and have a chance to win? Sign up now using the link here and be the first to complete the tasks. The info is https://www.leeodess.com/acsquest if you or your company want to join as a sponsor to drive engagement at ISC West. The more companies that sign up, the bigger the cash prizes get. To be clear, you do not need a booth to sponsor. The ACS Quest is open to anyone there, as we can set up challenges for "hunters" to find you on the show floor, at a partner booth, or in a suite.

In Booth Activations: We are partnering with acre security, Genea Security, LiftMaster, and ZKTECO USA to deliver a new style of activation within their booths during ISC West, and you are invited to come check it out and engage in the discussions. Inspired by the dynamic styles of ESPN and Squawk on the Street, ACS at ISC West breaks away from other traditional activations. Over two days, the pop-up will showcase exclusive interviews and discussions in ten-minute blocks, featuring insights from prominent industry figures, thought leaders, and innovators, the company says. These discussions range from intimate one-to-one conversations to enlightening panel sessions, offering diverse perspectives on crucial industry topics. Attendees can participate in conversations, engage in Q&A sessions, and partake in giveaways. This experience aims to cultivate meaningful connections and encourages knowledge exchange within the access control community. Here is what to expect on Wednesday and Thursday (panel names and speakers to come shortly):

Thursday, April 11
- Genea Security booth from 11 am - 1 pm
- Liftmaster booth from 2 pm - 4 pm
Thursday, April 11
- acre security booth from 11 am - 1 pm
- ZKTECO USA from 2 pm - 4 pm

AI Crash Course with Ed Tech Leader Section

Everyone is talking about AI (everyone), and it can be daunting to grasp it completely, so I went to Section, a leading online ed tech company founded by Scott Galloway, and worked out a deal with them for the security industry. Here are the details.

GET CONFIDENT IN GENERATIVE AI IN 10 DAYS

AI can be overwhelming. We make it simple. Join our 10-day AI Crash Course, and leave with the confidence and skills to implement AI in your work immediately.

‍

We've partnered with Access Control Executive Brief founder Lee Odess to bring this course to you at a discount. Use code LEE at checkout for $100 off.

The Forum at The Security Event in Birmingham

We partnered with The Security Event, held April 30 - May 2 in Birmingham (UK), to activate The Forum. The Forum is a thought leadership pavilion hosting over 25 companies and 30 discussions on various topics. You can find the full schedule, topics, and presenters here.

Companies participating are IDCube, Tapkey, ISEO, Galaxy Systems, acre security Syngaurd, CoreWillSoft, Touch2Access, Sharry, STiD, ILOQ, Comelit, Honeywell, Keynetics, Wavelynx, Gallagher, AMAG, Suprema, Hivewatch, and HID.

We are taking a different approach to presenting ideas and discussions. We broke down the topics into five different formats:

Trends: Innovative Approaches to Presenting Industry-Impacting Trends
Vertical Market Discussions Conventional approach to addressing particular industry verticals
State Your Claim: Introducing a new format: presenters will have 2 minutes to state their claim on controversial industry-related topics. This unfiltered insight into leading manufacturers' views will shape the industry for tomorrow. Attendees' views will be collected and shared in a cohesive report after the show.
Your POV & Live Poll: Presenters will have 2 minutes to express their views on a topic in the new format. This will provide attendees with unfiltered insights into how leading manufacturers perceive controversial issues affecting the industry today and shaping it for the future. At the end, attendees will vote for the presenter they believe best conveyed their point of view.
Position Paper Live In the new format, presenters will use a previously published position paper as a foundation to develop their perspective on the topic. Subsequently, the position paper will be updated to incorporate the shared views.

Topics will include:

AI in Access Control and Smart Locks: Today's Innovations and Applications for Tomorrow's Future
Vertical Discussion:
- Industrial Vertical
- Critical Infrastructure Vertical
- Commercial Real Estate Vertical
- Hospitality Vertical
- Residential Vertical
- High-Security Government and Federal Vertical
- Retail Vertical
- Education Vertical
Merging Horizons: Are Video Surveillance and Access Control Now Indistinguishable?
Integrating Access Control: Enhancing Business Operations with Digital Keys, Companion Apps, and Add-Ons
Is going direct to customers by manufacturers good or bad? A case and a conversation on both.
State Your Claim:
- Convince Us Why Proprietary or Non-Proprietary is Better
- What defines the new enterprise in access control system?
- Balancing Security and User Experience in Physical Access Control Systems: Challenges and Best Practices
- What Modality Will Win and Where - cards, mobile, biometrics, etc?
Breaking Barriers: Advancing Inclusion in the Physical Access Control Industry
Your POV & Live Poll: Is Cloud, Onsite, or Hybrid architecture better? Why?
Establishing and Maintaining a Robust Cybersecurity Framework: Strategies for Enterprise Security Excellence
Are Visitor Management and Access Control One in the Same?
Position Paper "Live": Your Thoughts and Why a Power Shift is Happening Right Now in the Global Access Control Market
Optimizing Security and Communication: Strategies for Efficient, Scalable, and Integrated Access Control Systems
State of Digital Credential Market Adoption in the UK and Surrounding Areas

Designed by the industry for the industry, The Security Event returns to the Birmingham NEC from April 30 - May 2, 2024, reuniting manufacturers, distributors, installers, integrators, consultants, and end users.

The exhibition will showcase the world's leading security brands, offering you the best opportunity to source the latest products, technologies, and solutions while networking and meeting with key experts from across the industry. Ensure you're up-to-date with the latest developments and issues in security via our comprehensive education program.

ACS101 Course Development

Access Control Executive Brief members collaborate weekly to develop the industry's first 2-week Access Control 101 education sprint. Through 12 planned modules and weekly 1 hour webinars, the members want to bring a highly effective and non-influenced primer course for everyone and anyone looking to enter the access control industry. We hold weekly calls on Fridays and work together in shared docs, Miro boards, and Slack to create this curriculum. If you want to contribute, please message me and join us on Slack at channel #acs101. Thank you to the following members who have contributed so far.

Genetec and Their Big News, Peak Cloud, "Channel Centricity," "Proprietary vs. Non-Proprietary," and a Leadership Opportunity

Last week, Genetec introduced their "Enterprise-Grade, Unified, SaaS Solution" called Security Center SaaS, and they state that it "redefines the possibilities for cloud-based physical security." I had the opportunity to get a preview, and here is my biggest takeaway:

Is it cloud, cloud-ready, or onsite? The release is about going Hybrid. As many already know, Genetec has historically focused on extensive onsite systems. This update introduces a cloud-based solution and the middleware components to bring their onsite systems to the cloud. The biggest takeaway about the architecture is that they have introduced all of the architectures, allowing the channel and, subsequently, customers to choose the best solution for the use case they have at hand. And I am here for it. This announcement is why I declare that we have reached "peak cloud." It is time to move on to hybrid systems solution-based selling and talk about the value your systems deliver, not that you have something that most progressive companies have already and where the marketing of these systems gives the "wait…you didn't have this already?" vibes to anyone who has been paying attention to our industry for the past two years and further on. We wouldn't be talking about this if our industry was not so behind and coming from the onsite system world. Just because you got it doesn't mean you can now claim it like you invented it. Instead, note it and then talk about all you can do with it because chances are, with how technology works and the fact that yours is relatively new, you have probably included some newer functionality or configuration that can help separate your system from the 50 others that have had cloud architecture for years. That's what I like about this offering from Genetec - the ability to bring already installed systems up to the cloud and add on cloud-only systems, all under one user interface. The release is well thought out, robust, and done with scale in mind.
On "done with scale in mind," is Genetec's new offering built for scale? 100% yes. They showed me the specs, and we discussed the architecture; they built this with the enterprise customer in mind, which has many locations, users, needs, and functionality. The converged solution of access, burglar, video, and more under one single pane of glass is impressive. They showed some advanced features leveraging AI to help with natural language queries, and I was impressed.
Downmarket to SMB? This is overstated. You can tell in how Genetec worded their announcement and presented the system that there is self-awareness that their system is complicated for dealers and customers alike when they try to go down the market. Now, I give them credit for leveraging the benefits and functionality of cloud-based systems regarding configuration, setup, and maintenance. However, those advancements still don't make the system more accessible to the SMB market. Why? Because the SMB market needs systems built for it. Genetec is still a large, horizontally focused system for high security with a channel focused on serving that market. It does not have specific functionality, deep vertical experiences, or the channel to support it. They could have what a buyer in the SMB wants - lightweight, significant impact, cost-effective, and trust and comfort. It can grow as they need. They need it to balance capex vs opex. This walks and sounds like a duck but is not a duck. This is an enterprise-grade hybrid system that is formidable and built for scale.
Channel-centric? And on being channel-centric. Can we all please stop? Here is what I wrote on Linkedin about this topic. As an industry, our messaging needs to be much more sophisticated. As an industry, we're losing the communication battle by promoting statements that are "channel-centric." [let's get ahead of this before everyone says it at ISC West, please] We may think we're winning because it feels right, but it's an ineffective message. It misses the point. It's only trying to play into an emotional sentiment, primarily all sugar 🍭 and no protein 🥩. In other words, it plays well internally but falls flat externally to the people we're trying to move most. The channel wants to know (more; they want to see and feel) what value we're bringing them, how we're helping their business, and that we have their back. They want to know that we'll team with them, help them and that they can make money with our product. Trying to distinguish between [we think] "we are" and "they are not" without clearly communicating the value we're bringing and putting the resources behind the action lacks sophistication. Why? Because everyone is messaging it, and when everyone is messaging it, no one is hearing it. Secondly, most of you haven't implemented it with resources and made your channel programs effective (transactional). As an industry, we can collectively do better. Let's communicate the value and tactics to prove you are "customer-centric." Let's invest in their business as much as we're investing in our own, and let's show them that we're on their side. You are in a crowded room screaming the same message at the market. This post is not about one specific company but all companies in the access control industry. Yes, this was triggered by the 800 inbound messages I got about Genetec's press release yesterday. It is also because all of you are running around saying, "We are customer-centric" and "They are not," versus clearly defining what that means and putting action behind a bunch of words. Whether you are trying to defend your channel strategy vs Genetec, Verkada, ProdataKey, Avigilon Alta, formerly Openpath Security Inc./Motorola Solutions, LenelS2, Genea Security, Brivo, or more, or whether you are one of those companies yourself, we are missing the point.
Proprietary vs Non-Proprietary? This conversation is good and worthwhile. We need to have this more, but not in a "you are bad, I am good" way. There are positives and negatives for all, and the market should decide on what is best for their use case. Companies need to be open and honest about things like lock-in (most are honest), but there is a market for both. Let the best product win. This conversation is not just an access control conversation. This conversation is a mainstream conversation that looks like iOS vs Android.

All in all, this is great. I am impressed with what and how Genetec built the system for the enterprise. What needs work has more to do with Genetec's imagination and the art of the possible than anything. They are falling victim to their past success and looking at all this new as incremental to their current business. Hopefully, the go-to-market and marketing innovations will catch up to the product and technology innovations.

The Future of the Industry: Why Data-Driven, Asset-Light Companies Will Lead

I know we talk a lot about security, but I believe the future belongs to two types of companies in our industry:

Software and data companies that can scale using AI and
and those that operate with asset-light models.

Here is why these two types of companies are positioned to become the next industry juggernauts.

Software and data companies that can scale using AI

The first major shift involves the increasing prominence of artificial intelligence (AI). Companies that leverage software and data are well-positioned to explode in this new landscape. AI allows these companies to create substantial productivity and operational efficiencies and deliver increased security/safety. AI can process and analyze vast amounts of data in ways humans can't match. It can identify patterns and predict trends, enabling businesses to make more informed decisions.

Furthermore, AI can automate routine tasks, freeing employees to focus on more strategic, high-value work or, in other words, exponential value in real-time. Companies like Brivo, Kisi, Kastle, IDCube, acre security (Feenics), and Openpath have a clear advantage: they have years of data and are primed to leverage AI effectively. And why newer companies like Genea, Parakey, Swiftlane, NineID, SwiftConnect, Soloinsight, Sharry, Cohesion, etc (there are more, and I apologize for not mentioning you here. I will do my best to capture them all) can scale in a different pace than we have seen in the past. Their current and future extensive data sets provide the raw material AI needs to deliver valuable insights and drive performance improvements.

The areas we see in mainstream media and online are overhyped, like chatbots, but we must be careful for two reasons. First, at the speed at which things are changing, overhyped today is OpenAI releasing their new video to text (Sora) tomorrow. The progression and speed are wild. People doing stupid or cute things online doesn't mean all AI is overhyped. It just means people are doing stupid and cute things. What is stupid and cute to one person is approachable to another. Second, there are many "under the water" applications that I (we) don't even know are happening that have broader and more profound impacts. Like biometrics, the problem here is that the belief of what AI is by the broad market is different than the broad applications of it. Our industry broadly is wobbly right now on AI because it's moving fast, and many people have just come around to the cloud. I can imagine many boardrooms saying, "Ugh, I just got approval to prioritize SaaS and Cloud, and now I am supposed to understand, hire, prioritize, deprioritize, etc., towards AI??? But what about Big Data, frictionless, seamless, etc." That said, some companies are applying it with actual value creation (I met with Steve Van Till, and he discussed real applications of it within their product or check out Ambient.ai).

If you were data-centric from day 1, you have a clear advantage. The more extended companies wait to be data-centric, the more they are disadvantaged. It doesn't mean they can't catch up; it just means others have an opportunity to fill the gap and grow. This is why larger entities like Genetec, Honeywell, Nedap, Paxton, Tyco, LenelS2, AMAG, etc, need to move even faster in cloud and data-based systems.

This wobbliness is also why I pursued the partnership with Section on their 10-day AI Crash Course (see above). This is also why I want to do a position paper on value creation with AI in access control, and it is why it will be a significant topic at ACS24 in Europe. My point on AI has more to do with data than with AI. Companies with a ton of data already will be able to show more immediate value than those needing to gather their data over time.

The Emergence of Asset-Light Companies (what we call PSIMs historically)

The second major industry shift involves the rise of asset-light companies. These companies don't do the heavy lifting; instead, they put the software on top of the heavy lifting. They are the Ubers of our industry. An asset-light company doesn't own or deal with hard assets (like manufacturing facilities, warehouses, or hardware) traditionally required to produce its goods or services. Instead, it focuses on accessing and providing the software or services that run on top of these physical assets (historical PSIMs but on steroids). This approach can lead to lower capital expenditures and operational costs, making these companies more agile and scalable.

For example, our industry will always have the Mercurys and Wavelynxs that allow software-specific companies to do what they do (like it's always been with most PACs historically). The bigger problem the pandemic showed us is that we may need more hardware companies to support the software companies.

I have also heard some pushback on this idea because there is a much lower barrier to entry. But I see it as a positive, not a negative. The low barrier of entry means you need to be good at what you do, as well as the need to market and drive demand. This need to drive demand is why I am not one to advocate that doing business development directly to end users is bad. You need a blend of direct + channel to capture the genuine market opportunity. The lower barrier of entry also means that competition will likely be high, which is a win for customers and end users. It keeps the industry honest and on its toes, versus our historical process of digging in our heels when it comes to innovation.

Long and short, the industry's future belongs to companies that can harness the power of AI (using data) and operate with an asset-light model. These companies are primely positioned to reap the benefits of these major industry shifts and lead the way into the future.