Impro Technologies launches new Access Portal
April 2014, News

Impro Technologies is one of South Africa’s leading manufacturers of access control and product identification systems. The company recently launched Access Portal, a new Web-based access control system, and embarked on a series of nationwide road shows to promote the launch.

The next generation road show crisscrossed the country to introduce Access Portal. Launch events were held at top class venues in a conference style set up, providing the ideal setting to introduce the new access control system to the market. The presentations were personally given by top management and Impro directors, with live demonstrations.

The audience had a chance to go in-depth into the system and have questions answered directly by Impro. At each session there was an opportunity to get a walkthrough, and play with the Access Portal software, which has been designed on browser based technology and specifically with the user in mind.

At the Impro event at La Toscana, Montecasino, the guest speaker was Adrian Saville, chief investment officer and owner of Canon Asset Managers, who gave an enlightening talk assessing South Africa’s economic, social and competitive prospects.

Seen at the Access Portal launch, from l: Shawn Clements, technical sales consultant; Gary Robinson, technical sales consultant; Deirdre Martins, internal sales consultant; Adrian Saville, owner, Canon Asset Management; Linda Glieman, general manager Africa; Retha Nieuwoudt, training manager; Barry East, sales and marketing director.

Barry East, sales and marketing director, then gave an overview of the Access Portal. Designed and manufactured at Impro’s Durban factory, this next generation of access control products is a Web-based access control system and is in line with the trend towards browser-based technology and mobile devices. “Connectivity is the crux of the system,” says East. “Mobile-based products can collect a huge amount of data and manipulate it to make effective business decisions.”

The range comprises Lite, Pro and Enterprise versions and so can meet any size of application. With a convenient Web interface, the system is scalable and self-aware – it becomes more intelligent over time. Access Portal also allows for remote managing and real-time alerts to a mobile device or tablet, making management and access possible while travelling or on the way to a site.

Impro’s sales manager, Linda Glieman, says the new range takes access control to the next level as it removes the hassle of application-based systems (i.e. having to install and maintain management software on PCs or servers at the clients premises), by hosting the software centrally. This means the management software is always up to date and access credentials and permissions are backed up safely should an emergency render the hardware unusable.

The system has been in development for three years as Impro changed its software and hardware to support this new model. Glieman says everything has been redesigned for the hosted approach, with additional functionality added to the new systems to improve performance and the value companies derive. Although it’s a hosted solution, part of the changes to the hardware platforms was to enable more offline functionality and decision making.

While the new systems have been improved, customers don’t need to replace their old Impro systems completely. Glieman says the new hardware can be used with older door controllers and upgraded to the Access portal over time – although the system controller will need to be replaced. She adds that backwards compatibility has always been important to Impro as the company understands that companies don’t often have the budget to upgrade everything at once.

Glieman also adds that Impro’s existing IXP 200 and IXP 400 models are not going to vanish. They will still be supported and maintained, and their three-year warranty still holds.

Access Portal Lite is available now (see below), with the other two versions scheduled for release during the year. Contact Impro Technologies for product information. Access Portal is available from the following distributors: Access & Beyond ( info@accessandbeyond.com), Elvey Security Technologies ( ingo.mutinelli@elvey.co.za) and PowellTronics (marketing@powelltronics.com).

Access Portal Lite features

* Fully embedded Web solution. No PC or software is required.

* Password protected and encrypted communications.

* Connect to the controller using a standard HTML5 compliant browser.

* Quick to install, simple to configure.

* Up to 1000 tag holders, each with three tags.

* Storage of all tag holder details.

* Web reporting.

* Up to eight access groups.

* Door mode patterns.

* Programmable holidays.

* Tag enrolment.

* Tag expiry date.

* Tag suspension facilities.

* Hardware identification and configuration.

* AP Lite controller communication via TCP/IP.

* Support for RS-485 – S-bus or quick connector.