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Security versus access control

The thin line between security and ­access control systems is one that is ­often blurred and misunderstood and has ­often resulted in companies neglecting the ­importance of a comprehensive access control system that integrates with a complementary security system.

More than ever before, the need for security in the 21st century has become paramount. Be it personal security that protects your home and loved ones; monetary security making sure you are able to survive the current global economic recession; or business security that aims to protect your assets, employees and company in general, security is generally put in place to protect you from the unseen or unpredictable.

Access control, on the other hand, provides you with more options and ultimately, more control over your building or estate thus giving you the control to manage the controllable such as visitors, employees, vehicles, and integrate with the unexpected such as fire or intrusion. Combined with a good intrusion monitor system, an access control system becomes the foundation on which a quality building management setup is built.

From small commercial or residential sites through to major applications and massive industrial sites, there is a need for access control that has the ability to manage your assets and the people that frequent your site. Where a security system is a fixed security measure on your site, access control differs by the flexibility and seemingly endless options it affords. With the future more wide open than ever before in terms of technological innovations and movements, the need to stay ahead of the times and stay future resistant, is most imperative to a successful and leading access control system.

Today, buildings and sites are renovated, upgraded and extended more than ever before, and the ability to change and adapt as your site does without incurring major costs is another key part to a quality access control system. In short, your access control system should take away your worries, not add to them, as well as meet the expected requirements such as saving you or your business money, whilst maintaining a level of user-friendliness, and exceeding standard levels of reliability and durability.

Impro Technologies is gearing up for the worldwide launch of its state-of-the-art IXP220 Access Control system which has already garnered an early début in the local market. In security and access control, if you can overcome South African crime or South African standards, your system has certainly earned the right to take on the international companies! With that in mind, Impro’s IXP220 offers seamless system scalability, allowing the user to expand the system effortlessly, using the same software suite and hardware throughout. Expanding access control with the IXP220 is as simple as adding additional door controllers as and when you need extra doors added to your site. The IXP220 has a user friendly configuration, packed full of features. Presented in four models pertinent to various market needs, each pack can be easily upgraded into one of the other models, making system integration and expansion easy and effortless.

Some might argue that access control is more of a convenience than a security measure however, if you consider the importance of monitoring employees attendance or the consequences of not having restricted access to private or confidential areas on your site, access control easily stands up to the argument and more than delivers when it comes to building management.

The IXP220 communication options include Ethernet (10/100 Mbps to the core), USB, RS485 or RS232 offering a range of access control components, and when it comes to the latest innovations, an access control system certainly needs to integrate seamlessly with the latest security measurements such as biometrics, CCTV and fire or intrusion alarms. With the IXP220’s input/output terminals, these concerns are what the system thrives on and can easily be integrated to control even more complex additions such as elevator control which restricts or allows access to individuals to certain levels in the building. For an example, you would not want your production staff gaining unnecessary entry to the IT or accounts department on a particular level, whereas your cleaning staff would probably need access to all levels of the building.

When it comes to considering the inevitable as well as the unforeseen, choosing the best access control system has now become vitally important rather than a mere 'added extra' to your building site or residential property. Security will always be a top priority however, a solid access control system like the IXP220 that provides not only for your current needs but is also designed to adapt as you grow, will complement and enhance your site to its fullest potential. The IXP220 offers flexible and customisable access control from single door to multiple remote sites from one to 256 anti-passback doors, and up to 1000 independent sites with up to 10 000 Tags per system and up to 100 000 buffered transactions.

With one software suite, one hardware platform, one reporting package for all sites, the IXP220 is the one solution for all your access control requirements.

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