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Specious syllogisms in the access control market

STG enters the Sub-Saharan market through Mobi-Eye Surveillance.

Having recently seen a headline similar to this, albeit associated to a different market, I was perplexed as to what it meant, so I referred to my trusty online dictionary and found the following explanation:

Specious adj [Spee-shuss] apparently true, but actually false.

Syllogism n form of logical reasoning consisting of two premises and a conclusion.

Therefore a specious syllogism is a form of logical reasoning consisting of two premises that lead to a false conclusion. So how does this apply to the access control market?

Applying a popular syllogism to the cards and credential portion of the access control market it is a popular belief that cheap readers and credentials are available, and that the use of readers and credentials with access control systems are necessary therefore cheap readers and credentials are necessary. As we will discuss below, this premise is false hence, the specious statement.

Over the last 10 years, readers and cards have become a commodity purchase with sections of the market merely looking for the cheapest product available without any consideration of reliability let alone credential security. Maximum profit, minimum hassle sounds like good business sense. However, this has led to a widespread use of mass produced generic technologies, with random numbered cards or limited commonly used card formats that create and use duplicate card numbers en mass. For instance with some of the most commonly used proximity makes, it is estimated that there are literally 5000 to 10 000 duplicates of every 26-bit Wiegand format card, the most commonly used format within the access control market. This format allows for only 256 facility codes and only 65 000 individual cards per facility code.

Farpointe Data is a Californian company consisting of the original founders of Indala and the team from Motorola Indala. The Indala team invented the RFID technology and applied it to readers and credentials within the security industry and have been making quality readers and credentials since the early 1980s. Their new range of proximity and smartcard readers and credentials is based upon brand new technology, built from the ground up, and not inherited generic products. Farpointe was therefore able to refer back to its 30 years of experience to develop a totally new range that addressed and overcame the deficiencies in earlier products and has an approach to readers and cards that ensures the security for its customers.

If the readers and cards are electronic keys and locks, Farpointe Data takes on the role of an electronic locksmith. It has numerous technology advancements that enable it to customise the readers and cards to ensure that whether it is proximity or a contact-less smartcard solution, the customers credentials are unique, secure and ensure that only bona fide credentials, and not duplicates, are able to access the building.

In order to address and support the Europe, Middle East and African market place, Farpointe looked for a distributor with not only sales and marketing skills but more importantly the technical support, logistics infrastructure, stock holding capabilities and experience to sustain growth within the region, by providing superior levels of customer satisfaction. Most distributors within the security arena tend to operate on a Jack-of-all-trades rather than master-of-one basis. This is all very well if, as a customer, you know everything about a product that you wish to purchase, as you will most likely be speaking to an order entry telephone sales person when calling. If you are looking for in-depth technical information then this is where a dedicated distributor excels.

Simultaneously STG was seeking a manufacturer, as an alternative to the existing suppliers of RFID readers and credentials, to address the issues discussed above for some time. Its criterion was not merely price but security, quality, reliability, flexibility and value for money. Exhaustive searches by both companies led them to each other.

STG now brings the Farpointe range to the Sub-Saharan market and via its African distributor, Mobi-Eye Surveillance. Mobi-Eye Surveillance, based in Pretoria, has a wealth of experience in this market as well as the technical competence to serve the regional market.

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