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Access as a Service is inevitable

When it comes to Access Control as a Service (ACaaS), most organisations (roughly 90% internationally) plan to move, or are in the process of moving to the cloud, but the majority of existing infrastructure (about 70%) remains on-premises for now. It is clear that the future of access control will be hybrid for the next few years, with ACaaS and on-site systems running in parallel.

The pros and cons of ACaaS depend on who you are talking to; however, in general, high-security environments tend to opt for on-site installations, with the skills and capex costs included in their budgets. Companies with on-site skills and a large installed base will also keep things in-house, at least for a while, as will companies with branches in areas with unreliable internet coverage.

On the other hand, smaller companies seem to be moving to ACaaS faster, most likely due to predictable opex costs and a subscription model that handles maintenance and hardware. ACaaS is also a good idea for rapidly expanding companies like startups (the few that are growing rapidly), as costs are predictable and someone else manages the technology.

Best guesses at the moment have ACaaS at 10% - 15% of the total access control market, but it is hard to find accurate figures. Companies going the DIY route pay much more for hardware, software, and skills than those who simply pay a subscription and leave everything else to the service provider.

SMART Security Solutions spoke to two long-term players in the access market to find out their views on the market, especially regarding ACaaS. Our respondents are:

• Gary Chalmers from iPulse Systems, and

• Ariel Flax from ATG Digital.

Ariel Flax.

SMART Security: In your experience, what is happening in the market when it comes to access control? Are companies staying with on-site solutions, or are they actively moving (or looking to move) to an ACaaS solution?

Chalmers: Across the board, we are seeing companies move to the cloud for access control, especially in industries where decentralisation is key – such as retail, property management, data centres, and warehouses. Business estates and offices are also moving rapidly, but adoption in private residential estates is slow. This is a very competitive, highly structured market that many companies like iPulse Systems avoid due to low price points and high demand for support.

Flax: Across South Africa, we are seeing a strong shift toward cloud-native, service-based access control. Most estates and businesses still have legacy on-site controllers simply because they were installed years ago, but the appetite has changed; new projects now routinely request cloud management, remote visibility, digital credentials, and predictable monthly billing.

Load shedding, cyberthreats, and distributed workforces have accelerated this trend. Organisations want access control that can be monitored, updated, supported, and adapted continuously - which aligns directly with ATG Digital’s ACaaS model.

SMART Security: Is hybrid access control a realistic strategy? Will there not be additional management overheads and complications when mixing on-site and ACaaS systems?

Chalmers: We are not seeing people going for hybrid. Anyone who moves does so 100%, and we have not encountered a single site where a hybrid solution exists. I do not see this as a trend or as a realistic option from a cost and management perspective.

Flax: Hybrid is common today because many clients have inherited infrastructure. Operationally, hybrid is a transitional phase - not the long-term target.

The future is cloud-managed access control with resilient edge devices; simpler, more scalable, and easier to secure. We support hybrid where required, but clients quickly see the value of moving more functions to the cloud:

• No servers to maintain.

• No patching or upgrade cycles.

• No dependency on on-site IT.

• Centralised identity administration.

• Uniform workflows across multiple regions.

In our environment, a full cloud model paired with smart on-site devices is proving to be the most operationally robust strategy.

Gary Chalmers.

SMART Security: In the long term, would ACaaS opex costs be lower than the capex for on-site systems? What are the benefits of opting for ACaaS, and who benefits the most?

Chalmers: Interestingly, it is the larger companies and multi-site organisations who benefit most from the ACaaS solution. Smaller companies with only a few devices in a single location find it much cheaper to manage locally, though they end up paying heavily for support when something goes wrong – something much easier and cheaper to handle with an ACaaS solution.

For entities with multiple sites, the cost of maintaining and synchronising data across multiple machines is exponentially higher than a single cloud-based system, and centralised control over access provides significant security and maintenance benefits.

Flax: ACaaS replaces unpredictable one-off capex and call-out charges with a fixed, transparent opex model. Over time, this removes the hidden and growing costs of:

• Hardware replacement.

• Server maintenance.

• On-site technical call-outs.

• Downtime during failures.

• Manual reporting and auditing.

Smaller organisations love ACaaS because it provides enterprise-grade access control without requiring internal IT/security teams. Larger and multi-site organisations benefit from centralised cloud management, standardised workflows, and consistent visibility across regions, something on-site server environments struggle to deliver.

The biggest advantage we see today is proactive security; instead of waiting for something to break, ACaaS enables real-time reporting, vulnerability identification, continuous optimisation, and rapid response.

SMART Security: One potential downside of ACaaS is that if you lose connectivity, your access will stop working. How do you overcome this argument?

Chalmers: All of our devices can run completely independently of the internet. The entire IQSuite has been designed to allow continued access and seamless performance even without connectivity, so this is absolutely not an issue anymore. Obviously, without internet, people cannot be added or removed, and visitor management systems are often not able to function, but as availability and uptime improve, this becomes less of an issue.

Flax: Cloud-managed access control remains operational during connectivity interruptions because modern edge devices - including ATG’s scanners, facial units, UHF and LPR - store access rules, permissions, and schedules locally.

If the link drops:

• Access continues using the last synced rules.

• Threat vectors like tailgating or unauthorised credentials are still blocked.

• Events sync automatically once connectivity is restored.

SMART Security: Additionally, some may feel they lose control if their ACaaS vendor holds all their data. How are ACaaS solutions structured to ensure personal and company data is secure?

Chalmers: We have not encountered any resistance to the data being in the cloud. With organisations used to their entire email, accounting, HR and CRM systems being cloud-based, this is a small component that is not in any way a problem. IQSuite provides full access to any authorised users on the client side, so whilst iPulse may ‘hold’ their data, they have full access to it and control over it at all times.

Flax: Regarding data concerns, ACaaS does not mean clients lose control. Most gain stronger visibility and compliance.

ATG’s approach includes:

• POPIA-aligned cloud hosting.

• Clear customer data ownership.

• Encryption at rest and in transit.

• Strict role-based access control.

• Comprehensive audit logs.

• Segregation of data in multi-tenant environments.

For many organisations, cloud access control is significantly more secure than relying on older on-premises systems.

SMART Security: What ACaaS or other access control solutions does your company offer? Do you take over the entire access control function, including hardware installation and maintenance? Do you support hybrid solutions?

Chalmers: IQSuite is a full cloud-based ACaaS solution. iPulse includes installation, support and maintenance in one simple monthly fee. An optional interest-free OPEX plan for hardware is available for those who choose not to purchase the equipment upfront or do not want to own it. With iPulse hardware, a full swap-out warranty is offered for as long as the system is in use, ensuring clients have a very controlled cost once the system is implemented. We do not support hybrid systems.

Flax: ATG Digital is a full ACaaS provider, not just a software platform.

We manage the entire lifecycle, including:

• Site assessments & solution design.

• Full hardware installation & wiring.

• Implementation & onboarding.

• Customisation per site’s risk profile.

• 24/7 monitoring & alerts.

• Unlimited support, call-outs and maintenance.

• Regular updates & feature releases.

• Training for on-site teams and partners.

• Daily reporting, analytics, and risk identification.

• Continuous optimisation through our in-house R&D; team.

This is how we have been able to detect early theft patterns across the logistics sector and correlate rising theft with load shedding. ACaaS gives us the data, visibility, and proactivity that on-site setups cannot match.

We fully support hybrid environments where clients still need to integrate ATG with older controllers, but our strategic roadmap - and the direction of the industry - is firmly cloud-first; minimal on-site infrastructure, maximum intelligence, support, and resilience in the cloud.

For more information contact:

• ATG Digital, +27 10 500 8611, [email protected], www.atgdigital.biz

• iPulse Systems, +27 86 047 8573, [email protected], www.ipulse.systems

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