HID Global’s Mobility and Latest Smart Card Solutions Help Shape Connected Environments in the Middle East

Monday 17 April 2017

Dubai - MENA Herald: Organisations across the Middle East are increasingly investing in mobile access control solutions and seeking to upgrade from legacy to the latest smart card technologies in order to create more connected, smart environments. Enabling the use of smartphones and wearables to open doors for greater mobility, and moving to advanced smart card technology are dramatically expanding the use of a single device beyond physical access control.

A recent end-user HID Global study conducted in the Middle East, which surveyed decision makers from diverse industry verticals revealed that although many organisations still use access cards, 89 percent of decision makers are looking to upgrade their access control solutions. Security within most organisations will constitute a mixed technology environment of advanced smart cards, smartphones and wearables. Reflective of these findings, in the last 12 months, HID Global has witnessed a rise in end-user demand for advanced smart cards and mobile access especially in the Middle East’s financial sector, from both a security and convenience perspective. It also provides organisations the ultimate freedom of choice to use what credential they prefer.

“Security is a top concern for financial institutions across the region. Innovative Middle East companies, particularly banks, are seeking to deploy the most advanced access control technologies as part of their goal to expand the capabilities of a smartphone or smart card,” said Wisam Yaghmour, Director of Sales Middle East and Africa, Physical Access Control Solutions EMEA with HID Global. “End-users benefit from being able to use their device of choice to open doors plus for secure access to many common activities in the workplace. For example, as connected environments become more of the norm, we are starting to see an uptick in demand for a combined physical access control and computer login solution.”

Upgrading to advanced physical access control solutions is also proving popular with public sector organisations. Government establishments such as Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MRHE) in Dubai, has recently successfully implemented HID Global’s Seos smart cards and HID Mobile Access® solutions, making it possible for MRHE employees to use a combination of smart cards, smartphones and wearables to open doors throughout the facility. The new solution supports MRHE’s strategy to provide its employees an advanced secure access control solution that has significantly improved the end-user experience.

The upgrade process is also driving organisations to carefully consider streamlined, high-capacity card personalisation printers/encoders solutions, especially in the finance sector, large enterprises, government offices and educational institutions. Organisations within these sectors have been investing in new solutions to ensure that employees and visitors are protected, and have a good user experience, without compromising on security. Features such as personalisation, lamination, engraving, encoding, as well as embedded smart chips are being increasingly adopted as additional layers of security.

These features will play an important role in increasing security by making it more difficult to create counterfeit ID badges. A key trend driving the growth of secure issuance in the region is user experience. While importance is placed on the authenticity of the ID cards themselves, the speed at which they are delivered and the layers of security they combine, are also critical factors. Wi-Fi® capabilities will further help facilitate a more flexible access control ecosystem by enabling administrators to issue access control cards anytime, anywhere.

HID Global at Seamless Payments and ECommerce 2017
See Live Demonstrations of HID Global’s mobile solutions, advanced smart card technologies for upgrading, and industry-leading card issuance solutions at Seamless 2017, from May 1-2, Stand N40 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Top demonstrations include:

HID Mobile Access®, powered by Seos: New HID Mobile Access capabilities, including support for wearables such as the Apple Watch and Android Wear, plus HID Mobile Access Portal and App software developer kits (SDKs) that enable partners and end-users to create innovative, customised mobile access solutions (that can be fully integrated into their back-end systems). The solution supports NFC and Bluetooth Smart that enables HID Global‘s “Twist and Go” gesture technology.

Access control and identity management solutions in a connected environment: Seos break-through credential technology, along with applications beyond door access, including time and attendance, secure printing, parking and vending.

Card Personalisation Solutions: The latest Direct-to-Card (DTC®) FARGO® DTC5500LMX ID card printer/encoder designed to meet high-volume, card issuance demands of large government agencies, universities, healthcare facilities and other large enterprises. In addition, the new HID FARGO® DTCii direct-to-card financial printer/encoder will be on display.

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