Maintaining a safe and nurturing learning environment within budget restrictions and government regulations is a challenge most higher education institutions face. But now colleges and universities are facing new concerns that relate to maintaining an effective learning environment conducive to collaboration, while simultaneously limiting person-to-person contact in the wake of coronavirus.
Fortunately, security technology is advancing at a rapid pace, with reports of new products in both hardware and software surfacing almost every month. For access control in the higher education sector, this means the use of new modalities and greater integration with other solutions. In particular, mobile credentials have traditionally been viewed as a forward-thinking and future-proof option; but the onset of coronavirus has pivoted this perception and the solution is now being viewed as one that is necessary for both the user experience and security.
Of course, the use of mobile credentials is still in the planning stage for most organizations, with discussions around infrastructure upgrades taking place. Thankfully, there are ways to upgrade your existing access control infrastructure in a cost-efficient way that does not require the entire campus to upgrade at the same time. Instead, campuses can begin replacing legacy equipment one building at a time, with hardware that will support mobile applications down the road. Upgrading a system does not need to occur overnight, but is important to identify the roadmap to get you there.
Coronavirus has accelerated these conversations as the necessity for “touchless” options has become front and center. In addition, students have demanded the flexibility that mobile credentialing provides for years now. This has positioned security directors to make tough decisions: how can they properly begin the migration, while also taking into account the fact that legacy systems cannot be dismantled overnight?
In this video webinar with HID Global, RS2’s Jeff Bransfield joins a panel to discuss the future of access control.