CINEMAS NEED TO USE PHONE TECHNOLOGY

GOOD/HID Access Reader Just Takes a Swipe

If you read CMG with any regularity you are acutely aware that I am a huge proponent of the use of Smartphones technology by cinemas for everything from admission and concession sales - to - inventory control.

Now another use can be taken advantage of by cinemas - Security !  Recenty, Good Technology, a Sunnyvale, CA security software company teamed up with HID Global, a manufacturer of physical access readers, to produce and market security access door locks - turning the Smartphone into a "key" with just a swipe near the reader/lock.

Calling it the "world's first NFC (near field-communication) enabled system for the use of Smartphones for physical access to buildings and offices " Good choose the Samsung Galaxy S III Smartphone for its application.  Using secure NFC microSD cards in the phones, users are sent physical access credentials (ie keys) 'wirelessly'  via HID's Secure Identity Service, which also lets the system administrator (cinema owner) manage and monitor credentials and identities tied to specific phones. 

What this means is that you can 'push or revoke' credentials over the air to each user,
For example, allowing access to a certain facility (or certain doors within that facility)
or providing a one day or even one time access only, or provide an employee or manager full access to the facility 24/7, or allowing access only on the days that an employee works, say Monday, Wednesday, Friday and no other days.  Another benefit is that there are no physical keys to worry about, to forget, to lose. When an employee leaves access is simply revoked wirelessly.

Using the Smartphone adds another layer of security because users not only need to obtain the appropriate credential but they need to know that phone's  password to use it as the key.  Additionally, no one is going to forget their phone, because it is their phone. If they forget it, they will always go back and get it.  The speed comes from the fact that all users are never slowed down or inconvenienced when reaching a doorway and not being able to access it (because they forgot their phone).  If  the phone is lost or stolen, first one would need the code to unlock the phone and second, the access credentials can be revoked instantaneously.

This use of Smartphone technology is not only smart but inexpensive and the control it provides over individuals' access to a facility and premises is truly remarkable.


Best
Jim Lavorato
Comments welcomed !