Why managed access gets adopted, why it doesn't

Managed and hosted access control systems, or access control as a service "ACaaS" has been on the rise for some time now. IHS's Blake Kozak put out a research note today with some interesting ACaaS projections.

From the report: "IHS estimates that newly installed hosted and managed access control doors represented about 3 percent of the total new readers and electronic locks installed in the Americas in 2013. A total of about 80,000 doors of ACaaS were added in the region in 2013. IHS has forecast there will be about 1.8 million total doors of ACaaS in the Americas by 2018."

ACaaS is good for end users and integrators alike, the report points out.

For integrators, it's a source of RMR and it also increases "stickiness" of accounts. For end users, outsourcing access control provisioning and permissions to an integrator removes a major hassle internally. Very important also, is that the fact that ACaas is sold as a service, so the funds come from the operating budget rather than the capital expenditure budget, making it easier for end users to "sell" internally.

However, Kozak notes that it's not always possible to fully fund ACaaS through the OpEx budget. "For example, a system with 100 doors and 400 card users would likely not use a 100% opex model. The integrator/installer will need to obtain some amount of revenue upfront."
    
Kozak also says that "Web-based panels are continuing to experience growth, potentially impacting the adoption of ACaaS."
    
IHS predicts that we'll see more hybrid systems "a mix of onsite management, monitoring and hosted infrastructure."
    
Finally, the note brings up another important topic: Big Data. A buzzword for sure, but if they can figure out how to capture and collate the data efficiently, access control data, like video data, should be in important source for advanced business intelligence in the future.