The promised future of access control has always revolved around the "street to suite" experience: Moving effortlessly from the moment you approach a building to get to the exact space where you need to be in the building, with minimal friction and maximum security.
After several fits and starts, it is now a reality with the move to unified access control. Unified access control provides one seamless experience for entry to the places and spaces an occupant needs to access across many different systems. This shift is enhancing security, cutting costs, and transforming how we experience the built world around us.
The Daily Hassle of Multiple Credentials
For many people, getting into work means juggling multiple access credentials. They might need a keycard to enter the building, a different fob for the fitness center, an app for the elevator, and yet another keycard to get into the office finally. They just want to start their day.
For the staff and teams managing these multiple systems, it's even worse. They're stuck with various dashboards, various vendors, inconsistent security protocols, and endless headaches when onboarding or offboarding (if they remember to do it).
Even the data itself is disconnected. Reporting on key metrics like occupancy and utilization remains a daily pain since none of these systems were designed to work together or share data. Analysts spend too much time cleaning up data sets so that they are fit for analysis.
This disconnected approach frustrates everyone involved. It wastes time and money, aggravates staff and users, creates security gaps, and prevents occupants from having a smooth, intuitive experience.
It's disconnected from start to finish.
5 Key Shifts in Access Control Technology
What if a single credential—your smartphone—could get you everywhere you need to go? That's the promise of unified access control. It combines all those separate systems into one integrated platform centered around the device you carry everywhere.
Several key technologies are making this shift possible right now:
The Move to Digital Wallets
As tap-to-pay leads the way, becoming a primary payment method at point-of-sale checkout and e-commerce, the concept of a digital wallet on a smart device has become much more familiar. Having your credit cards stored on your phone is convenient and makes sense - so why not your employee badge or a digital keycard? Apple Wallet and Google Wallet use a device's Near Field Communication (NFC) to ensure secure and contactless access.
Bluetooth is a Steppingstone for Many
An additional digital option for entry is Bluetooth Low Energy technology, also known as "BLE" or simply "Bluetooth." But, Bluetooth comes with a few quirks that can frustrate users. They must have the correct access control app open on their phone in either the foreground or the background and ensure that location services are enabled. Even after waving a phone correctly across the sensor at the right distance, it can take a few seconds for the access control system to register and grant entry. While Bluetooth serves as a viable and often less expensive alternative to digital wallet technology, it has a few seconds latency and can offer a different user experience.
For many organizations, Bluetooth is seen as a steppingstone from physical keycards to the eventual move to digital wallet.
Cloud-Based Access Management
Another crucial development in access control technology is the transition of credential management from on-prem systems to the cloud. By integrating credentials, card readers, and user management into a single cloud-based system, organizations can benefit from an all-in-one solution. This shift allows security teams to provision, update, or revoke access without requiring in-person visits to a security desk or central office.
Multi-PACS Integrations
In multi-tenanted buildings, multi-PACS (Physical Access Control System) integrations are essential for seamless access control management. That's one reason why at Cohesion we've put integrations at the foundation of everything we do. We understand that integrating across not one but multiple PAC systems are critical for a unified experience. This offers several benefits:
- Vendor Freedom: Vendor lock-in is real. We've all been burned before. With multi-PACS integrations, organizations break free from proprietary systems, connecting legacy technology with new solutions without costly replacements.
- Centralized Compliance: With unified systems security personnel can enforce consistent policies, monitor security events in real time, and maintain audit trails to ensure compliance with local, national, and global regulations.
- Enhanced Security and Intelligence: When multiple systems talk to each other, cross-system threat detection, instant remote credential revocation, and support for multi-factor authentication make it possible to close security gaps.
- Future-Proof Your Stack: Ensure your systems adapt to hybrid work, mobile credentials, and emerging technologies like AI-driven security.
By connecting multiple systems through cloud-based platforms and open APIs, organizations reduce complexity, increase efficiency, and enhance security.
One Unified Experience, One Thing for Every Thing
With integrated PACS systems and unified credential management for security teams and building staff, our solution offers a seamless experience for occupants. With a fully integrated system, employees no longer need to juggle multiple apps, credentials, or digital wallets. Whether they're accessing the building, taking the elevator, or entering their office, everything works through a single app, eliminating complexity and frustration. It all just works.
At Cohesion, we believe that access control forms the foundation of the entire occupant experience. A truly unified system goes beyond simply opening doors—it enables seamless access to parking, fitness centers, bike parking, amenity bookings, space reservations, and even comfort controls such as temperature adjustments or submitting work orders. All of these features are available through the same app used to enter the building, streamlining every interaction throughout the day.
Mobile access and digital wallet integration also enhance security and efficiency. When a new occupant is added, they receive their digital credentials instantly, no matter where they are. If someone leaves, their access is revoked across all systems with a single click. And because this cloud-based approach integrates with existing hardware, there's no need for expensive infrastructure overhauls.
Rapid advancements in digital wallets, BLE technology, cloud-based credential management, multi-PACS integration, and unified user experiences have made unified access control a game-changing solution for security teams worldwide.
But there's one final piece of the puzzle:
All the Data, From Everywhere
Unified systems and a unified experience open the door to unified data.
Today leaders must make data-driven decisions faster than ever. This means integrating diverse data streams—access control, occupancy sensors, lease management, financial systems, building automation, energy consumption, and utilization—into one coherent narrative.
That's where Savvy, Cohesion’s real-time real estate analytics platform, comes in.
Savvy offers a holistic view of your data, empowering landlords and corporate real estate teams to see, understand, and act on metrics like space performance, occupancy costs, resource management, and predictive maintenance. With these insights, teams can optimize property performance, enhance the occupant experience, and make informed decisions about cost reduction or expansion.
It's Time to Get Unified
The shift to unified access control transforms how we interact with the built environment. No longer do you need to juggle multiple credentials to enter a building, access your suite, or use various spaces and amenities. Security teams can finally leave behind the frustrations of disconnected systems and scattered data streams. Seamless, cloud-based, mobile-first solutions now offer an experience that is secure, efficient, and intuitive.
By integrating digital wallets, cloud-based management, multi-PACS systems, and real-time analytics, organizations are unlocking unprecedented levels of security, operational efficiency, and user convenience. The future is one where a single credential grants effortless access from the street to your suite, while smart data insights empower businesses to optimize space and resources like never before.
We believe that unified access control is the foundation of a truly connected workplace. Companies can eliminate complexity, enhance security, and provide an exceptional occupant experience—all through one cohesive system. The era of fragmented access control is over. The future is unified, intelligent, and available now.
Ready to started? Let's go! Contact us today.
