3 Reasons to Replace Traditional Locks with an Access Control System

Historically, physical keys were the only way to gain access to your home, your car, and your business. But that’s quickly changing. More and more people use a keyless entry system in their cars and in their homes. And more and more businesses are shifting away from keys – and towards the convenience and simplicity of digital identity verification and physical access control.

According to research by HID Global, more than half of businesses had already implemented at least one form of more secure credentialing. That number has only increased as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way businesses operate.

The business world is evolving. The way you access your small or medium-sized (SMB) business should, too. Read on for three reasons why physical keys are insufficient for securing your business.

#1: Physical keys are obsolete

Modern flat keys were designed by Linus Yale, Jr. in 1861 – and they haven’t changed much since then. It doesn’t take an expert to pick a keyed lock. And it only takes five minutes (and less than a dollar) to make a copy (or ten) of a physical key. Is that the kind of technology that you want to rely on to secure your business?

Physical keys are also cumbersome to manage. Employees forget or lose keys – and it can seriously disrupt productivity. Moreover, whether you’re granting building access to employees, visitors or contractors, juggling a pile of keys doesn’t necessarily project a modern image for your business.

By contrast, smart access control turns your mobile phone into a simple, secure and seamless “digital key.” This makes smart door locks much harder to pick; makes it much less likely that employees will forget or lose their “key” (their mobile phone!); and gives your business a future-forward image.

#2: Administration for physical keys is time consuming and inefficient

With millions leaving their jobs in the ‘The Great Resignation’, employee turnover is high and will continue to be a cost to your business — both in time and hard costs. Physical keys just add another tedious and costly task. Revoking access means either physically collecting keys or rekeying the corresponding door locks, which can cost upwards of $100-250 per lock.

Don’t lie awake at night stressing about whether your business assets are secure. With keys, it can be easy for an employee to forget to lock up at the close of business. With a smart access control system, you can ensure your building is open or locked at the appropriate times without having to rely on busy employees to take on that responsibility.

A smart door access control system gives you administration in the palm of your hand. Grant new employees access privileges, or revoke privileges for departing employees – all with a few taps and swipes – whether onsite or remote.

#3: Keys don’t provide a record of door access events

Physical keys don’t provide any way of tracking who entered your business and when. Mitigating that lack of record-keeping with a security camera facing the entrance isn’t a perfect solution, either. If a breach or other issue does occur, you’re stuck manually reviewing footage – eating up precious time during the critical response window. With a smart access control system you have a time-stamped record of building access events.

The changes brought about by the pandemic add another important reason for monitoring and documenting physical access records. Hybrid and flexible work policies have employees coming and going outside of the traditional 9-to-5. And concerns around proper distancing and contact tracing make it more important than ever to have a record of who accesses your business or who was present during a time period.

Moving to smart access control and keyless entry door locks makes monitoring and documentation of access events and personnel present automatic and easy. You can see exactly who has entered your facility – and when. And you have those records automatically saved for audit purposes.