January 6, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
What is the sort of obstacle that keeps a facility from upgrading to a strong authentication-based physical access control system? The demands of security over the past decade have been constantly driven up by an increased number of threats of all kinds, yet facilities that would be deemed as critically important still don’t have access control that could be considered in any way modern. The fact of the matter is that the cost associated with implementing an up-to-date security system is costly, especially when it involves placing a new infrastructure.
This obstacle, rather than being a hindrance, is largely the reason behind the recent spread of Viscount Systems’ Freedom access control technology. Today the company announced its first contract of the new year, awarded by the U.S. Federal Government, to secure facilities in California and Vermont with Freedom.
According to Viscount, Freedom overcomes the obstacle described above through its Freedom Access Bridge technology, which allows authentication devices (including those that verify via biometrics) to be operated and administered through a standard IT infrastructure already in place in the buildings being secured. No installation of control panels and additional wiring means none of the associated costs that keep the unsecured feeling insecure about their choice in access control.
“The 2013 year was a critical one for Viscount as we saw adoption of our Freedom IT-based access control technology in 15 U.S. Government facilities, by several different agencies,” says Viscount president and CEO Stephen Pineau. “We believe we are positioned for accelerated growth into 2014 based on the introduction of new government FICAM standards (Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management) which mandate the efficient management of identities and credentials within secure federal environments, as well as specialist areas such as emergency and first responder services.”
In addition to the 15 facilities Pineau cites above, Viscount also receives a number of contracts in Canada. The company was chosen to secure up to 400 buildings in a Canadian municipality and also received the largest order of its MESH units in company history last October.
As with the other government facilities that Freedom is set to secure in accordance with orders received in late 2013, Viscount is unable to disclose the name of the agency it will be providing technology for.
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