It may not be apparent at first glance: going keyless is about a lot more than just not having to carry around a key or a fob. It’s about added security, new concepts of control, smarter operations and reporting.
When we say “go keyless”, we mean abandoning any physical thing that controls access rights. That means no keys, no access cards, and no fobs. The keys are virtual; digital tokens stored in smartphones and automatically transmitted over the air.
Control
Virtual keys afford greater control over who has access to your assets. Keys can be granted to or revoked from people who aren’t physically present. Virtual keys can do things that ordinary keys can’t, like only permit access within a time window or limit the number of times they can be used. And with virtual keys, they can be automatically given many people in a service team and to many sites at once. These things would be impossible or very cumbersome with traditional keys.
Security
Despite first impressions and consistent news about poorly-executed smartlock designs, virtual keys can be more secure than physical keys. Imagine how we all do internet banking today. At Sera4, we use the same security principles and architectures to keep the same levels of reliability, security and scale. Where physical keys can be mechanically cloned, it is much harder to hack a digital certificate. Physical keys can be passed from person to person, or misplaced and picked up by strangers. Even more relevant is that virtual keys identify the user, which provides a lot of practical security. Many fewer people will brazenly steal from a site when they know they are being identified in real time.
Information
When business sites go keyless, they get automatic real time access logs. This can greatly reduce the cost of security protocols or even compliance with standards like ISO 9001. The data that comes back is already digital, more accurate and more detailed than traditional paper logs. Businesses should be analyzing this data routinely to identify waste in their processes and optimize their operations. Profiling site accesses can yield valuable insight about where contractors are not doing their jobs. Imagine a contractor that has billed to do a job that will take at least 2 hours, but the access logs show them on site for only 3 minutes.
Convenience
Most people will not forget their phone at home. Their car pairs with it and it’s clear when it’s missing. So many life functions depend on it. A physical key or card can be left at home without a thought until the moment it’s needed. So much truck roll is saved by not having to drive to get keys, either ones forgotten or fetching them from a depot. Virtual keys are with you whenever you need them!
And, of course, going keyless is also about the convenience. I used to go out with a wallet, a phone and a keyring. Then the wallet was absorbed into the phone with services like Apple Pay. Now, the keyring is also absorbed, and my pockets thank me. What I like best is when I need to get into a lock that wouldn’t have been on my physical keyring. Contact us to learn more about how friendly the future can be.