Everywhere you look you can see the ways in which digital transformation has brought on a technological evolution. We’re currently living in the age of Industry 4.0, where advanced technology and machinery have coalesced to boost the productivity of manufacturing, shipping, and overall production of consumer goods. And if you’re reading this on a laptop or smartphone, think about the predecessors of these pieces of machinery. You’ll recall what once was a hulking piece of machinery and known as the “personal computer,” is now anything from a slim, 10” laptop, to a tablet, or pocket-sized phone. The world around us is in the middle of an incredible digital transformation, as every day our technology is advancing to create better and more convenient solutions. So why not invest that same level of transformation and advancement into our access control platforms?
It’s 2017 and as you read headlines about big name companies, you’ll find that they’re either falling behind due to lack of innovation in their customer experiences, or they’re downright knocking customer experience out of the technologically connected park. No matter the business, one thing seems to hold true throughout every industry: doing the same old thing is not going to cut it anymore. Consumers want exciting and new experiences, and in this day and age, they’re calling for adventures and products that are worthy of the tech-savvy populace. Below are just a few big-name companies that are stirring things up with cutting-edge technology such as IoT and big data in order to keep their products and businesses fresh.
Universal’s Tapu Tapu
It’s no secret that Universal’s Volcano Bay will be this summer’s hottest water park. Volcano Bay guests are raving about the many twists, turns, and plunges the park’s slides and rides deliver. However, there’s another thing that Universal has introduced to their theme park experience that seems to be elevating guests’ impressions of this Polynesian adventure. A smart device guests wear as a wristband, known as Tapu Tapu, helps its users hit every ride possible while delivering exciting experiences along the way.
When wearing Tapu Tapu, guests just walk up to a totem in front of an attraction entrance and with a wave of their wristband, they’ll receive a time when they can come back and enjoy the ride without having to waste time waiting in line. It also ignites some incredible interactive experiences guests can engage in as they walk throughout the park. Tapu Tapu works through the use of Near Field Communication and IoT technology in order to create a fun-packed and queue-less adventure.
Amazon Go
Amazon has been creating a lot of buzz throughout these past couple of years. Between Alexa, Amazon Go, and the latest acquisition of Whole Foods, this booming business is diving in deep with futuristic technology in order to produce some exceptional consumer experiences. Amazon Go is expected to reshape retail shopping as we know it by eliminating the entire checkout process by bringing in a new order where customers can just take what they want off the store’s shelves and whimsically walk out with their new purchase. Now you may ask: How exactly is one just able to walk in and out of Amazon stores with their new item without even making contact with a check-out line? It’s simple: through machine learning and an incredibly engineered system.
The Amazon Go system logs items as shoppers make their way throughout the store through computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. This is how the store is able to eliminate a traditional check-out line. Additionally, when customers exit the store the system analyzes that they’re leaving, adds up the items in the user’s virtual shopping cart, and charges their Amazon account which is connected to the Amazon Go app they must have installed on their smartphones. We expect to see this kind of shopping model make its way to brick-and-mortar stores now that Whole Foods is under Amazon’s umbrella.
Warby Parker
Online, there are tons of sites where consumers can purchase quality eyeglasses at a bargain. Today tons of people have used services such as Eye Buy Direct and Zenni Optical to skip over the trifle of scouring through the limited selection of expensive eyeglasses at their optometrist in favor of these company’s try before you buy services. This year, however, Warby Parker announced they will be taking this at-home experience a step further in providing their customers with the option to do an at-home eye exam. Using big data, a mobile app, and three standard vision tests, Warby Parker is making it possible for users to not only purchase eyeglasses from home but also receive accurate prescriptions for these glasses.
IKEA
When you walk into an Ikea, you’re almost always welcomed by a smiling and enthusiastic employee whose background echoes the very same grin on their face. With what seems to be an endless amount of incredibly charismatic living spaces, Ikea brings furniture buying to a whole new level, and they’re about to take their unparalleled experience an additional step further by bringing it to our homes. Just recently, Ikea announced that they will be working with Apple in order to create an app that allows its consumers to literally picture Ikea’s furniture in their own homes through augmented reality. Ikea’s leader of digital transformation states that the app will initially have “500-600 products available on the iOS app” for buyers to virtually place around their homes in order to make the furniture buying process a whole lot easier.
So there you have it, from adding convenience by helping us skip over queues and check-out lines to giving life to the mundane task of retail shopping, technology is enhancing and in certain cases even transforming the way businesses interact with their consumers. After seeing so many successful brands adopt the latest and greatest in what technology has to offer, the time has never been better to take a step in the same direction. This is why UniKey works day in and out toward delivering optimal experiences and convenience for our customers. To learn more, visit unikey.com.
After the impact of the world’s biggest ransomware event, WannaCry, the world is not only questioning the defense behind cyber security, but also the stability of modern, smart technology. While WannaCry was an attack that inflicted massive turmoil throughout dated Windows software, the same kind of infiltration could potentially happen to access control platforms that are not up to date with the times or are thoroughly lacking in strong encryption algorithms. With modern technology there are now new opportunities in physical access control that can make our security stronger and smarter than the outdated systems many businesses are still using.
For starters, a piece of access control technology that’s quite ubiquitous throughout businesses is the RFID or mag stripe key cards. Most of us have used these credentials for years in order to access hotel rooms, offices, inventory and more. RFID, dating back to the 1970’s, has been around for decades, and as a result has left plenty of time for people to learn its vulnerabilities and what it takes to duplicate the credential. Moreover, this piece of technology only offers its users a superficial amount of protection, as it only requires a security card reader to pick up the emitted signal from the cards in order to grant a person access. Only one step for credential authentication is created throughout this exchange of signals, and as such makes it a lot easier for anyone to use these key cards. When it comes to user security, companies should keep in mind dual-factor authentication, which will keep everyone more secure.
Dual-factor authentication means a security system must go through two layers of verification: “What you have and what you know”. Applications such as RFID key cards only take into account what a credential holder has (the key), while another form of access control, keypads, only takes into account what we know (a pin code). Since the emergence of such technology there hasn’t been many updates as traditional “PACS systems, once installed, are by nature resistant to change. PACS tend to be capital intensive – i.e., expensive and complex to install, requiring specialized training to operate, and proprietary in design.” Thankfully, there has been explosive growth in other pieces of technology since the production of RFID, pincode, and mag stripe technology, which can strengthen the security of access control everywhere.
Tremendous expansion in the power and presence of IoT technologies, coupled with the flexibility, ubiquity, and lower cost of easily-integrated software, AI, mobile devices, and cloud computing are bringing about smarter, stronger, and better connected access control systems. The smartphone, found in nearly everyone’s pocket, is a huge driver for innovation and change across all technology markets, since its bluetooth technology creates such an easy channel of communication for smart devices that can enhance security and can be managed under one umbrella.
In addition to bringing in more cost-effective security integrations, mobile access control also offers its users that dual-authentication, the “what you have and what you know,” double-layered barrier this day and age is demanding. By using mobile access control, users’ smartphones will act in a similar fashion to an RFID/ proximity card through the use of a heavily encrypted eKey. And with today’s smartphones offering the ability for its owners to enable a fingerprint reader, passcode or pattern lock screen to their phones, smartphones effortlessly create dual-authentication that comes natural to users. With more and more advancements coming each year to smart phone and IoT technology, this form of access control will only strengthen in its ability to ward off threats and be an unparalleled service to its users.
To learn more about the benefits and opportunity in mobile access control check out our new white paper and visit us at unikey.com.
UniKey’s very own, Lee Odess, flew out to Birmingham, UK, for the annual FIT Trade Show in order to give us some insider knowledge on the what’s-what in the smart lock and access control industries. The trade show hosted several big names in the industry like ERA, Iceni Windows, and Avantek; showcasing the exceptional tech advancements in the field. Moreover, the show certainly did not disappoint when it came to exciting developments and even entertainment. After the show, Lee gave us a quick run-down on his main takeaways, as well as the apparent trends he noticed throughout the event.
The UK and Europe are ready to bring on smart devices
With the rise of smart homes, smart cities, and even autonomous cars, the UK and Europe are developing some of the most sophisticated, game-changing technology in order to make these concepts a reality. Lee explains that when it comes to Europe’s technological devices, “historically it has just been about connecting things or just powering them. Now it’s about making them smart”. Overall, the industry is ready to reshape the way we use our smart devices in order to create a safer, more sophisticated and convenient ecosystem.
Manufacturers are paying careful attention to aesthetics and experience
When it comes to their hardware, manufacturers are not only recognizing the importance of their products’ connected security, but also the overall aesthetics and experience their customers can appreciate.“They care about the finishes, how it feels, how it sounds…they are also focused heavily on the user interaction and making sure it’s seamless and adds value,” Lee points out.
The customer is always right (from end-users to locksmiths to fabricators)
This is something the industry vets understand and is sometimes overlooked by the new companies looking to “disrupt” the industry. When it comes to the security and peace of mind of their homeowners, industry leaders like ERA always deliver the finest security and stand behind it with guarantees; promising that if anything happens to a user’s home due to a faulty ERA product, the homeowner will be met with immediate response and care. It’s known as ERA Total Security. After seeing all of the remarkable hardware, technology, and a huge event full of innovative minds and ideas, there’s no doubt that the unveiled products are sure to deliver impressive experiences for homeowners and manufacturers alike.
Uber, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, and Lending Club; four very different apps with one thing in common: their shared ecosystem, which is better known as “The Sharing Economy”. This very same economy has been “disrupting established business models to usher in a new era of peer-to-peer, access-driven businesses” since 2008. And thanks to this economy and modern technology, costs of goods and services have gone down as a direct result of individuals sharing their assets and products at a national level through globalized apps like Turoand ThredUp, and it appears that this is only the very beginning for this collaborative economy.
By 2025 the sharing economy is expected to be worth 335 billion dollars; 20 times what it is today. Ravi Gururaj, chairman of Nasscom, explains that “the sharing economy has spurred ‘micro – entrepreneurs’ and facilitated the creation of new markets and economic activity where none previously existed.” Just think about it, all it takes to become an UBER driver is a clean background check and a relatively new car, and as unemployment rates rise more and more, people are looking for ways to earn money through their underutilised assets. It’s because of this that certain tech companies are beginning to develop tools to democratize their software and applications in an effort to help the sharing economy flourish into an ecosystem that could potentially be anyone’s game.
Between consumers, entrepreneurs, and businesses, the implementation of democratized access control could potentially disrupt an already disruptive economy. To put it simply, this sharing economy that a majority of us have taken part in, could become a greater and more convenient influence in our everyday lives. With the right piece of technology, profitable ventures of sharing personal and commercial property could be automated and set-up to allow anytime-anywhere access to these products. Leveraging the same kind of technology as seen in the Kevo smart lock, such as eKeys and controlled access, the future of the sharing economy could prove to be quite lucrative for all who choose to invest in sharing goods and services. Here’s how:
For the Consumers: Expect Convenience
As consumers, we go through several different points of access (office, home, and car doors) every day without even noticing. However, if you’ve ever rented a room from AirBnB, you’ve usually had to wait for the host to give you access to the room or apartment. With democratized access control, this is a process that could actually be eliminated as certain technology, such as the same eKey cloud technology that Kwikset’s Kevo smart lock operates on, could potentially be used here. Hosts will discover the simplicity of sending eKeys to their renters, and the renters will love the convenient and instant access to their rooms. This sort of technology has the potential to be supplemented in many other verticals such as car rentals, ride-sharing, and even retail! Just imagine how simple life could be if this technology made its way to merchandisers and was applied in a similar fashion to the tech that runs Amazon Go stores. Consumers could pull up a stores app, purchase an item, and receive a digital key that would allow them access to their item in the store; making the coveted grab-and-go experience a reality for all shoppers.
For the Entrepreneurs: Anticipate Innovation
For entrepreneurs, the time of getting into the sharing business has arrived. With smart access control technology, anyone can create their own smart lock powered sharing service. Say you’re a handyman who wants to start a small business where you can rent out your tools to neighbors, or even other handymen. Or perhaps you’re a bike or car owner who wants to rent out your vehicle for extra cash. This is now a possibility with democratized access control. You would merely have to allocate the access to your renters through designated eKeys, which would be connected to the powered lock. What’s more, can you imagine what this kind of technology will bring about once self-driving cars hit the market? Using smart access control, your car could navigate throughout town and unlock itself for those looking for a ride. With the eKey as a proof of purchase, your users can freely access your shared assets, and you can effortlessly profit from an otherwise underutilized resource. With smart technology, the future of this access economy is shaping up to be a win-win for all.
Businesses and OEM’s: Expect More Control
For access control businesses and original equipment manufacturers, expect more control over the development of your prototype. Through the utilization of democratized access control, leading manufacturers can experience faster rates of development, lower development costs, and an easy pathway to enterprise scalability post prototyping. We envision a development kit that contains all of the sophisticated technology mentioned above, as well as Passive Intent and effortless scalability, resulting in a painless hardware integration. Moreover, tech integrators will find faster rates of development as they can skip over the process of software development
Sharing is Thriving
Roughly seventy years ago Joseph Schumpeter, a world-renowned Physicist, predicted that perfect competition would not be nearly as relevant to our economy so much as the innovation of start-up companies and the competitive technology they choose to implement will be. While we watch the state of our economy unfold into an ecosystem full of sharing applications created through start-up companies like Uber and AirBNB, we can see that this 1950’s economist was certainly onto something. Year after year access control technology has grown smarter and more applicable to worldly applications. Now, more than ever, we have the greatest opportunity to use it as a means of benefitting our world AND economy. To learn more about how democratized tech can transform our economy visit unikey.com.
Believe it or not, the time of retiring in one job is slowly fading away as the shift to swapping full-time jobs for monetary, contracted employment is sweeping our country’s workforce. With this new “Gig Economy” retirement as we once knew it may become redefined. In place of the conventional concept of long-term employment and benefits, app-based platforms have given rise to a new way of working, in which workers forge a living through a framework consisting of micro jobs. Gig employees are among a diverse group of individuals occupying an array of jobs similar to hopeful, novice musicians. These employees work individual gigs using app platforms that take them to their consumer market.
In the last 50 years, the U.S. workforce has grown by over 300% in regards to the number of contracted/temporary employees; giving rise to the next generation of the Gig economy.
Gig Economy 2.0 Includes Smarter Access
This year, we will begin to see smart access control systems ushering in a second generation of the Gig economy by providing more methods of collaboration for employers, employees, and end-users of the economy’s services. Gigs like: grocery delivery, maid services, home repair, and dog walking are just a few of the jobs that can expect greater control and efficiency when utilizing smart access control.
More Opportunities on the Rise
There’s no doubting that we’re living in an on-demand world, and as a result, we’re often running around on a day to day basis. Whether it’s to work, a vacation, or school, people are on the move more than ever before, and gig based services often feel the heat as their jobs often get inhibited by their customers’ busy schedules.
A lot of gig economy jobs require customers to be at home for services such as grocery delivery, handy work, and housekeeping. However, if platforms such as Handy or Instacart integrated smart access control into their mobile apps via APIs & SDKs, customers of the gig economy that have smart locks such as Kevo or August on their front doors can find the same level of ease in granting access to these contracted services as gig employers.
So now, instead of worrying about having to be home at an agreed upon time, customers can simply send their handymen, dog walkers, and delivery service provider temporary digital keys automatically from the Gig economy app once the service has been booked. This will let them in on customers’ behalf; making the on-the-go lifestyle a lot easier for all involved. Upon completion of the gigs, the digital keys will then be revoked and the door will automatically lock.
Moreover, platforms that integrate smart access control will also send customers notifications when their gig services provider have entered and left their homes; making real-time monitoring of the services possible and adding comfort to the overall experience.
Keeping up with the Economy
“The gig economy is empowerment. This new business paradigm empowers individuals to better shape their own destiny and leverage their existing assets to their benefit.” John McAfee
With the evolution of the internet, we have found instant connectivity, simplification of repetitive tasks, and the world’s information at our fingertips. The economy has changed course and we have been introduced to new services that we have grown to love such as Amazon Prime Now, Uber Eats, and Instacart. And as consumers and organizations continue to demand services from these platforms, the rate at which we’ll see these services being used will continue to rise at a robust pace. It’s imperative that our technology adapts to this new way of life, which is why third-party apps are increasing work on stronger APIs in order to create more opportunities for work and collaboration in an ever-changing world and more importantly, to produce technology that can keep up with this bustling economy. To learn more about how your company can win in the next generation of the gig economy, visit unikey.com.