The physical security sector is significantly transforming by adopting open architecture and industry standards. This shift, led by industry leaders like Mercury, streamlines the integration of access control systems and ensures they can communicate more efficiently and securely across various platforms and devices.

The building automation industry has advanced faster with standard protocols for better integration and management. In contrast, the physical security sector is just beginning to catch up, with leaders like Mercury spearheading the push toward more open and standardized solutions. Not adopting these solutions can lead to system incompatibility, increased vulnerability to cyber threats and higher costs for system upgrades and maintenance.

Essential Industry Standards to Consider

Solutions supporting open industry standards fortify manageability, efficiency and interoperability, helping ensure systems meet today’s requirements and remain adaptable to future demands. Here are a few standards we at Mercury consider crucial to this goal:

Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) is a communication standard for access control systems, enabling secure, bidirectional communication between devices like card readers and controllers. It includes features such as encryption and tamper monitoring. OSDP enhances system integration and management by allowing interoperability among different manufacturers’ equipment. This protocol is favored in modern settings for its real-time device updates and monitoring capabilities.

Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is a communication protocol tailored for devices with limited processing power in areas with slow and unreliable internet connections. It uses a publish-subscribe system, which is effective for remote control and monitoring. MQTT minimizes network bandwidth and device power, enabling reliable data transmission even under poor conditions. This protocol is especially valuable in physical security systems, allowing various IoT devices to share real-time updates and alerts across a network. MQTT’s simplicity and ease of implementation have made it popular in IoT applications.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a commonly used protocol for managing and monitoring networks. It helps collect data and configure network devices like routers, switches and servers. SNMP works by exchanging information between network devices and management stations, allowing administrators to track network performance, identify faults and occasionally configure devices remotely. This protocol is essential in physical security systems for overseeing and maintaining the health of network-connected devices such as access controllers and surveillance cameras, ensuring they function effectively and react correctly to network events.

The Importance of Open Standards

Adopting open standards increases interoperability, enhances security and provides better flexibility. By supporting open protocols, systems can more easily integrate with legacy, modern and emerging technologies, avoiding vendor lock-in and technology obsolescence.

Open standards also foster a competitive market where innovation thrives. Companies can focus on improving functionality and features rather than dealing with compatibility issues, which often plague closed systems. This openness inevitably leads to better products and more robust solutions that benefit end users and integrators alike.

Thanks to Mercury’s commitment to open standards, our solutions integrate seamlessly with various devices and management systems. This compatibility simplifies installations and upgrades and enhances the overall security posture by allowing for comprehensive, cross-platform management.

Challenges in Adopting Open Standards

One of the main hurdles is the existing infrastructure that heavily relies on proprietary systems. Transitioning from these closed systems to open, standardized ones requires initial investments and a change in mindset from stakeholders.

Additionally, security faces unique challenges regarding data protection and cyber threats. As systems become more interconnected and reliant on open standards, they become potential cyberattack targets. Open standards must include stringent cybersecurity measures to protect data integrity and system reliability. At Mercury, we prioritize cybersecurity in our solutions, ensuring that our architecture remains secure and resilient despite evolving cyber threats.

We confront these challenges head-on by adopting open standards and emphasizing robust cybersecurity practices. Our solutions incorporate advanced encryption and adhere to stringent protocols, ensuring our architecture never compromises.

Leveraging Open Architecture for Future-Ready Solutions

As technology evolves and new threats emerge, adapting quickly is crucial. In the context of physical security systems, open architecture refers to a design approach that allows for easy integration and interoperability with other systems and devices. It provides the agility needed to upgrade and expand security systems without extensive overhauls, thereby protecting investments over the long term.

Open systems enable easier integration with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, which rely on extensive data and sophisticated algorithms to predict and neutralize threats. Standards-compliant systems are better suited to integrate these advancements efficiently.

Mercury’s approach exemplifies this forward-thinking strategy. Our commitment to open architecture ensures that our controllers and systems can adapt to technological changes, maintaining compatibility with existing and emerging technologies.

Leading the Way to a More Open Future

As the physical security industry evolves, adopting open architecture and standardized protocols will be pivotal in shaping its future. Mercury is proud to lead this transformation, providing solutions that meet today’s challenges and anticipate future needs. As organizations consider upgrading or installing new systems, choosing solutions prioritizing open standards and flexible architecture will ensure long-term resilience and efficiency.

For those looking to stay ahead in a rapidly changing landscape, consider how open architecture can enhance your strategy. Explore how solutions like those from Mercury can provide the protection, flexibility and readiness your organization needs.

Learn more about how Mercury ensures you have the solutions you need to keep your facilities secure today and tomorrow.

Openness has proven to be a winning approach in physical security systems. By easing integration and interoperability, open platforms empower businesses to build best-of-breed systems matched to their needs and adapt those systems in the future.

In addition to helping users today, this approach lays the groundwork for innovations in the access control space. The flexibility it provides enables industry leaders to partner and pioneer new solutions. It is a transformative foundation for collaboration, standardization and regulatory compliance.

Unlocking Innovation Through Partnership

As systems for access control, security and automation become increasingly complex and interconnected, the need for collaboration grows. The open future is one of constructive collaboration among industry leaders. Openness allows more systems to interact and create new functionality and simplicity for those who interact with them.

At Mercury, we embrace a collaborative approach, aiming to empower partners to offer advanced products that add value to existing access control systems. Instead of locking the doors, we open the marketplace to increase innovation and speed to market. We believe our customers will choose the ability to stay ahead of operational and security challenges by adopting the latest innovations.

Striving for Standards

Historically, one of the biggest challenges in access control has been the lack of standardized integrations. Each vendor had their proprietary protocols and interfaces, complicating the communication process among products from different manufacturers. While many vendors still prefer to offer proprietary solutions, this approach results in fragmented ecosystems and interoperability issues, hindering innovation and flexibility.

Open architecture is an intentional step away from this dynamic. One way we further the goal of standardization is through our technology partner program, which brings together manufacturers of related solutions. Together, we build standards that enable seamless communication between Mercury Controllers and third-party products.

Standards help everyone. For OEMs, they streamline integration, reducing development costs and time-to-market. Standards create a broader solution marketplace for customers, freeing them to choose the right components to meet specialized needs. For end users, standards drive the adoption of new features like mobile access and integrated authentication across locations and devices.

Simplifying Compliance

With the proliferation of cyber threats and the accompanying regulatory requirements related to network infrastructure and data protection, ensuring compliance with regulations is paramount. This is particularly true in regions like Europe, where stringent regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) impose strict requirements on handling and processing personal data.

These regulations set up minimum security standards for products, placing demands on end-user networks. Access control products must align with regulatory requirements to uphold network security even as they change.

Open architecture provides the flexibility and agility to adapt to changing compliance standards. Mercury Controllers enable end users to make a single investment accommodating changing security requirements and application demands. Despite a variable regulatory landscape, open architecture promotes economical solutions for access control systems that are genuinely sustainable.

Enabling a Seamlessly Secure Workplace

Openness will benefit security in workplaces and other facilities by integrating different services seamlessly. Imagine a scenario where the controller is part of a connected ecosystem that bridges physical and digital security, connecting physical devices and hosts to enable automation, optimization and next-generation user experiences. In this way, open architecture makes access control systems an enabler of critical current and future scenarios such as:

• Universal access control: The access system uses technology to identify individuals and grant access to authorized areas, including parking, buildings, elevators, floors, offices, meeting rooms and shared spaces.
• Flexible workspaces: As companies adapt to the evolving needs of their workforce, shared workspaces with hot desks are becoming increasingly popular. With secure authentication, employees can enjoy a personalized workstation experience, promoting flexibility and productivity.
• Cashless payments: A secure and efficient payment system enables employees to buy in the cafeteria and at vending machines without needing cash or credit cards.
• Secure printing: Printers with advanced security features verify user identities, preventing unauthorized access to confidential information and company resources.
• Automatic time tracking: The access system automatically logs employee work hours when they enter or leave the building, ending the need for manual time tracking.
• Simple sign-in: Employees use a single set of credentials to access the building and company computers, including cloud-based applications 365. This simplified sign-in process enhances security and convenience.

Open standards enable integration of these capabilities based on unified identities, centralized management and updated security — all tailored to each organization’s needs.

A Vision for the Future

Openness and collaboration will shape the future of access control systems. Mercury aims to push the access control industry forward by championing open architecture. Businesses can thrive in an ever-changing security landscape through seamless integration and the flexibility to update systems as needed.

Collaboration adds value for our partner OEMs and those who work with access control systems daily. Through our partner program, standardized integrations accelerate product development and deployment. That means organizations can respond faster to changes in available technology and privacy regulations.

Open architecture ensures that security solutions evolve alongside business needs. With the flexibility to seamlessly integrate fresh solutions into existing access control systems, businesses can confidently support modernized security.

Learn more about how Mercury ensures you have the necessary solutions to secure your facilities today and tomorrow.

Expectations around physical security systems continue to grow. They must protect assets, enhance user convenience and integrate seamlessly with other building systems. As the pace of change accelerates, organizations must focus on simplifying the administration of physical access control and adopting robust, user-friendly and integrated systems within the broader organizational infrastructure.

More Agile, More Connected

Physical security now routinely intersects with IT and cybersecurity due to convergence with other critical building operations like HR, facilities and HVAC. This integration boosts efficiency and raises the bar, requiring a unified approach to effectively manage physical and digital threats. Leaders must now create systems that meet rigorous standards and enhance operational efficiency, reflecting a shift toward more holistic, integrated strategies.

The shift to IP-based platforms makes controllers and hardware part of the broader organizational network, which enhances their connectivity and integration. This connectivity allows for better coordination across various systems, making management more streamlined and providing greater flexibility for updates and monitoring. For example, administrators can remotely adjust settings or deploy updates across the network quickly and efficiently.

However, this increased connectivity also opens up more potential entry points for cyber threats. Since these systems are now part of the network, any hardware vulnerabilities could be exploited to access other parts of the network. Vendor compliance with standards like ISO 27001, which provides a framework for information security management, helps ensure these systems are secure and resilient against such threats. By adhering to such standards, organizations can better protect themselves from cyberattacks, maintain data privacy and ensure the reliability of their physical infrastructure.

Hardening Security With Open Platforms

The quest for more user-friendly solutions drives developers to create advanced physical access control systems. These systems shift away from traditional models to include features like hardened crypto hardware, enhancing security for sensitive data and securing communication throughout the system.

Adopting open platforms like Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) represents a significant shift toward better device connectivity and automation. This change strengthens security and increases the flexibility of physical systems, making upgrades more manageable and cost-effective.

Industry standards act as benchmarks that products and services must meet to ensure quality and safety. These standards are essential because they offer a consistent framework that manufacturers, service providers and users can depend on. For instance, standards might specify the security level a device must achieve or how to handle data privacy. By complying with these specifications, companies ensure their products integrate smoothly with others in a larger ecosystem.

Proactively engaging with partners and customers about these standards spreads awareness and understanding of the requirements and security best practices. This proactive approach enables companies to respond swiftly to emerging threats and adapt to industry changes, ensuring they stay ahead and maintain a secure and reliable environment.

Adapting to Technological Advances

Upgrading to future-ready hardware is critical for meeting today’s complex demands. The latest generation of controllers enhances protection and privacy with better encryption and more secure data storage. This means sensitive information gets a stronger shield against cyber threats and unauthorized access.

These upgrades also fit well with current network setups, making it easier and more cost-effective for organizations to improve their systems as their needs grow. With these advancements, companies can better comply with new privacy laws and quickly adapt to challenges, ensuring their data and assets are well-protected in a connected world.

Engagement with industry partners and stakeholders is crucial for raising cybersecurity standards and ensuring all players can handle emerging challenges. This proactive strategy enhances the overall security posture and supports informed decision-making among users and partners.

How Mercury Leads With Innovation

At Mercury, we strive to lead the industry with solutions designed to adapt as needs evolve. From hardware enhancements to comprehensive policy management, Mercury exemplifies leadership in adapting to technological and operational shifts.

Focusing on internal management and oversight equips our teams to meet rigorous standards and address emerging challenges. This proactive approach is vital for maintaining high standards and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. As operational demands grow, we leverage our expertise to enhance practices and support our teams, ensuring compliance and robust governance throughout the organization.

Securing the Future Together

The landscape of physical security continues to evolve, driven by the need for more integrated, efficient and user-friendly systems. Navigating this evolution requires a commitment to innovation, standards compliance and proactive industry engagement.

Organizations must evaluate their infrastructure and how physical security innovations can enhance safety and operational efficiency. By staying ahead of technological advancements and fostering strong partnerships, companies can secure their assets and data against emerging threats.

Consider how your organization can integrate these advancements to meet today’s challenges and prepare for future demands. Reach out to explore how we can help you enhance your security systems for a more connected world.

Learn more about how Mercury ensures you have the solutions you need to keep your facilities secure today and tomorrow.

The effectiveness and longevity of an access control system depend on its architecture — and the choice of a proprietary or open platform can have significant business, operational and security consequences.

For many years, proprietary systems held sway over the access control landscape. Access control is a highly specialized field requiring specific expertise and knowledge to ensure effective implementation. This led to the development of technologies outside the mainstream of enterprise IT.

In the past, access control systems relied heavily on hardware with limited memory and processing capabilities, which made proprietary solutions more practical as they were optimized for such constraints. The security-conscious nature of the industry naturally led to a “walled garden” mentality favoring proprietary systems whose code and construction were closely guarded corporate secrets.

Today, open architecture has firmly taken root in physical security, eased by technological advancements, expanded computing capabilities and a growing emphasis on interoperability and customization within the industry. Open architecture empowers you, the security professionals, IT professionals and decision-makers, to support up-to-date security and the agility to modify systems as necessary. In the dynamic realms of security and technology, flexibility for upgrades means enhanced agility, security and cost-effectiveness, putting you in control of your system’s evolution.

Longevity

To remain agile, businesses need the freedom to integrate new features into existing systems seamlessly. Open architecture allows access control systems to grow and change over time without being restricted to a single vendor’s offerings. For instance, new features like facial recognition technology or mobile credential authentication can be integrated more easily. Organizations can adapt to new security challenges and application requirements without costly overhauls or complete replacements. This way, access control systems stay effective for years without compromising relevancy, allowing you to evolve with the changing landscape.

However much it seems to simplify matters initially, a proprietary setup can be challenging to manage in the long term. Customers often depend heavily on a single organization, leading to potential limitations, constraints and disruptions dictated by that entity’s decisions and market dynamics. This dependency may result in restricted choices, slower innovation and higher costs, ultimately hindering adaptability and scalability.

Conversely, open systems alleviate this concern by fostering a vibrant and competitive technology marketplace. With multiple vendors offering compatible solutions, customers benefit from increased choice, innovation and competitive pricing. This promotes interoperability, flexibility and resilience, empowering organizations to tailor solutions to their specific needs and seamlessly integrate new technologies as they emerge.

Customization

Open architecture in access control technology offers a significant advantage by enabling customers to customize and adapt their systems to meet specific security needs and industry challenges. Unlike closed or proprietary systems, which may impose stricter limits on customization, open architecture empowers organizations to tailor access control solutions according to their unique preferences and requirements. This flexibility is crucial in addressing nuanced security contexts where rigid systems may fall short.

Additionally, open architecture facilitates seamless integration with third-party devices, custom workflows and specialized applications, allowing organizations to extend the functionality of their access control systems while maintaining interoperability. This streamlined integration process enhances the system’s adaptability, ensuring it can efficiently respond to evolving operational needs and adhere to changing security standards.

Quality

Open architecture empowers customers to select the most suitable technology available on the market, unrestricted by proprietary solutions from a single vendor. Organizations can adopt cutting-edge innovations as they emerge and deliberately choose which high-quality solutions to integrate with their access control system.

By embracing open architecture, businesses are not confined to a specific brand or set of devices or software offerings. Instead, they can choose from various best-of-breed solutions, including advanced biometric readers, state-of-the-art analytics software, cloud-based management platforms and more. This openness enables organizations to construct access control systems that offer optimal performance, reliability and functionality tailored to their needs and preferences.

Value

Proprietary technology platforms often claim that they reduce costs by simplifying deployment and integration. However, the ubiquity of open platforms and the ease with which system integrators and vendors can learn to deploy them make this argument less compelling.

More importantly, open architecture tends to drive down costs and deliver greater value in the long term. This is especially true when it comes to hardware, given that the initial investment in the physical access control components represents about 80% of the cost of the entire system. As a result of implementing access controllers with open architecture, such as Mercury Controllers, organizations are free to consider a range of complementary solutions that fit their business needs and their budget — and to replace those solutions as needed without buying new controllers.

The flexibility of open architecture leads to cost-effectiveness. Organizations can avoid vendor lock-in and costly proprietary integrations by leveraging open standards and interoperability. Businesses have little control over cost when they depend on a single vendor.

Additionally, since open architecture allows for integrating brand-new technologies, businesses can take advantage of the latest innovations without the added cost of replacing existing equipment. Through open architecture, businesses minimize the total cost of ownership and maximize return on investment.

Open Architecture Is the Strategic Choice

Choosing an open access control system is a strategic imperative for businesses that value security sustainability. Open architecture makes a difference in how teams confront risks and develop workable solutions. It allows agile and customizable responses to business challenges while remaining optimally cost-effective.

The point to remember about access control technology built with open architecture is that it prioritizes business needs now and in the future. When making lasting decisions about security, considering the variability of the future is essential. The status quo will change. The need for new functionality and new protections will arise. Mercury opts for open architecture in building Mercury Controllers to offer businesses choices, foster innovation and enable future-ready access control systems.

Learn more about how Mercury ensures you have the solutions you need to keep your facilities secure today and tomorrow.