SimonsVoss Technologies has entered a technology partnership in Europe with Morphean. The new technology partnership, that will utilise SimonsVoss' digital access control system SmartIntego, extends Morphean's cloud-based capabilities beyond video surveillance and into the access control-as-a-service (ACaaS) market, forecast to reach US$2.8b by 2024.

The secure Morphean platform informs decision making and drives efficiencies for organisations by generating unique and actionable insights from a multitude of data sources. The combination of an integrated security system hosted in the cloud that now combines video surveillance and access control promises not only greater security with two factor authentication but also a wealth of rich data. This will help businesses optimise operations and processes, such as by gaining greater insight into customer and employee behaviours or how office space is utilised.

Martyn Ryder, VP Sales & Marketing at Morphean says, "We are seeing considerable growth in demand for wireless locks so we welcome this timely agreement to partner with SimonsVoss. This will allow us to extend our current access control offering and meet growing market and customer demand for both wired and wireless locking solutions via our cloud managed access control solution. The powerful combination of video security and access control as-a-service will bring many operational and business benefits for our customers across Europe and beyond."

The advance of smart cities, a more stringent regulatory environment and rising crime rates are some of the factors behind the appeal of ACaaS and outsourcing access control functions to guarantee accurate maintenance of key cards. With this system set up, only access control hardware systems are deployed on premise while the software and access control data are shifted to a remote location and provided as a service to users on a recurring monthly subscription. The benefits of such an arrangement are numerous but include avoiding large capital investments and shifting the onus of cybersecurity and firmware updates to the vendor.

"Digital access control systems are valued highly in security technology for buildings," commented Evert te Pas, International Sales Manager at SimonsVoss. "SmartIntego by SimonsVoss is a state-of-the-art digital access control solution that is easy and simple to deploy into existing physical and digital infrastructure such as doors and IT networks. The cable free and snap-in installation means it is compatible with most doors with no drilling of holes, so is scalable and flexible without limitation."

Morphean's ACaaS system utilises door controllers from Axis Communications, namely the AXIS A1001 and the AXIS A1601, that serve as the interface between the cloud and the SimonsVoss' SmartIntego system. Stephanie Hensler, Director Business Development at Axis Communications, said, "Axis is totally committed to this market and creating innovative solutions based on its open standards that allow partners to integrate different types of software and hardware for a fully scalable, flexible and future proof solution."