The smart lock industry has experienced quite a rapid growth in the recent years. According to Markets and Markets, the smart lock industry is projected to grow to nearly 4 billion dollars by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 12.9%. Farmonaut, predicts that the industry will grow to 10.7 billion dollars by 2033. While the current adoption is primarily towards residential and smart home markets, we see increased demand for smart locks in the office environment. In this article, we are exploring the pros and cons of using smart locks for meeting rooms.
Why Are Smart Locks Getting Popular In The Office?
Smart locks are increasingly being adopted in office spaces, particularly in modern workplaces. These include modern corporate offices, co-working spaces, traditional offices that need to secure meeting rooms, offices that use hybrid working models, and offices that allow external parties to use the meeting rooms.
There are several reasons for this interest.
Enhanced Security & Access Control
Traditional meeting rooms are accessed via physical keys and RFID cards. These introduce challenges such as lost or misplaced keys and cards. The post-pandemic world has seen more adoption of touchless access control systems such as facial recognition systems. Smart locks provide a combination of multiple technologies that can cater to minimal touch or touchless access with mobile apps. Many also provide the capability to have multi-factor authentication mechanisms such as pins, biometrics, RFID, fingerprint, and mobile credentials.
Smart locks provide the ability to remotely control access. This opens up new capabilities to allow users to remotely allow visitors to access the meeting room. They also allow monitoring and logging of activities.
Convenience & Efficiency
Modern smart locks can be mounted on any type of surface and can be done instantly without having to overhaul the doors and run cables. Most purchases of smart locks come with mounting services that can be done within a day.
With capabilities to be mounted on any surface, they do not limit the interior design and architectural aesthetics.
Scheduling Capabilities
Modern smart locks are getting on par with traditional access control systems with a full suite of features and capabilities.
There are different types of access that can be given to the types of people using the office. For example, staff can be provided with access through a one-time registration and unlimited access to the meeting room.
Administrators can access the meeting rooms through override capabilities for normal and emergency use cases.
Visitors can be provided with a duration-based one-time access PIN which expires after its usage.
In a traditional access control system, everyone is issued a physical card or a key to allow them access to the meeting rooms. This limits the office administrator to wait till the meeting is over to collect the card and key back from the user.
Geographically Scalable
Scalability is a unique advantage of smart locks. With traditional offices spanning multiple physical locations, each location will need to have its access control solution based on the type of building. With smart locks, which are cloud-based, access control can be uniformly implemented and tied to a central booking system that can help manage the entire office across geographical locations.
Simplified Management
Most smart locks can be controlled remotely via a mobile app. This gives flexibility to the owner as well as complete control anywhere anytime. Notifications can provide real-time information on the access events to the administrators for them to reach quickly to security threats.
Extendable Capabilities
Challenges Of Implementing Smart Locks In Meeting Rooms
High Capital Expenditures
The initial investment in smart locks can be quite expensive as smart locks can cost in the hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on their capabilities. They can be quite a large expense when there are a large number of meeting rooms. However, with the growing adoption of smart locks, the prices seem to be coming down.
Maintenance Challenges
Smart locks are stand-alone devices that require regular maintenance. In almost all cases, they run on standard battery cells. These require regular replacement to ensure that they work effectively. In most cases, there are capabilities to detect battery levels using the smartphone using Bluetooth. Alerts can also be put in place to notify the administrator when the level reaches a threshold. However, the need to maintain and regularly upkeep the smart lock requires manual effort.
Lock Failures
Lock failures can happen due to the hardware being faulty. Smart locks use technology to control them and as with all technologies, they are prone to malfunction. In addition, many use communication methods such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to be able to communicate with the central servers. If the connection drops, then the locks may not be able to get updates on the upcoming meetings or allowed PINs.
This can cause temporary inability to use the meeting room. These can be overcome with physical keys or administrative overrides. Some smart locks even have offline access PINs that are stored in the lock or deduced from algorithms that can help provide access to the meeting rooms even if there is no connectivity.
Cybersecurity Risks
As with all connected technologies, there is a risk of cybersecurity threats are real. IoT devices are most prone to vulnerability attacks. Smart locks are no different. The need to manage security and ensure that breaches are monitored and mitigated is a must. This requires IT teams to be involved in monitoring the threats adding to their responsibility of asset maintenance. This can be overcome by ensuring that the smart lock provider is up-to-date in terms of their security implementations with regular firmware updates and certifications. It is also on the onus of the owner to ensure that default passwords and credentials are reset to strict controls to prevent unauthorized access.
Regulatory Requirements
Some buildings may prevent the use of smart locks to ensure safety and security. As mentioned above, some challenges pose a risk profile that can prevent their usage based on building policies. Getting clearance from the building owners may be required before implementing company-wide smart locks.
Conclusion
Smart locks offer numerous advantages for office environments, particularly in security, efficiency, and access management. However, they require careful implementation to mitigate cybersecurity risks, ensure reliability, and optimize user adoption. For businesses prioritizing convenience and modern security, smart locks are a valuable investment, but they should be paired with strong cybersecurity measures and backup access solutions. Companies can learn from the pros and cons of using smart locks for meeting rooms and make decisions accordingly.
