ASSA ABLOY, Cisco Announce Partnership

Sep 22, 2006 2:43 PM

At the ASIS show in San Diego this week, two giants - one in the physical security realm and the other in the IT arena - are announcing a partnership that will apply the idea of IT convergence to the lock on the door.
ASSA ABLOY has formed a partnership with Cisco Systems to develop a "network door" that combines ASSA ABLOY's new standards-based Highly Intelligent Operation (Hi-O) lock-technology system with Cisco's IP-based converged access control technology.
The "Intelligent Door" demonstration at ASIS will preview the application of the technology, which Cisco and ASSA ABLOY will use to jointly test and market the interoperable "network door."
"This system will increase the ability of physical security personnel to provide a higher level of protection through a close integration with the IP network," says Mark Farino, general manager of Cisco's Converged Secure Infrastructure Business Unit. Cisco's vision of physical security includes its so-called Intelligent Converged Environment (information network) that will seamlessly connect applications such as digital video and physical access control. "This represents a change in a marketplace that doesn't change very fast," Farina says.
"Cisco needed a way to get the door on the network without involving traditional access control panels," says Glen Greer, CTO of Shared Technologies at ASSA ABLOY, and the Hi-O system will provide that important link."
The lock installer does not have to be an IT expert -- the system will be self-configured and plug-and-play right out of the box, thus preserving the role of locksmiths and security dealers in the industry, Greer says. The announcement will allow the "IT department and the security department to operate in complete harmony," he adds.
The products developed by the partnership are expected to hit the market in mid-2007.

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