In The Boardroom With...

Mark Williams
Director of Sales � EMEA
AMAG

Access control systems have always been great repositories of big data�every time you swipe your card or present your phone at a door, you are creating data. But very little has ever been done to analyze that data�until now. AMAG has developed a machine learning algorithm that learns what normal behavior is for an access control system� it learns when you usually arrive at the office, which door you enter the facility via and where you go next. So if you suddenly start arriving earlier and going to different locations, which you may still be allowed access to, the system will recognize that as �abnormal behavior.� There may be perfectly genuine reasons for the observed behavior, but the AMAG solution provides you with that insight� it gives you an early warning of potentially nefarious activity so you can make a better, more informed decision.

Jeff LeBlanc
Vice President Professional Services
AMAG

AMAG Professional Services recently worked with a major enterprise customer to deploy Symmetry software applications that integrate with multiple customer-facing workflow portals. These applications helped our customer optimize the way their customers and the security team operate on a day-to-day basis. We provided a full project team that included an engineer, developer, and project manager who were actively involved in every aspect of the project. AMAG Professional Services helped the customer develop and refine their business requirements, workflows and technical design. From the start, we were included and treated as a major stakeholder in the customer�s internal project and design meetings which allowed for a more intimate relationship with the customer.

Another example of a success story is I received a call on a Saturday from one of our enterprise customers who did not have an active Pro Services job, but was the victim of a severe network hack and denial of service attack. This customer wanted our help rebuilding our Symmetry Access Control application with a recent database backup on a separate server and network. My team and I organized our resources, worked the entire weekend on video calls and the customer was back up and running by Monday morning.

Fred Nelson
Director of Sales
AMAG

AMAG�s unique value proposition is one of the main reasons I joined the company. There are many companies that offer access control, video or identity management solutions. What makes AMAG unique is that we offer a total solution that is developed in-house. We manufacture our own access control software and hardware, visitor management and identity management systems. Manufacturing our own hardware and software allows us full control over feature enhancing upgrades, ensuring continuity of supply for the long term. Our system is completely scalable, meaning a Symmetry Security Management System can operate in a small business or secure a large company, even with locations around the world.

Another key differentiator is AMAG incorporates an open architecture into its Symmetry solution. Symmetry integrates with ANY technology on the market, including other access control systems. Integrating with other access control systems is important for large enterprise customers who acquire companies and take on the responsibility of managing the new company�s existing access control systems. Integrating with those new systems simplifies the overall security management and lets the company issue one card for all systems. In addition, our support team provides complete support for all third-party products integrated with Symmetry. This is a huge relief for our customers who don�t want to jump around to different manufacturers when they have issues.

Kami Dukes
Director of Business Development
AMAG

My business development team at AMAG Technology is 100% dedicated to the security consultant community and architects and engineers. This community is the backbone of the security industry. They have power, much more than meets the eye, to drive some of the most meaningful work in the security space. The industry works collectively as a wheel that keeps churning with the ultimate goals of saving lives and protecting properties and assets. We have security end users that have a business to run and security plans to operate and execute on. We have technology developers, such as ourselves at AMAG, that provide innovative solutions the end user can rely on to optimize their security programs. And we have the systems integrators who bring the systems to life and maintain their health and long-term functionality. But what sets the wheels in motion is the physical security consultant.

The heart of a security consultant�s expertise lies in evaluating risk and laying the groundwork to do something about it in order to minimize the risk and better protect organizations from threats through their recommendations. However, no two security consultants practice the exact same way. Some are specialized in security management and security operations. Some are focused on technical security. And others focus on the legal aspects of the business while representing organizations in court litigations. At the end of the day, end users invest, or at least should, in security consultant services to help carry the weight of providing a safe and secure environment for their organizations. It�s a heavy load in a complex industry and that�s where my team comes into play.

Jonathan Moore
Vice President of Product Management
AMAG

AMAG Technology delivers a powerful, unified and open security platform that empowers businesses to effectively secure their facilities, transform their operations and meet compliance. The Symmetry Security Management system encompasses access control, video, identity management, analytics, mobile, intrusion, visitor management, command and control and incident management. Symmetry's scalable, resilient and integrated security solutions provide operational insights and intelligence to improve business today and tomorrow.

AMAG is known for providing enterprise access control hardware and software. Over the last 5 years we have added a range of supporting products that integrate directly with the access control platform, providing a complete physical security solution, capable of managing all aspects of a well rounded security program.

John Becker
Vice President Global Sales
AMAG

We continued to innovate in 2020 and launched Symmetry Business Intelligence. Our customers had been asking for a way to track behavior abnormalities, and we delivered an analytics solution that helps identify identities that may pose a high risk to an organization. It also tracks facility occupancy and office usage for high-traffic areas, which provides data needed to help meet occupancy guidelines imposed by governing authorities, enforce physical distancing and determine cleaning schedules.

In 2021, we will continue to listen to our customers and develop and enhance our open and diverse product platform. No one in the industry offers such an innovative and comprehensive solution set. It’s important to AMAG to support our customers with solutions that not only protect employees, assets and buildings but also positively impact business operations. We will continue to innovate with AI, analytics and mobile solutions to help mitigate risk, reduce costs and ensure compliance.

Howard Johnson
Chief Operating Officer
AMAG Technology

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:Thank you for joining us today, Howard. After 34 years at AMAG, Howard Johnson has seen a lot change: change at the company, change in the industry and change in technologies. In this interview, Howard takes a deep dive into these topics and shares his views. Before discussing AMAG in more detail, please tell us about your background.

Howard Johnson:Beginning in 1984, I started as a technician working at customer installations in what we’d now call the Professional Services Department. I moved on and became a QA Test Engineer for the product line, which then consisted of primarily manual testing of Intruder Alarms before moving back to the technical side where I ran the technical support department. Next, I managed Product QA, then ran hardware development before moving to manufacturing and distribution. Eventually, I took over product development where I oversee all development and management of the Symmetry Security platform and a team of engineers.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: AMAG is a well-established security management solution provider. What direction do you see AMAG heading?

Howard Johnson: We are close to completing the transition from being a product-led business to a solutions-led business. The breadth and sophistication of the product set we have is becoming difficult for the traditional integrator to communicate to their user base. Increasingly, the product manufacturer needs to be involved in selling the solution to ensure the requirements are met and the value proposition is fully explained.

Technology makes things simpler over time, but in the security industry, innovation branches off in different directions making it difficult for technology to make things simpler. Remember all those printer driver problems you used to have? No one ever thinks about that now; they just plug in and go.

We are finding complementary markets for our products where integration opportunities are helping companies with different aspects of their businesses. For example, intrusion integration, fire integration, BMS, space management and heat and light are all part of security. Our Symmetry products can integrate with these solutions and help users meet compliance, mitigate risk and save money. Our long-term strategy remains the same: to be a long-term valued partner and provide continuous value to our customers.

We are reinventing ourselves to provide a consultative approach so our customers know how to best use our Symmetry Security Management System. There are new challenges, technologies and propositions. It’s our job to help our customers learn how to use Symmetry to be more efficient.

Kim Rahfaldt
Public Relations Manager
AMAG Technology

How to Overcome Airport Security Challenges and Solutions 

No matter the size, airports are responsible for the security of all workers who are employed within their walls, on the tarmac, and grounds. The challenge is ninety percent of those people don’t work for the airport. They work for the airlines, TSA, or different vendors that reside as tenants within the airport.

Airports need to provide a friendly and efficient experience for their tenants. They need to ensure the different employees (identities) are properly vetted and managed throughout their lifecycle. Additional challenges include the use of multiple disparate systems across an airport plus the rules and regulations that must be followed. How can airports provide a high level of customer service for their tenants, meet compliance regulations and ensure the safety and security of everyone? 

Onboarding

The faster an airport can onboard a new employee, the happier the tenant. When a new employee is hired, they get assigned to an airport and need a badge. The onboarding process is usually manual, and requires employees to make multiple trips to their airport to answer questions, get a background check, get fingerprinted, go through training, etc. Most of the time, the onboarding officer has to work in several different systems to complete the onboarding, which is cumbersome and error prone. Airports get pressured to quicken this process, and have an opportunity to show value to their tenants by getting new employees badged and out to work quickly.  By streamlining the onboarding process using an identity management system, the procedures are automated and the airline employee starts work faster. What used to take weeks, now takes days, plus automated processes also free up staff time, saving money.

Airports are highly regulated, and employees need to pass background checks and have a certain level of insurance to work in highly restricted areas like the Security Identification Display Area (SIDA). An identity management system can automate and streamline compliance requirements, ensuring the airport will not fall out of compliance. Built in reporting features provide pre-configured reports to streamline employee audits.