Enriching access control management with ‘Identity Analytics’

There is a new concept in Security management. Gallagher Security Management Systems is harnessing the power of real, operational, business convergence to deliver something they’ve coined, ‘Identity Analytics’. Identity Analytics describes an enriched access control decision which automates compliance with operational and regulatory policy. This ensures people are competent, safe and accountable as they move around on site.

Gallagher delivers Identity Analytics functionality via their Cardax FT physical security management system. This enables organisations to leverage their investment in physical security infrastructure to achieve an unprecedented level of granularity and discretion in personnel flow and workforce management.
Identity Analytics provides a high degree of control and certainty by ensuring the right people (who are inducted, trained, licensed and competent and therefore compliant with regulations) are in the right place at the right time, and by alerting system operators to exceptions. This greatly mitigates the risk of accidents, partial or full site shutdown and corporate liability.

Business compliance with every access decision
What was once considered a ‘security access control decision’ can now be thought of in broader terms as a ‘business workforce enablement decision’. Whereas ‘access control’ based on ‘who can go where and when’ delivers relatively fixed, non-dynamic results, it can now be greatly enriched when informed by data from integrated systems including business and regulatory policy defining an individual’s suitability for access – e.g. their status in terms of induction, training, certification, licences, and fitness for work.

Bi-directional information flow between business systems overlayed with policy and its effect at the point of entry delivers an ongoing impact throughout your organisation. As business rules are set, managers are assured that organisational and regulatory policy is automatically enforced. The effect on day-to-day business can be felt on the ground by every employee – they have the assurance that their co-workers are fit for work and their working environment is safe.
Activity can be monitored and measured through a real-time audit trail. This unprecedented transparency means business decisions and requirements can be adjusted and actioned quickly in response to their effect.

Powerful workforce management solution
Identity Analytics enables proactive and pre-emptive workforce management. Traditionally, if a person is denied access they have little or no understanding as to the reason. They are left with the frustration of having to report their situation to their manager or Security personnel.  Identity Analytics delivers truly intelligent access control decisions which are communicated in a meaningful way on distributed hardware at the door or perimeter gate. Staff can be warned via a door reader screen or gate display screen of any upcoming expiry of their licences or competencies, so they can proactively address these issues and prevent them from becoming an impediment to their access. If they are denied access, staff are immediately informed of corrective action they should take in order to have their access to an area re-instated.  For example, a employee may be denied access if he needs to complete certain training before accessing equipment or a licence to access a vehicle before signing on for his shift.
 
As well as enforcing compliance with business and regulatory policy under a normal operational situation, exceptions can be accommodated - for example, in emergency situations certain staff need access to areas they otherwise couldn’t access, others need to be kept out and a full audit trail of all access events is required. The ability to accommodate exceptions means personnel flow and safety are optimized, no matter what the situation.

Risk mitigation, operational continuity and emergency management
Identity Analytics ensures a company’s safety, security, compliance and regulatory policies are enforced before breaches occur.  It provides the ability to enforce business safety and security processes via truly intelligent access control decisions on distributed hardware ‘at the door’. Enforcement at the mercy of on an online server is now a thing of the past.

Speed in tracking and responding to incidents is critical in emergency situations. Identity Analytics delivers an unprecedented level of transparency about who and where personnel are on site through a full audit trail of events.

Big business benefits to any size organisation
Traditionally, this level of functional sophistication has been available only to those with significant ERP infrastructure (e.g. enterprise size companies). Gallagher is pioneering the way with Cardax FT by enabling any size business to benefit from this exceptional functionality.

The open system architecture of Cardax FT, Gallagher’s core platform for integration, means that Identity Analytics can be as basic or feature rich as required. Companies needing to monitor and control one or two people can apply a simple sub-set of Gallagher’s full system capabilities with the option to add to them as their requirements change. The solution fully spans the needs of all businesses (small to enterprise) in terms of complexity, affordability and flexibility, meaning it will never become obsolete or redundant as the business grows.

Implementation is at the business’ pace through staged rollouts, utilizing standard Cardax hardware, and on the Cardax FT system through software upgrades.

Real world thinking
While the concept of making ‘Security’ meaningful to the wider business operation has been around for some time, Gallagher has bridged the gap between theory and practice, delivering a real-world solution:
• Simple – one-off implementation (self-sufficient once configured), which doesn’t require bespoke software
• Resilient - delivering uninterrupted business operation – even if the organisation’s IT system goes down.

Why implement Identity Analytics through Cardax FT?
• Ensure staff are capable, qualified and compliant with policy every time they walk through the door
• ‘At the door’ or gate on screen messages empower staff to self-comply with policy
• Ensure continuity of business operational flow
• Enforcement of access decisions and business rules is no longer at the mercy of on an online server