Pricing for a Honeywell Access Control System is not available, and opaque on the website.
Support for the products is available via a number of methods, including a toll free phone number, an online portal, and a Knowledge Base Library, although a shortcoming is the limited hours of phone support. Honeywell Access Control Systems are a popular option for enterprise customers, particularly in facilities with critical infrastructure. Get a quote for an access control system How it works In some cases, user support gets contacted on an anonymous basis to assess how responsive they will be to meet user needs.
When available, an online demo is downloaded and trialed to assess the software more directly. We especially attempt to identify trends in the reviews. Also looked at are the Google Play Store, and Apple App Store for available apps, that can also be a treasure trove for user experiences for applicable apps. However, we endeavor to overcome this by scouring the internet, including social media, for user reviews.
The methods include looking at the available features of each product, including the support services, and available pricing.Ī limitation is that we unfortunately cannot install these access control systems and use them firsthand. We took a look at many different access control systems prior to selecting which to include in this guide. Thankfully, these firms are forthcoming with a custom quote, so be prepared in advance to assess your needs, such as the number of users, the quantity of openings to be protected, and other anticipated extras, such as security cameras or integrated fire protection to streamline getting a quote. Also, consider if a contract is needed, and for what length.Īlso, as occurs in many enterprise purchases, the costs of an access control system are quite opaque when you go to the vendor websites. These days, many of the vendors supply the software through the cloud, with advantages of continuous upgrades at the back end, but then there is a requirement of a subscription to use the service, typically paid monthly or annually. If purchasing the software outright, there will be upgrades down the road, and which need to be figured into the price. The other costs are the subscription costs, which are a recurring expense. Also consider any modifications to the building structure that will be required, such as additional networking locations, or getting electricity to an access card reader.
They can be broken down into the acquisition cost, and recurring costs.įirst there is the cost of the hardware, which includes both the acquisition of the devices, and the installation costs as well. There are various costs to consider when acquiring an access control system. This data becomes particularly valuable when an incident occurs to see who was physically in the area at the time of the incident. This can then be analyzed on an individual basis, and in aggregate. In this era of ‘ Big Data,’ another benefit of an access control system is that data on the movement of employees in facilities is tracked and stored. The types of facilities include governmental, healthcare, military, business, educational, and hospitality. Many types of facilities deploy access control systems really anyplace that would benefit from controlling access to various areas as part of the security plan. What types of facilities will benefit from an access control system? Beyond that, some systems support integration with other devices for other protections, such as security cameras, break in alarms, carbon dioxide detectors, and smoke and fire detectors. Beyond that, there is the central control, which can vary from a central computer running the software, or a cloud based system with access from a web browser or mobile phone app. This is an attractive setup with obvious advantages compared to a traditional physical lock as visitor cards can be given an expiration date, and employees that no longer need access to the facility can have their cards deactivated.Īt the core of an access control system are the card readers, and the access cards that are provided to the users with each doorway protected by one. Each person that has access to the facility then has a card (which often has the dual purpose of an ID badge), which then gets scanned for access to the doorway. A common configuration is to have some type of card reader to control each doorway.
Each employee is provided a level of security so that they are given access to the areas that are needed for them to perform their job functions, and restrict access to other areas that they do not need access to. Typically there is centralized control via a software interface.