Changing technologies and heightened risks mean that access control systems that are crucial to normal operations in nearly all walks of life are badly in need of a new model to ensure they remain safe and secure, new research shows.

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies said research it conducted for a white paper on access control systems in the face of evolving technologies showed users want a brand new approach that enables them to adjust to change now and in the future.

The professionals it surveyed challenged every preconceived, current practice in the security industry, Ingersoll Rand said.

Access control systems can range from simple locks in a junior school or hotel to complex entry procedures for corporate and financial networks or government and military entities, industry sources said.

Ingersoll Rand's report comes amid indications that security professionals are increasingly wary of new technologies that require them to make wide-ranging changes, including upgrades and crossgrades, sometimes at great cost to their companies. Instead, many professionals want to be able to adapt and adjust in the same way as consumers are able to integrate innovation into existing appliances.

"Users want a new model for security and safety that lets them customize today while, at the same time, lets them easily migrate or upgrade in the future," said Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies General Manager Rick White.

"In other words, they want their next access control system to be flexible, adaptable and scalable. It must provide the right products for their own specific applications now and in the future, regardless of whether the initial solution is keypad or card reader, offline or online, or stainless steel or brass.

"They want components to match existing hardware both in color and style. They look forward to eventually incorporating emergency lockdown, WiFi, network on a card, mesh networks and all the other new technologies that are being discussed in the media and at trade shows without complications."

Industry sources said the current cash crunch had driven managers to become more cautious while embracing new technologies because of cost implications.

Citing concerns of end-users interviewed and surveyed for the white paper, White said the findings would serve as a road map that would enable industry to respond to changing needs.

Ingersoll Rand's evidence of a more proactive generation of access control decision comes amid indications of another key change cited in a Security Industry Association report. The report showed that more IT managers were getting involved in physical security solutions than before. Until recently, IT professionals were bypassed or ignored when institutions revamped their physical security installations.

More than three-fourths of companies now work with their IT managers before implementing new security solutions.

"This shows just how much physical security is converging with IT," said the association's director of research, Mark Visbal. "A few years ago, they were different worlds."