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HID Global Recognized for Access Control Implementation at Vanderbilt University

HID Global is known for powering the trusted identities of the world’s people, places and things. Our goal is to develop innovative technology solutions to help customers and partners solve real-world challenges and create better and more secure experiences, from banking and commercial real estate to healthcare and higher education. We are excited to share that the HID Mobile Access® Control implementation at Vanderbilt University was selected as the winner of two awards. IoT Evolution recently announced the winners of its IoT Security Excellence Awards at IoT Evolution World recognizing HID Global for the Vanderbilt project, and within days,  Security Sales and Integration revealed the same HID Global project at Vanderbilt was a 2021 Security Solutions Award winner at Global Security Exchange (GSX).

The awards recognize organizations delivering exemplary project solutions in the field, including software or hardware solutions that secure IoT devices and networks by contributing innovative work to a rapidly evolving industry. Winners are chosen based on their ability to consistently demonstrate the advancement of technologies that meet the needs of customers, partners and integrators. We are proud to be recognized as a winner for our work with Vanderbilt University. As such, we’d also like to take a moment to reflect on the journey that brought both HID and Vanderbilt University to where we are today.

The Evolution of HID Mobile Access

New technology and the ubiquitous use of mobile devices drove innovations in security and the ability to power trusted identities in new ways. As we watched the market, we noted trends in the use of smart cards and other smart devices in an interoperable ecosystem and the benefits that could be yielded over time. We first piloted opening doors with a mobile device in 2011 enabled by NFC and digital keys. The pilot was important in solidifying NFC technology into new, complementary and secure physical access control applications for IoT — such as a digital student ID. HID Global officially launched the Mobile Access solution in 2014, and shortly thereafter was the first to earn ISO27001 certification for mobile access.

Understanding customer challenges and desired outcomes has shaped the way we approach technology and the innovation it supports. Today, the HID Mobile Access solution is made up of mobile-enabled readers, secure mobile identities powered by Seos® technology, a mobile application and cloud-based management portal that together create a connected ecosystem to deliver a seamless and secure user experience via NFC or Bluetooth®. And in the last year-and-a-half, the touchless aspects of mobile access control helped those early adopters make a return to the office — or to the campus in the case of Vanderbilt University — more realistic.

Access Control in IoT: Mobile Access Control at Vanderbilt University

Universities and their populations of digital natives are helping to drive IoT at scale. Vanderbilt University’s investment in mobile-enabled technologies includes HID Mobile Access, powered by Seos® credential technology along with an access control reader infrastructure comprised of HID® Signo™ ReadersHID iCLASS SE® readers, and OMNIKEY® desktop readers. The solution created a campus-wide identity and access management program that included students and staff. Administrators were then able to issue, suspend, resume and revoke credentials to campus users’ mobile devices remotely without person-to-person contact. 

Beyond convenience and security, HID Mobile Access empowered Vanderbilt to protect the health of students, faculty and staff throughout the pandemic. It’s an impressive accomplishment for a campus with a total enrollment of more than 12,600 students and staff, with facilities sprawling 333 acres across 177 buildings.

Final Thoughts

We recognize that our learnings, and resulting innovations, are the direct outcome of customers and partners who face challenges head on and trust us to help solve their pain points. We are proud to accept the 2021 IoT Evolution Security Excellence and 2021 Security Solutions awards. Most of all, we are honored to share the recognition with Vanderbilt University who chose to pursue a mobile solution and our dedicated teams whose commitment and pursuit of excellence earned HID the award honors.

You can learn more about HID Mobile Access in a variety of resources, including what organizations should know about mobile access solutions, perspectives from leading university and college campuses on mobile access and the Vanderbilt University’s mobile access implementation case study.

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