Member Profile: Lenel Systems International

This month Smart Card Talk spoke with Michael Regelski, Vice President of Software Development for Lenel.   Mr. Regelski is responsible for defining the strategic direction of the company's software development organization.   He also oversees product development schedules, new software releases and upgrade efforts, as well as new technology evaluation.   He works with vendors to deliver new technologies that can be integrated into the Lenel security platform.

Mr. Regelski has more than 16 years of software architecture design and product development experience in the security industry.   He is a long-time proponent of physical and logical security integration, and a member of the Smart Card Alliance.   Mr. Regelski is the author of numerous articles and three books.   He holds an M.S. in Software Development and Management and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

1. What are Lenel's main business profile and offerings?

Lenel is a global provider of security management solutions.   Lenel provides an open security operating platform that seamlessly integrates a broad array of functional components, including:

• Access control
• Identity management
• Alarm monitoring
• Asset management
• Visitor management
• Digital video surveillance and management
• Mobile enterprise ID systems
• Intelligent video
• Intrusion detection
• Fire alarm systems
• Building automation and process control
• Information security

The integration of these technologies into a seamless platform strengthens the security of a facility.   It provides a single user experience for accessing all security information, regardless of where it originated.   Creating, distributing and managing security functionality such as access privileges becomes a single-step operation, whether it is for physical security or logical security. This integration increases the productivity of security managers.

2. What role does smart card technology play in supporting Lenel's business? 

During the past several years, smart card technology has played an increasingly significant role in Lenel's business.   A key component of any security platform is the ability to manage identities and issue credentials.   Identity management and credential issuance have been Lenel's core competencies since our first product offering was released more than ten years ago.   Smart cards provide users with more autonomy and greater return on investment when managing their security operations.

Lenel has always believed that customers should be able to manage, print, encode and issue credentials as part of the functionality of their security systems.   Customers can utilize our software to encode applications and data onto smart cards during the credential issuance process.   These capabilities within the software enable customers to maximize the return on their smart card investments.

The ability to purchase blank smart cards and encode credential information onto them during the issuance process significantly reduces lead times for sourcing cards.   Typically, card suppliers are asked to encode specific customer data formats onto cards before shipping those cards to users.   Such custom-encoding requires a significantly longer lead time than ordering blank cards.   Permitting users to manage the data in their systems allows them to obtain blank cards from any source that will match their reader technologies.

Smart cards technologies also represent a critical link in integrating physical and logical security systems.   A single token can now be used to gain access to both physical and logical systems.   The card data can be consistent across both domains.   It can also be managed and issued from a single source.

3. What trends do you see developing in the market that Lenel hopes to capitalize on? 

• Adoption of biometric technologies.   In the past, biometric integration required vendor-specific-protocol integration or operating parallel systems.   Placing biometric data on smart cards facilitates the integration of biometric devices into the existing physical access control infrastructure.
• Increased authentication.   Unlike contactless smart card technologies, proximity 125-KHz technology does not allow mutual authentication between readers and cards.   HSPD-12, and the specifications emerging from that government directive, have been driving the push toward mutual authentication of cards and readers.
• Multiple applications.   The ability to utilize a common card for multiple applications is helping to advance the market for smart cards.   A simple example of this is the use of one card for both logical security and physical security.   The more uses that can be derived from a single card, the greater the value will be of the investment made in smart card technology.   The ability to support multiple applications is of significant importance to Lenel, as our credential management solution offers single-source issuance of multi-purpose smart cards.
• Physical-logical security integration.   The ability to use a single token for authentication to both physical and logical infrastructures is a key component of greater security within an organization.   Smart card technology helps make that integration possible.

4. What obstacles to growth do you see that must be overcome to capitalize on these opportunities?

There are a number of obstacles.

• Cost of replacing infrastructure (readers and cards).  This factor, more than any other, is hindering the migration to smart card technology, especially in the physical security space.   Logistical issues in phasing in the replacement of readers and in the issuance of new cards must be solved.   One of the recent technological innovations that is assisting in this infrastructure transition is the multi-technology reader (i.e., a reader that can support multiple card technologies simultaneously).   All card readers must be replaced as part of the process of transitioning to smart cards.   Multi-technology readers have the advantage of being able to support the legacy card technologies initially, and the smart card technologies after the new cards have been issued.
• Lack of awareness of the advantages of smart cards over proximity. Most people don't realize that there's a difference between the two.   They see a person present a card to a reader, and then the door opens.   Once customers are educated, they understand and appreciate the additional flexibility and security of smart cards, specifically in the ability to control and program one's own data formats.
• Absence of standards. Traditionally, once you choose a vendor for cards and readers, you are locked into using that vendor.   This needs to change.   HSPD-12 is beginning to break down those barriers to interoperability.   Vendors need to compete on value, not proprietary technology.   There is no reason why silicon sourced from a given manufacturer will not work across multiple vendors' readers.

5. What do you see are the key factors driving smart card technology in the market? 

There are several important factors driving that technology in the market.

• FIPS 201 and HSPD-12.   These initiatives are the first attempt to incorporate standards across card and reader technologies to promote interoperability.   Although these standards are being driven by the Federal government, they will benefit the commercial and public sectors as well.   The fact that industry MUST comply will force the adoption and creation of standards.   The advances in dual-chip technology will help promote smart card technology solutions and the integration of physical and logical security systems.
• Lower cost of smart cards.   Contactless smart cards can now be obtained for the same cost as (or less than) proximity cards.   For new access control installations, there is no reason to choose proximity technology over contactless smart cards, given the tremendous benefits of employing contactless technology.
• Smart credential issuance software.   Lenel views the ability to encode information on smart cards during the issuance process as a mandatory capability of any access control/card issuance solution.   Until users can encode and customize applications and data on a smart card, there is really no benefit for the end user to adopt smart cards.   Providing this capability to end users and explaining the benefits to them will help drive smart card technology.

6. How do you see your involvement in the Alliance helping Lenel become successful?

We see two key benefits of our participation in the Alliance.   First, we believe that it will increase the market's awareness of the value that smart cards provide to physical security systems.   In addition, Lenel's involvement in the Alliance offers an opportunity for us to help create and guide the adoption of smart card standards within the security industry.

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