A new era for AMAG Technology 

International Security Journal speaks exclusively with David Sullivan, President, AMAG Technology.

AMAG has come a long way since you became the company’s President. What have been some of your major accomplishments? 

We needed to transform both internally and externally – how we work as a business and how we operate within the industry.

A frequent observer would have seen a radical shift in how we present ourselves in the marketplace. We brought focus to the broader solutions portfolio we have, not just in access, but also in visitor management, video, command and control and identity management.

These solutions are a core part of our business, but we had not previously brought a lot of focus to them. 

We shifted our messaging to solutions, rather than just specific products, in order to bring attention to the fact that we offer an integrated portfolio.

We then also increased our social media presence and, internally, continued to work to improve our processes, making it easier for customers to do business with us.

We have begun a new product journey – but our development plan to advance it, take advantage of the latest trends and become more flexible, has also begun. 

You are going to begin to see these advancements appearing in the marketplace – and the first one is coming out this year. The goal is to bring AMAG Technology to the forefront of security solutions. 

I see you’ve recently announced Symmetry CompleteView VMS with Vaidio AI Video Analytics. How does Symmetry CompleteView fit into the Symmetry ecosystem? 

I think the thing that may not be well known to everyone – but I think is known strongly in the industry – is that video plays a key role in being one of the most important technologies that our users consider.

Without being able to see what’s going on or who is at the door, it fundamentally reduces the system’s overall usability.

This makes video an important part of our offering and of an integrated security solutions’ potential as a whole. 

Video can be increasingly powerful when it is combined with access control, identity management, visitor management, command and control systems.

The importance of Symmetry CompleteView VMS and our solutions portfolio cannot be understated. We brought on Chris Meiter as Vice President of Global Business Development – Video Solutions, who used to be at Salient Systems.

This illustrates the importance of how we’re strengthening this offering and our partnership with Salient. 

What benefits does the Vaidio AI Video Analytics with Symmetry CompleteView offer?    

This integration provides a comprehensive suite of advanced analytics.

The analytics are compatible with any camera that is out there as well as any video source that is already installed; it provides an extra layer of security that you cannot get solely from an access control or normal video operation.

The beauty of it is that it provides operators with immediate alerts and notifications that are seamlessly integrated into the live video and alarm modules within Symmetry CompleteView. 

This allows the security operator to respond quickly, prevent incidents and even possibly save lives.

The advanced AI can automatically connect, check and verify any combination of faces, identity numbers, licence plates and vehicles.

This connects events, people and devices and, as such, gives the user and the operator of the system the ability to elevate their responsiveness to all the security incidents that may occur. 

As we look ahead, what is next for AMAG Technology? 

This year, we are going to have a major software release in Symmetry Access Control 10. Following this, we are going to have an annual major release.

This means that, in 2026, we will release Symmetry 11 and so on.  

Symmetry 10 will provide a health dashboard that focuses on the health status of the Symmetry database and its connected devices.

At just a glance, users can identify reader or panel status. For example, if a panel or reader were offline, then the health dashboard would indicate this, which helps to ensure that the Symmetry system is operating at peak performance levels.

The health dashboard will alert the user in advance of them finding out through other means. 

The release will also support our Symmetry Wallet Ecosystem. Within this new release customers have the option to upgrade to Wallet credentials without the requirement of an identity management solution. This advancement makes that a more simple and affordable solution for customers.  

The release of Symmetry 10 reflects a shift towards our continuous delivery of new features and functions to get to our modernised future platform.

We believe that this delivery of new features and functionalities is going to be the best approach. Our goal is to provide users with an easy route of migration to avoid any cost replacing and swapping to a new platform.

If somebody were to buy Symmetry 10 today, their investment would last for many years to come. 

Users are going to be able to advance incrementally towards this new platform that we’re going to be releasing over the following years, while we continue to work towards our goals, placing AMAG as a technology leader in security. 

If you look at the big tech giants that we all use on a daily basis, they perform several updates a day in the background of their systems to make them operate more effectively.

As you transition to incremental improvements and software releases, system usability becomes more efficient and effective. 

Our goal is to place the entire suite of products that we have onto a single user interface that sits on one screen and has the modularity to turn one aspect on or off; you can do so based upon just the issuance of a new software licence.

The technology of today provides us with a lot more flexibility when it comes to providing incremental releases as well the interchangeability of the whole system. 

At AMAG, we are not solely invested in our product. We are also invested in other areas of the company, and one of the biggest areas is our manufacturing.

We are in the midst of a major factory upgrade, aiming to implement advanced manufacturing equipment that leverages modern technology, particularly in hardware.

The factory upgrade will give us the ability to provide modern designs and improve our efficiencies in delivering products, while also keeping our costs low.  

One main differentiator for us is we manufacture our own hardware. This provides us with a unique ability to take different approaches to our overall security offering.

It also gives us the ability to tightly synchronise our software development with our hardware development, setting us apart in the market. 

How important of a show is The Security Event for you? 

It is a really important event for anyone who attends. It provides AMAG with a premier platform to showcase our security solutions to the international market and also provides us with a platform to connect with key customers and industry professionals.  

We are able to fully demonstrate the power of the Symmetry suite when we attend. This reinforces AMAG’s commitment to innovation and leadership in the security industry.

The event also gives us an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions, share thought-leadership, gain insights into evolving challenges and continue to develop solutions that meet the needs of customers.  

It is a fantastic opportunity for us to interact with the international marketplace. Be sure to visit the AMAG Technology team on Stand 5/D90 during the show.